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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman Evangelical
Masculinity Traditionally speaking,
the word "evangelical" as it applies to church has been
associated with churches that believe being born again of the Spirit is
necessary for salvation. Traditionally
speaking, the word "masculine" has been associated with the
inherent characteristics of being a male, something our culture now
rejects. Sometimes masculinity is
hyperbolically depicted as being hyper-masculine.
This is humorously portrayed in the book entitled "Real
Men Don't Eat Quiche," written by Bruce Feirstein and Lee Lorenz and
published in 1982 by Pocket Books. I
incorporated this exaggerated masculinity in my book entitled
"Divorce, Remarriage, And God's Original Intention."
In one chapter I wrote:
"Real
men are to be tough. They idolize three hundred pound fullbacks
for the New York Jets, Washington Guardians, Dallas Cowboys, or the team
of their choice. They sit on their couches every Sunday
afternoon and watch the big game. With remote in one hand, beer
in another hand, they demand yet another beer from "the wife." Note,
it's "the wife," not "my wife." "My
wife" sounds way too tender hearted for real men. Such a
display of tenderness is avoided at all cost. The emotion of
choice for real men is displayed when they explode with a monstrous roar
sprinkled with a few vulgarities as their team crosses into the end zone. The
book stated that when real men spit, they just let it fly. They
don't care where it lands. It's fine if it simply slobbers its
way down their beards and onto their shirts. If I were you, I
would be careful not to stand too close to a real man.
You never know what will fly out of his mouth as he slobbers
nonsensicalness from his lips. Real
men are modern day cave men, of course, equipped with all of their high
tech devices, or should I say vices. They are tough, rough,
independent, stubborn, and are capable of fighting their way to the top of
any heap, and that they will do at the drop of a dime. Okay,
so I'm not a real man." With the above in mind,
I've recently heard the term "evangelical masculinity"
associated with parts of the Evangelical Church where the gospel of God's
grace is exhibited in a hyper-masculine, ungraceful, militant nastiness,
which 2 Timothy 2:24 to 26 says shouldn't be.
"The Lord's servant
must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and
patient, instructing his opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant
them repentance leading them to the knowledge of the truth.
Then they may come to their senses and escape the trap of the
devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." We must "have the
same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who,
being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something
to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking
the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming
obedient to death— even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:5 -
8). It is not evangelical
masculinity. It is not
evangelical femininity. It is
evangelical humility, a calm confidence, a security in Jesus whereby we
exhibit God's grace in a graceful way.
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