Amen, Amir.

Here's an excellent post by Amir Larijani at Singlemind.net about the issues some religious male bloggers are trying to address. If you are a man of faith and if you care about how the church and society in general treats you, read it:

"What We Do Here"

(Yes, in plugging Amir, I hazard forming a mutual admiration society. So be it. More religious men need to drop the cafe-lattes, New Attitude T-Shirts, dog-eared copies of [insert your favorite speaker here] and great real about the forces that are working against them. More guys need to be blogging or doing something about the matter.)

Dr. Ransom Sets Off the Irony Meter

Over at the Boundless blog, they have a new article on complementarianism. One comment by Dr. Ransom (of Faith Fusion) caught my eye. He says:

Complementarian beliefs are very distinct from the un-Biblical and neo-misogynist "patriarchy" system espoused by some Christians (i.e. Doug Phillips). Thus, I'd prefer not to equate the two.

Compare the Biblical doctrine of different roles, yet mutual servanthood (in leadership and followership) and sacrificial love laid out in the early-90s Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood to the father-centric, resistance-is-futile-you-will-be-assimilated mechanism of "patriarchalist" views. The difference and view of God-centeredness, versus man- (literally man-) centeredness is incredible ...

Certain videos accessible on YouTube, for example, show camps in which clone-appearing daughters, all in similar shirts and khaki skirts, are shown serving their fathers by playing with them, shaving them, et cetera, and this type of view extends until some brave (or not so much) soul penetrates the father-headed hegemony and receives his approval to take over in authority of the young woman from where the father left off. It's a skewed use of Scripture, a bothersome (at best!) opposition of women's individualities, and a grossly foreign import of ancient customs as if they were commanded in Scripture, not merely mentioned, and rather personally repugnant besides.

However, Harris and Driscoll, and Recovering editors John Piper and Wayne Grudem, espouse (pun intended) a far different view, in the recognition that human marriage done right brings glory to God, and serves as an echo of the love and relationship between Christ and His church and the roles assumed by each.

Huh? Does Dr. Ransom realize just how much commonality Steve Watters and Motte Brown have with Doug Phillips in terms of their views of headship (Motte Brown even acknowledges the work of Doug Wilson, a Federal Vision theologian). Dr. Ransom must really like the T4G-New Attitude crowd to also ignore some of the things that have been said by key individuals about women staying at home until they get married (Debbie Maken, whom Albert Mohler endorses, comes to mind here). But then again, blaming men for the mistakes women make or hysterically limiting the social access men have to women is something that could come right out of the playbook of the feminists. I guess "patriarchy" is fine as long as the burden is on men and benefits accrue to women.

And the Hits Just Keep on Comin'

This is a follow-up on my last post. Check out the latest Boundless podcast. At roughly 11 min, 45 sec. into the program, Steve Watters and Motte Brown apply their headship theology (a concept that I have challenged in the past) to the matter of sexual sin. The conclusion? Men are more culpable. Yes, I'm not surprised.

Hey, Motte

Yes, Motte Brown. This is an open blog post to you. I dunno if Ted is going to alert you to this post. I'm certain he's watching the referral reports in Typepad to see who's linking back to the Boundless blog. So, if you are reading this, here it goes ...

What gives Motte? First it was "Responding Like Men, Not Boys." Then it was "Real Men Initiate." Then it was the "Headship" post where we were informed that men are responsible for everything that goes wrong with the little woman. Then another jab at the guys ("True. But woman is only the arbiter of life if first the man leads her down the path of fornication."). And now, one more. (Motte, pray tell, what does mutual aid from a friend have to do with "adultescence"? How did married people ever survive for centuries without the government entitlements, handouts, and other preferential "benefits" that you think are so sacrosanct and belong only to them? And that bit about "especially for guys" at the end? Well ...)

Motte, what's with the man bashing? It kinda' reminds me of the fellow who makes a few cracks about his friends when the ladies show up at the dinner table. A lot of blokes do it. But it's gotten old, my friend. The brotherhood is not amused anymore. Any other man in your shoes would have gotten a swirlie or a blanket party by now.

You and Steve Watters never let up. Steve posts a piece about "child-men" but where's the piece about "freemales"? Hmmm? Yeah, I didn't think so. It's too typical of where Boundless is at. So, what impression do you think you leave with the guys, Motte? Do you want to be known as the Dr. Phil of the Evangelical blogosphere? Do you and your cohorts want Boundless to be equated with Lifetime, WE, or Oxygen? Read this piece by Paul Coughlin, Motte and think about what I'm saying. The guys don't want to blackball you, Steve, or Ted from the fishing trip, but things are looking dicey right now.

Now on a more serious note: You may think the writers at Boundless are upholding the Word of God and what it has to say about manhood. But really, I am convinced that you guys need to rethink some of your assumptions. Ponder on these things.

An Interesting Look at Female Voters

It's articles like this that give men a reason to vote libertarian (with a little "l"). As for many women voters, perhaps they need to rethink their ideas about compassion, justice, and liberty. Why? Because giving government the power to make people chaste, charitable, and courteous results in none of these things, but it does result in government's greater control of our lives. Let's not give government the responsibility that has already been given to church and family.