Tag Archives: defining men

Defining Men: The Afterword

bad
Quote from “Reflections on the Psalms” by C.S. Lewis

After publishing Part Five: Who are Men of God?, I received a comment from someone which, on the surface, seemed innocent enough. As the “conversation” progressed, it became obvious (although they denied it) that the person had ulterior motives. Perhaps a Christian man or men in a church hurt them in some way, or they have bought into the idea that Christian men are in general bad.

I decided not to tolerate such an attitude, but in retrospect, I realized that not all Christian (or Jewish or Muslim or any man of faith) men are good. Some do hide behind certain scriptures to justify their gad and ungodly behavior, so there is that. Also, as Christians, if we have done someone harm, we need to seek out their forgiveness.

Continue reading Defining Men: The Afterword

Defining Men, Part Five: Who Are Men of God?

praying man
A Man praying holding a Holy Bible. DUNCAN ANDISON/ADOBE STOCK

So far in this series, I’ve been addressing how to define a man, his purpose (from part four) and the struggles of men from mostly a secular viewpoint. I’ve also been leaning heavily on feminism because, in spite of what fourth stage feminism and general progressivism says, it’s very hard to bring one group up without tearing another group down.

Certainly, there has been a great need in some areas to support women but as I’ve previously said, any effort to “dismantle the patriarchy” ends up dismantling men as individuals and a group as well. One example is changing the Boy Scouts of America from a boys/men only group aimed at building and nurturing the next generation of men to an equity for all poster child, including girls/women because anything “all male” is always deemed “non-inclusive,” “patriarchy,” and “misogynistic.”

In other words, many of the goals of feminism are resulting in creating the toxic masculinity they are trying to exterminate.

But what can be done to help men?

Continue reading Defining Men, Part Five: Who Are Men of God?

Defining Men, Part Four: Do Men Have A Purpose?

lonely
Marta Nardini/Getty Images

This is the fourth installment in my “Defining Men” series. The first three are:
Part One: Looking Through the Barbie Lens
Part Two: What is Feminism?
Part Three: Do Feminists Hate Men?

Setting the issue of feminism aside (for the most part), let’s focus more exclusively on men and the issues many of us seem to have in common. I’ll start by citing what many may believe to be one of the ultimate “manly men,” Arnold Schwarzenegger. In his August 25, 2023 newsletter, writer Adam Bornstein (no, Arnold doesn’t write this himself) discusses “The Friendship Crisis.”

One of the common issues among many men today is loneliness (Okay, Arnold may have written the following):

You said making friends as an adult is nearly impossible for you, and you’re struggling. First of all, I want you to know that nothing is wrong with you, and you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it. Remember, we never beat ourselves up; we always get to work.

But why are men more especially lonely than women?

Continue reading Defining Men, Part Four: Do Men Have A Purpose?

Defining Men, Part Three: Do Feminists Hate Men?

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty – https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-a-little-book-about-hating-men-sparked-a-firestorm-in-france

So far in my “Defining Men” series, I’ve written Defining Men, Part One: Looking Through the Barbie Lens and Part Two: What is Feminism?.

When addressing the 21st century secular progressive (and religious progressive) world, you can’t really define men without addressing feminism. So here in Part Three I’ll ask “Does Feminism Hate Men?”

I mean, on the surface a lot of guys certainly seem to think so, hence a lot of male resistance and even hostility to anything that labels itself feminism.

But is that all true?

Continue reading Defining Men, Part Three: Do Feminists Hate Men?

Defining Men, Part Two: What is Feminism?

MADRE, a global feminist organization, works to diversify and globalize the fight for gender equality. MADRE – ABC News

A few days ago, I wrote the first part of this series, Defining Men, Part One: Looking Through the Barbie Lens. I used the the currently popular film as a “jumping off point” to examine how modern feminism tends to view men. While the movie is touted to be pro-men as well as pro-women (only being “anti-patriarchy”), not everyone is convinced. Not everyone (mostly men) is convinced that the current incarnation of feminism is pro-men either.

Let’s have a look.

The ABC News story The feminist movement has changed drastically. Here’s what the movement looks like today states that “ABC News spoke to feminists across the generations to define modern feminism.” The story was published March 8, 2023, so it’s pretty recent.

As you may know or have guessed, feminism, especially across time, isn’t a static concept. Even the ABC story admits, “Feminism, the first wave of which began with the suffrage movement in the mid-1800s, looks vastly different today than it did generations ago.”

Okay, fine. But how different? The article goes on:

Continue reading Defining Men, Part Two: What is Feminism?