For those who are old enough to remember the "Battle of the Sexes" that was waged in the sixties and seventies, consider the concerns that many women had about men. What, according to women, was the problem with men? I believe many women viewed men as the following ...1. Boorish
2. Crass
3. Rude
4. Angry
5. Mean-spirited
6. Bullying
7. Violent
8. In love with status, power, and things
9. Shallow
9. Egotistical
10. Insensitive to others
11. Clueless when it comes to relationships
12. Sexist
13. Promiscuous
14. Unfaithful
15. Treacherous
16. Destructive
Isn't this list pretty much the take the feminists had on the stereotypical, 1950s style "male chauvinist pig"? Didn't women say that the aforementioned traits, too often found among men, were problematic for relationships, family and society? Didn't women say that men in general were complicit in allowing these behaviors to predominate? Didn't women say that even good men needed to examine themselves and see if they needed to make changes? Didn't women say that all men needed to consider how they acted even in their closest relationships with family members of the opposite sex? In other words, a man claiming that he loved his wife and mother was no defense against the charge of sexism.
Nobody balked at the feminists. Nobody told women to shut up. Society did not question these concerns. Even most conservatives today have conceded to some of these concerns. My generation was weaned and raised in the wake of trying to address these concerns. Men did adopt.
Pray tell, how do women act now? Let us repeat that list ...
1. Boorish
2. Crass
3. Rude
4. Angry
5. Mean-spirited
6. Bullying
7. Violent [yup, I said that]
8. In love with status, power, and things
9. Shallow
9. Egotistical
10. Insensitive to others
11. Clueless when it comes to relationships
12. Sexist
13. Promiscuous
14. Unfaithful
15. Treacherous
16. Destructive
This is how women are glorified in our media. This is how they are allowed to act in our culture at large. Aren't the aforementioned traits, too often found among women, problematic for relationships, family and society? Aren't women in general complicit in allowing these behaviors to predominate? Don't even good women need to examine themselves and see if they need to make changes? Don't all women need to consider how they act even in their closest relationships with family members of the opposite sex? In other words, is a woman claiming that she loves her boyfriend, husband, or father a valid defense against the charge of sexism?
You say that I sound just like a feminist? Well, I sound just like what society has said for the last thirty to forty years about men. Do you want to go back to a time when men were allowed to treat women as inferiors in the home, the classroom, the workplace, before the law, and in culture at large? No? Then we need to drop the bomb on women who treat men as inferiors in the home, the classroom, the workplace, before the law, and in culture at large. Just as feminists were not ashamed to point out the failures of men, I will not be ashamed to point out the failures of women. Don't accuse me of "misogyny" when I point out the truth about women. That is a shaming tactic, and I won't listen to you when you hurl that charge against me. I don't endeavor to spread hatred for women, but neither will I be silent when the Exulted Empress wears no cotton-pickin' clothes. What's good for the gander is good for the goose. It's time to give women a dose of the medicine they forced men to take. Without apology, I say, "Chug-a-lug, ladies."
21 comments:
I started following this blog because I expected to see thoughtful and helpful information and dialog concerning Biblical manhood. Instead, it seems that most of your posts have the flavor of a man who is carrying a chip on his shoulder toward women.
Slow down, Gary. It is RARE to find a Christian man with the cahoney's to stand up and condemn women for their wicked ways. Too long have men, and in particular Christian men, sat on their bunz and refused to challenge women.
As a result, our society has been all but destroyed. The sin of men is one of omission, as pointed out by Dr. Hise, that great Christian and professor. Men have idly sat by doing nothing to defend themselves.
HOWEVER, the sin of women is FAR greater. Their sin is one of commission. They have embraced feminism with open arms, and never hesitated to turn against men, again as pointed out by Dr. Hise in "The War Against Men".
This book is a must read for any man, Christian or otherwise, if he wants to understand what women have done to the family. Men are guilty- yes. Women are far guiltier, though.
Christian Bachelor
Looks like we have Code Red shaming language from "Gary".
Gary: As usual, Anakin embeds a valid point in the middle of a rant. At the end of the day, the feministas have come to embody the worst of manhood they once deplored.
Anon: I disagree. The sins of the women are no worse than the sins of the men. That our culture has given legal empowerment for the sins of women does not take away from the fact that, in other cultures, the sins of men get substantial legal empowerment as well.
Total depravity is exactly that: Total. The answer to this is not knee-jerk misogynist backlash--although that can be tempting at times--but rather a Biblically-based balanced approach.
Fact is, both sexes have their "sins", and those sins are not trivial.
PMAF: I wouldn't say that Gary is resorting to a "shaming tactic" at all. On the other hand, sometimes Anakin gets a bit carried away. Still, there are valid points buried in the midst of the rants.
Wonderful post Amir. I am coming to expect them from you!
As I read Anakin's list, I could agree with many of those faults in secular manhood in the late 50s and early 60s. But as I read on, it did become apparent that those faults described the problems with women who are given over to feminisim.
And I agree, that what were (and still are in some cases) the sins of men are now CELEBRATED when they are seen in women.
Sin is sin. What is bad for the goose . . .
Trey
Fellows, you absolutely need to read the book by Hise, "The War Against Men". He will explain the issue far better than I can.
Sadly, all too often Christians tend to lump all sin together as just sin, as if some sins can't be worse than others. This is NOT true by any means, and not Biblical. Thinking an occasional lustful thought is bad; raping a three year girl old is much, much worse. Are both "sins"? Yes. Are they of the same caliber?
Hardly, and only the extremely foolish and Biblically-ignorant would say so.
Women are indeed FAR guiltier than men because of their embrace of feminism, abortion and homosexuality. Survey after survey has shown that women are far more likely to embrace abortion rights, gay rights and the right to no-fault divorce than men.
There IS a difference.
Sodom and Gomorrah were both wiped off the map. Other cities were not? Why? Weren't they all full of sinners? Of course. But, the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were worse.
When we try and lump all sin together, as Christian men do, we try and gloss over the fact that women seem to be capable, on the average, of being much nastier than men.
Again, read the book. Sin is not "all sin", as some would say. Yes, it's all sin, but NO, it ain't all the same. It takes courage to confront women and tell them they are out of line. Wringing our hands and trying to soften out approach by saying "But we're all sinners, donctha know!" is simply evading the issue, and is rather disingenuous.
Sorry, but I'm an old-school Christian. I don't believe in pulling any punches. The Lord didn't beat around the bush, nor did Paul or the Old Testament prophets. Christian men today should hang their collective heads in shame, then go to their doctor for some testosterone treatments.
Christian Bachelor
Amir;
My friend, have you read Ecclesiastes or Proverbs lately? These books are loaded with some very nasty comments about.....women. How about Proverbs chapter seven?
Are these just "knee-jerk misogynistic backlash" verses? Tread lightly with that answer.
It's perfectly Biblical to call women to task for their sins. If men had been doing this in the first place, we wouldn't be where we are today. We're supposed to keep women in line. The man is supposed to lead, and that includes rebuking women. Do men do this anymore? Ever?
I have never heard a pastor stand up and condemn modern women for their sins. It's always a rebuke to men for failing to satisfy their wives, etc., etc, ad nauseum. Never are women criticized. Feminism is virtually never mentioned, let alone criticized.
I think the greatest sin of most men may very well be that they really aren't men anymore. They might as well don dresses, and sit around with their effeminate friends drinking tea.
I can't count the number of pastors I have encouraged to confront women in their sermons, but all balked at the prospect of angering their wives or the women in the congregation. They didn't have what it takes. Now, THIS is sin. If you know the truth, and refuse to warn others of impending doom. So, in this, men are indeed guilty. They refuse to confront women as real men should do, and tell them they are on their way to HELL if they don't repent of their wicked ways.
Christian Bachelor
I might add, I just purchased the book "Rethinking Getting Serious About Getting Married". I read it in one sitting. Hallelujah. Finally, another book written by a Christian man who dares to be a man. After reading Maken's absolutely horrible book, it was like a breath of fresh air.
God bless the author, whoever he is.
Christian Bachelor
Anon:
My friend, have you read Ecclesiastes or Proverbs lately? These books are loaded with some very nasty comments about.....women. How about Proverbs chapter seven?
Are these just "knee-jerk misogynistic backlash" verses? Tread lightly with that answer.Hardly. They are perfectly Biblical answers that reflect certain tendencies of women, as well as types of women to avoid.
On the other hand, you are being selective with your application of Scripture, as Proverbs is filled with no small number of admonitions with respect to types of men to avoid (those who plot evil, and their modi operandi), the tendency of men to want to speak hastily, the tendency to act without seeking counsel, the tendency to fall for the seductive woman, the tendency to want to seek sex outside of marriage.
Admonitions about those matters would be absent if not for the male tendency to do such things.
Moreover, the OT and NT are littered with (a) male leaders who exalted themselves, (b) male leaders who led people astray, (c) male leaders who led their people into rebellion, (d) male leaders who took bribes, and (e) male leaders who were adulterers, whoremongers, and murderers.
There's plenty of balance with respect to the failings of men and women.
It's perfectly Biblical to call women to task for their sins. If men had been doing this in the first place, we wouldn't be where we are today. We're supposed to keep women in line. The man is supposed to lead, and that includes rebuking women. Do men do this anymore? Ever?Men aren't keeping themselves in line.
I have never heard a pastor stand up and condemn modern women for their sins. It's always a rebuke to men for failing to satisfy their wives, etc., etc, ad nauseum. Never are women criticized. Feminism is virtually never mentioned, let alone criticized.Those pastors are out there. They aren't the majority. Yet.
Still, that pastors are not properly addressing the sins of women, does not make the sins of women worse than those of men.
The inequity exists in the application of accountability for sin, not the gravity of the sins themselves.
I think the greatest sin of most men may very well be that they really aren't men anymore. They might as well don dresses, and sit around with their effeminate friends drinking tea.There may be some truth to that. I'd say that in denying masculinity men have long presented a jaded view of Jesus and what it means to be a disciple.
I can't count the number of pastors I have encouraged to confront women in their sermons, but all balked at the prospect of angering their wives or the women in the congregation. They didn't have what it takes. Now, THIS is sin. If you know the truth, and refuse to warn others of impending doom. So, in this, men are indeed guilty. They refuse to confront women as real men should do, and tell them they are on their way to HELL if they don't repent of their wicked ways.Again, the inequity is not on the women, but rather on the lack of application of accountability to them.
When I think of the people that Jesus really condemned, they are always corrupt clergy. I am not yet convinced that some sins are worse than others, but it seems clear to me that corrupt clergy are worse than other people who are corrupt.
Trey
TMink - "I am not yet convinced that some sins are worse than others, but it seems clear to me that corrupt clergy are worse than other people who are corrupt."
Trey,
I would join you, Learner (and perhaps others I've overlooked) in not viewing the sins of women being any different than those of men - especially since we are often talking about the same sin.
The disparity, as I see it, comes from women NOT being judges as harshly for those same sins. Since Learner brought up murder, I suppose that a good example of this would be Mary Winkler, who murdered her husband in cold blood, while he slept, and essentially got away with it (just a few months of "therapy", and she got her kids back too).
The vast majority of all people, men and women alike, would be up in arms if a man got off so lightly for killing his wife in that way. Yet, in some (feminist) circles, Mary Winkler has become a cult hero.
The same is often seen extending down through the entire range of sins. Even in Christian circles, although it is not celebrated the same way it is in the culture at-large, female infidelity is treated much more mildly than is male infidelity. Most women, and even some men, will openly argue that when a women commits adultery it is only because her husband has "driven" her to it; and her sin is thereby "lessened" in comparison to the same sin committed by a man.
I think this is what many of the other posters are angered by, and are misdirecting that anger into an argument that the sins of women are worse.
In the end, God will be doing the judging, and a sin will be a sin, the gender of the perpetrator not withstanding. But here on earth, the observable injustices will anger many and cause divisions. To the extent that they have become to weak to take an effective stand (against the wishes of their female members), the clergy ARE guilty of a greater sin in not doing their duty to lead people in the proper way.
What slw said.
Trey
"The disparity, as I see it, comes from women NOT being judges as harshly for those same sins."
Agreed SLW.
I agree with Anakin that women should be called out for bad behavior and held accountable at the same level men are in the culture and the church. I just think we need to be careful in assigning greater "guilt" (in the eyes of God) to some sins than others that is not explicit in the bible.
BTW, the guy in that picture looks an awful lot like a guy I used to date about 2 1/2 years ago...minus the cigar anyway.
Used to date. Used to is the key phrase! 8)
Trey
Learner: Glad that one didn't work out. He looks like a loser. LOL
Er...I thought he (my ex bf) was cute. LOL, but I have a bit of a thing for bald men.
Learner: LOL I wasn't referring to his baldness. I just figured the man in the picture looked like a snotty old prick.
I figured that was why Anakin put that picture up there. Making fun of the stereotype, as feminists that same ugliness.
Learner, what do we know about what man is cute! I hope I did not insult you, I was referring to his facial expression rather than his baldness.
Trey
Amir and Trey,
LOL, Perhaps I was looking past the facial expression to his um, inner beauty ;)
No insult taken at all :)
"Do you want to go back to a time when men were allowed to treat women as inferiors in the home, the classroom, the workplace, before the law, and in culture at large?"
I've personally known hundreds of women who lived in the Pre-Feminist era of America, and not a single one of them described it like either the Feminists who now try to re-write history or the way you describe it in the quote above.
The Feminists version of history is debunked by the very women whom they claimed were mistreated. Those very women who were supposedly mistreated tell a very different version of history in which they were for the most part much happier than the women of today.
Perhaps someday, there will be nobody left to dispute the Feminists distorted version of history. But for now, there are still men alive who have heard it straight from Pre-Feminist women's mouths that it just wasn't the way that Feminists claim.
--FWO
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