Increasingly, our culture is refusing to let boys be boys. Comedian Brad Stine calls it \u201cthe wussification of America.\u201d The newly prevalent attitude is that if you are a guy, and you have a spine, you must be a Neanderthal. Masculine strength is scorned and has been replaced by a new standard of masculinity that is disturbingly effeminate. This of course is linked to the gay movement, but it has become so pervasive that you can find the \u201cnew type\u201d being represented in all sorts of contexts\u2026even the Church. Men, here\u2019s what I want you to realize. This will help you later on when you get married. Let\u2019s say all hell\u2019s breaking loose and everybody in the world has just come to your office with signs: \u201cDown with you.\u201d Everybody hates you, the world\u2019s falling apart. Happens to me about every other day [laughter]. I get in my car and I drive home and I\u2019m trying to get my heart right, and when I pull in that driveway, I do not get out of that car<\/em> until I\u2019ve settled some issues. It\u2019s not about me, it\u2019s not about my whining, it\u2019s not about my needs, it\u2019s not about my emotions, it\u2019s not about any of that goofy stuff that people are telling you as men you need to be concerned about. My only concern is getting out of that car and walking into that house strong and joyful. \u2018Cuz the burdens I\u2019m supposed to carry as a man, my wife is not supposed to carry, nor are my children supposed to carry.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n See, you\u2019ve been told that you need to marry a woman who can just \u201ccarry you\u201d basically, that you can \u201cshare all your emotions with.\u201d Just die<\/em> to your emotions, okay? Just die to all that psycho-babble and everything else you\u2019ve been told that you ought to be feeling inside. Say \u201cno\u201d to your feelings and like my wife says, \u201cMan up!\u201d And just do it<\/em>. Carry the burden. Cast your cares upon Christ, because your wife was not created to carry your burdens. Children were not created to carry your burdens. And brothers in Christ can carry some of your burdens, but guys, I want to tell you honestly, I see Christian guys get together\u00a0 sharing their burdens, and they sound like a bunch of just girls<\/em>. They\u2019ve been trained to talk a certain way\u00a0 \u2026\u00a0 There is a biblical casting your cares upon Christ, and there is one brother strengthening another brother, and that is good, and sometimes we all need that, but guys, we\u2019re just so\u2026 You know, even the Christian songs today, I hear some of these guys singing these songs and they\u2019re just whining about all their feelings. Makes me want to throw up. It\u2019s not<\/em> what you are. You\u2019re being re-created in the image of something that\u2019s not biblical. Again, don\u2019t take this to an extreme \u2026 but be very careful. They\u2019ve turned men into little emotional wastebaskets. And that\u2019s not what we are.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The man has spoken. Can I get an Amen?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Increasingly, our culture is refusing to let boys be boys. Comedian Brad Stine calls it \u201cthe wussification of America.\u201d The newly prevalent attitude is that if you are a guy, and you have a spine, you must be a Neanderthal. Masculine strength is scorned and has been replaced by a new standard of masculinity that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3595,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,40],"tags":[247,253],"class_list":["post-1688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith-and-culture","category-music","tag-christianity","tag-church-culture"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nThe idea of the \u201csensitive guy\u201d today is not what it used to be. The \u201csensitive guy\u201d used to be a tormented hero (e.g. Marlon Brando, James Dean), who needs a pure female to rescue him from his inner conflict and work a redemptive change in his character. Today, the sensitive guy is not merely rescued by his female counter-part. He\u2019s expected to submit <\/em>to her. If he doesn\u2019t, the knee-jerk reaction is, \u201cWell why don\u2019t you just drag her by the hair to your cave while you\u2019re at it?\u201d In short, loving authority is now equated with being a jerk.
\nWhat are the observable results of this feminizing trend in the Church? They are legion, but here\u2019s one: Nice, young, evangelical Christian guys, under cultural pressure to downplay their masculine instincts, are becoming \u201csensitive\u201d instead. This is tangibly manifested in many different ways, including effeminate haircuts and earrings (???)<\/em>, but another key factor in this process has been the introduction into the evangelical world of \u201clove songs for Jesus.\u201d We\u2019ve seen a massive increase in the number of these types of songs among evangelicals in the past two decades, until now you pretty much can\u2019t swing a dead cat without bumping into one on the radio or in a worship service. And any guy who might feel uncomfortable singing them fears that he will be challenged by his guy friends, \u201cWell I<\/em> don\u2019t feel ashamed to sing a love song for my Lord and Savior. What\u2019s wrong with you, don\u2019t you have a heart for God??\u201d Under such an indictment, perhaps he swallows very hard and continues to sing \u201cGod, I am so in love with you.\u201d
\nOr maybe he doesn\u2019t. Maybe he says, \u201cForget this\u201d and walks out. And maybe he doesn\u2019t come back.
\nSimply put, men who come to church in order to escape a world trying to steal their identity are finding that the same process is taking place there too. At that point, either they are assimilated, or they are driven away. Neither of these options is good. And meanwhile, a whole generation of Christian boys are being taught to accept emasculating language without a trace of contrary instinct.
\nIs this a healthy thing? Should we be encouraging young men to \u201cfind their feminine side?\u201d Or should we encourage young men to be\u2026 well, young men?
\nI appear not to be the only one who is concerned about these trends. I now yield the floor to Brother Paul Washer:<\/p>\n