Sunday, November 17, 2024
Sunday Reflection: About Men and Christ
This election brought to the surface a view of masculinity-- an idea about how men should be-- that is not just dangerous but profoundly unChristian.
Here is how that ideal is portrayed:
-- Admirable men are rich, handsome, and powerful
-- Men have a duty to protect and control women
-- "Real men" don't admit being wrong, and are willing to fight for their honor.
It's a recipe for a dysfunctional society, of course. It takes away the agency of half the population, obscures the crimes of the powerful, and stifles change.
But also, and importantly given that most of these men identify as Christian, it runs completely contrary to what Christ taught:
-- It is acting to help others that is admirable, regardless of that actor's wealth, looks, or power.
-- Jesus's encounters with women were always respectful, and not controlling. Like men, they have agency to do what is right or not.
-- Jesus emphasized again and again the importance of humility and confession. As for protecting one's honor... he spoke directly to that. If someone strikes you, offer the other cheek; if they take your coat, give them your cloak.
Where are we headed?
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Mark, not only unchristian, I think MAGA masculinity also taps into/personifies a very infantile/adolescent, contrarian, middle digit expression of masculinity. Rebel without a cause … I am my own man. You are not my boss! Smoking in HS bathrooms and tossing cherry bombs/M-80’s in toilets. F to authority (Vice Principals) and let’s blow it all up for the hell of it. Infantile homo-phobic, phallic-centric sexuality. Errrr … just like Matt Gaetz. As much, however, as MAGA men feel energized by their contrarian, M-16 brandishing, anti-authoritarian stance (and most guys go through at least a mild phase of this +/-), it is a trap, stunting growth (errr … like Steve Bannon) (errr … like Trump), arresting the development of a mature masculinity … and paradoxically … as knee-jerk reactors, allowing authority to be fully in control. In the end, it is a self-destructive stance … now wrought on our government and our country.
# posted by 
: 12:43 PM
: 12:43 PM 
Ronald Reagan redefined selfishness as a virtue. Conservatives have continued to push that envelope so that it encompasses warped Christianity. They have no use for genuine faith; they are opportunists who sell opposition to abortion in exchange for ever-greater power.
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