Category Archives: Men

What are biblical masculinity and femininity?

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According to John Piper,

‘At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for, and protect women in ways appropriate to a man’s differing relationships.’

and,

‘At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive, and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman’s differing relationships.’

It is not difficult to find fault with these definitions.  The most obvious complaint would be that they focus too much on the single issue of leadership. …

1 Cor 11:3/Eph 5:23 – ‘Kephale’: ‘head’? ‘source’? ‘foremost’?

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1 Corinthians 11:3 – ‘Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.’

Ephesians 5:23 ‘The husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church.’

Much discussion has taken place over the meaning of kephale (‘head’) in these contexts.

Bartell (Men and Women in Christ) remarks that no writer earlier that Paul had used the kephale metaphor to apply to the relationship of a man to a woman.…

Does the end of slavery spell the end of patriarchy?

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The argument goes like this: the Bible does not outright condemn slavery, but it sows the seeds for its eventual demise.  There is a ‘hermeneutical trajectory’; a ‘redemptive spirit’ that leads inexorably (if painfully slowly) to abolition.

The same is true (it is argued) with regard to male and female roles.  The Bible assumes, but does not prescribe, some kind of hierarchical structure.  But the same ‘trajectory’, or ‘redemptive spirit’ leads us to abolish that structure, and to treat men and women just the same.…

Male headship before the Fall

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Egalitarian writers often claim that male headship did not come about until after the Fall, and is, accordingly, a consequence of the Fall.

This view goes back at least as far as Chrysostom, who represents God as addressing the woman thus:

‘In the beginning I created you equal in esteem to your husband, and my intention was that in everything you would share with him as an equal, and as I entrusted control of everything to your husband, so did I to you; but you abused your equality of status.

…

God’s good design for men and woman

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It is sometimes thought that in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 we have two entirely separate and self-contained creation accounts, so different as to be incompatible.

But they are neither contradictory accounts, nor carbon copies of one another.

Claire Smith discusses the similarities and differences most helpfully:

When we look at these two accounts we see there is sameness and difference. They are not conflicting accounts, but they are not carbon copies either. Each makes its own distinctive contribution.…

Equal, but different

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Egalitarians often complain: ‘When you complementarians claim that women and men are “equal but different”, you really mean “unequal and different”.’

This is a charge that must be taken seriously.

But what says Scripture?

In Gen 2:18, ‘the woman is called the man’s helper; not the other way around. From a fair reading of Genesis 2, it doesn’t seem that male-female roles are reversible.’ (Kostenberger, AJ & ME, God’s Design for Man and Woman.

In their commentary on Genesis 2:18, Bruce Waltke and Cathi Fredricks, while affirming the essential equality of the man and the woman, suggest that role of the latter as ‘helper’ to the former does imply a certain structure of relationship.  …

50 politically incorrect thoughts for men – 5

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41. Help with the laundry – sometimes.  Help with the household tasks when she’s overwhelmed, or to give her a break, and certainly if you’re both working.  But (especially when the children are young), keep some distance between keeping house and taming the wilderness (aka climbing the company ladder).  Our culture may say it’s wrong to have sex-specific task; but our culture is sick.

42. Be considerate of her emotional state.  Women are generally more emotional than men, and are in greater need of protection.  …

Lost boys

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Tom Wright, bless his heart, has a habit of turning things on their heads, so that we see them at a completely different angle.  Sometimes this is infuriating.  But at other times it is fascinating and enlightening.  So…

Much of the discussion about the Bible’s teaching on the relationships between men and women, between husbands and wives, has focused in recent years on the role and status of women.  But this can disguise the fact that in our own day it’s harder than ever to be a boy.  …

50 politically incorrect thoughts for men – 4

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31. Boys need rough and tumble.  They need to be trained, through sports and other activities, to ignore pain, and to sacrifice themselves to a worthy cause.  Women shouldn’t be taught to fight because they’re smaller and weaker and because they are reproductively too valuable.

32. Don’t defend yourself.  Unless you’re in physical danger.  Be assertive, not defensive.  If you’re wrong, say so and back down.  If you’re right, say so and don’t back down.

33.…

50 politically incorrect thoughts for men – 3

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20. Understand alpha and beta.  Alpha traits are things like leadership, dominance, bravery, and disregard for rules and safety.  Beta traits are things like helpfulness, supportiveness, reliability, and ‘being nice’.  Women are attracted to the former (they’re exciting), but appreciate the latter (they’re good to have around).  To be a successful husband, you need to have both traits.

21. Distinguish between ‘good alpha’ and ‘asshole alpha’.  Alpha traits need to be kept in check – driving too fast is alpha, but also dangerous.  …