I’ve just listened to a great interview of Rick Phillips from the gents over at the Reformed Forum about his latest book, The Masculine Mandate. (The book isn’t due out until next month, but it can be pre-ordered from Amazon here.) Phillips summarizes “the masculine mandate” in the words “work” and “keep”, keying off of Genesis 2:15 [show] [15]The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. (ESV)
: The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. He briefly discuss how this applies to marriage, family, the church, and even (briefly) a nation.
The guys at RF describe the interview thus:
Richard D. Phillips visits Christ the Center to discuss his new book The Masculine Mandate: God’s Calling to Men. The book is a reaction to recent cultural trends as well as John Eldredge’s mega-hit Wild at Heart. Much more than a simple reaction, Rev. Phillips promotes a positive, biblical approach to masculinity by touching on biblical anthropology and God’s specific call that men should “work” and “keep.”
Rick is Senior Minister of Second Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC and the author of several books including Jesus the Evangelist, What’s So Great About the Doctrines of Grace?, and the Hebrews and Zechariah Reformed Expository commentaries.
Favorite quote (runner-up): “Son, if your younger brother gets slugged or abused in your presence, I expect you to come home with bloody knuckles. If I’m not there to protect him, then you must.”
Favorite quote (winner): “Oh yes, we have a wonderful men’s group–it’s called the Session.” (Now that’s a breath of fresh air!)
Don’t be put off by these two quotes – he’s quite a bit more winsome, and quite a bit less ‘machismo’ than they make him appear. Check out the interview, and let me know what you think!
gmail.com
I’m interested…
But I have to say I’m a little put out by the fact that John Eldredge took a lot of heat for telling his son to stand up to a bully at school (essentially telling him to knock him a good one) and this guy gets praise for saying the same thing.
Wild at Heart, of course, was a huge hit. But many people make the mistake of assuming it was all Eldredge had to say on the subject of masculinity. Eldrege wrote a sequel to Wild at Heart called, The Way of the Wild Heart, which I’m now in the middle of reading. In fact, Eldredge said that Way of the Wild Heart was the book he had been waiting to write on the masculine journey for a long time. There are many good points to the book but it’s primarily about offering your strength to your family (in many different forms). I would suggest that comparisons between this book be made against Eldredge’s much fuller volume.
@Mike: Hey Mike! There is a bit of a difference here, though, isn’t there? Jesus’ teaching is to turn the other cheek when we ourselves are persecuted. Phillips is talking about defending others — specifically those for whom we have responsibility — from persecution. No doubt there was something good in Eldredge’s instinct that it’s not ok to let someone wail on your wife or kids while you just stand there saying “hey man, Jesus loves you!”. But his exegesis and interpretation fell far short – there’s just no getting around that.
For my part, I greatly enjoyed many parts of the book (and even recommended it to many…even bought it for my brothers). Especially insightful was the “battle to fight, adventure to live, and beauty to win” perspective, and many men were greatly helped with the “father issues” sections. Many things in Wild at Heart resonated with me deeply…but his theology (let alone his exegesis) wasn’t one of them. I’m glad to hear that his newer work, perhaps, corrected some of these errors.
Hey Aron,
I would have to agree that some of Eldredge’s writings fall short when placed under exegetical scrutiny. But it does raise an interesting question doesn’t it? What of, “turning the other cheek?” How much approbation should we give to actual, physical violence against those who persecute or bully others? Makes me think of Bonhoeffer and Hitler…
And where does our masculinity fit into all of this? It makes me wonder: is our primary characteristic agression? Or is it (should it be?) that agression, properly applied, is only an aspect of a kind of pro-active(ness), an intentionality that is multi-faceted.
In another post you implied that initiative is God’s primary masculine quality. Perhaps this should be our model as men. It would certainly challenge men to be less passive. Eldredge’s sequel takes passivity head on by arguing that the masculine journey is about initiation.
Reading John Eldredge was the first time that I “caught” bad theology on my own. It was in the sections when he claims that God was “taking a huge risk” by creating man. I’ve since come to learn that this way of thinking is called Open Theism and is not in line with what Scripture teaches about our Creator.
I also noticed that his exegesis was lacking. In my opinion, he often tried to make Verse A plus Verse B equal Point Q, when, in fact, Point C was the accurate, historical, biblical answer.
Hey guys, (Aron long time, no see) good thoughts. I guess one thing to consider is the argument Eldredge is making towards certain masculine characteristics being “hard-wired” or “naturally inherent”. That would imply that they are man’s created nature… which leads to ask the question, “is aggression a trait we inherit as God’s image-bearers or is aggression a result of our conflict and part of a corrupt and hostile world”? I don’t think we can suggest that God is aggressive in that it is a trait that we as , “manly men” inherit from our “manly father”. Rather, God wars against sin and the powers of darkness, not out of aggressive tendencies, but out of His divine holiness.
I like how author Sam Storms describes the man who is “manly”, yet does not ‘fit’ the Wild at Heart mold (and to be fair, while he calls Eldredge’s theology in question at times, he appreciate the value of what Eldredge has to say concerning the need for men as leaders and the many positives the book has concerning the roles God has called men to)…
“I happened to finish reading this book [Wild at Heart] about the same time I watched To Kill a Mockingbird yet again. If you haven’t seen this classic film, please rent it and watch it. Atticus Finch, wonderfully portrayed by Gregory Peck, is my idea of a real man. He tenderly loves his children after the death of his wife, takes on unpleasant tasks that no one else would dare to touch, puts his reputation at risk for the sake of honor, and refuses to fight back when the town drunk spits in his face. He confesses to his son that he’s “too old to play football with the Methodists” and, despite a lucky shot at a rabid dog, doesn’t know how to handle a gun very well. Here is a man whose strength and courage and masculinity are expressed in non-violence, non-aggression, and unshakeable integrity. I’m not saying that Eldredge wouldn’t applaud Atticus Finch or his moral valor. But neither do I believe that Finch or my father or others that I’ve known would fit the mold for what he considers to be a real man.”
What I think it all hinges upon is that as men, there is a different facet of life that has been neglected in modern Christianity… however, all of our efforts in living should be focused through the lens of, “for the sake of my Lord’s glory and honor”.
Just some thoughts to chew on…
That makes me really sad for the church.
I will share one more thing in order to be equally provocative. :)
http://www.inhabitatiodei.com/2009/09/11/why-men-shouldnt-be-ordained/
How dare thou mock Mr. Eldridge and his Braveheart sword.