Just when you thought certain corners of Christendom had gone absolutely nuts, there comes this forehead slapper from Newsweek/MSNBC about "GodMen" — a movement among some evangelical Christian men to bring more testosterone back into the church. Apparently, church has become too "feminized" (e.g. putting flowers on the altar, etc.) and these guys want to bring more manly pursuits back into Christian consciousness–things like cussing, scenes from karate movies, and sex talk. Read the article for the full scoop.
My take on it? Well, here’s another attempt to hijack Jesus to suit a particular agenda. Stephen Prothero wrote about this in his book American Jesus, which chronicles the various movements in American history that have used Jesus as a poster boy. GodMen is nothing new, just a revival of some old propoganda.
Jesus did, indeed, turn over the tables in the Temple but that was an acted parable of judgment upon the revolutionaries who would use the Temple as a symbol and rallying point for fomenting a revolt against the Romans–in other words, Jesus was showing them that their ideas needed to be turned upside down–that agression and warfare weren’t the answer.
Granted, Jesus was not the "meek and mild" type. He didn’t mind a confrontation. But when he confronted he always did so by maintaining a deep sense of mission rather than acting on impulse. He was fully human, but incorporated the best of what being a human (and a male) is about. He didn’t lord his maleness over the women who followed him (like GodMen seems to promote), he felt compassion and even wept for others.
The truth is that church isn’t about emasculating men, but rather teaching the idea of partnership and love. There is, after all, that whole Fruit of the Spirit thing (Galatians 5:22-23), which doesn’t mention cussing or karate, for that matter. If the church doesn’t teach a more authentic way of being human (and being male for that matter) then who will?
In a sense, I do get it…guys need an outlet to be guys, but Christian men need an opportunity to explore what it means to be disciples of Christ rather than caricatures of religious manliness.
GodMen? Not exactly. Boys with an immature faith? Yup…
