The folks at Think Christian graciously linked to posts on my ongoing On Porn series, and they had some very nice words about it. The blog post also features some great discussion. I find this quote from Matthew priceless:
…it seems so very hard to be a man within the church these days without feeling like you need to act like a woman in order to survive.
Go read it for yourselves: Straight talk about pornography and the church. Thanks, Think Christian!
Thank you for the reference! I suppose I never thought I’d be recognized for something I’ve said but life always seems to have a way of surprising those who persevere.
There is no doubt that the stereotypes for male and female are becoming quite distinct in their differences. It often seems as if that which is considered to be stereotypically “male” is often labeled as being silly, stupid, redundant, worthless, too aggressive or lazy. I’ve thought about placing a small poll on my blog which asks people to identify what 5 things come to mind when they think about the Stereotypical Male vs. the Stereotypical Female. Which do you think would have more positive feedback? Which would be considered to be “closer to God” in the public’s eye?
I am not sure what it is like in South America but in the US it seems as if there are far too few men who know what being a man truly consists of. All too often being a “man” is made by everything OTHER than what God has intended. Making love to a girl/woman “makes” you a man. Drinking beer and watching American Football (not soccer) “makes” you a man. Doing crazy things on trips with the guys “makes” you a man. Submitting yourself to a woman within marriage (because women OBVIOUSLY know what is best for everything) “makes” you a man. And while all of these things are not necessarily bad (within certain contexts of course) these are not what a man, especially a Godly man, consists of.
These things do not build up a church. Women cannot fulfill the role of men and women within the church at the same time. You would think that women would seek out teachings which would help men grow into men, but all too often it seems as if women are stuck with a “I’m better because I have breasts” attitude that is so prevailant within a woman’s rights and feminist mindset.
I suppose I should hush up before I get myself in trouble. 😉 I just wish there were better role models for REAL men instead of the beer drinking, football watching, wussy church going man. It would be nice to have someone to look up to once in a while…