Christianity’s Response to Fallen Masculinity
A New Way
Men are not in charge. Jesus is in charge. Men are not lords. Jesus is Lord, and men must submit to His Lordship.
This was (and still is) the revolutionary claim of Christ and Christianity to a pagan world dominated by a fallen masculinity. The Gospel of Christ provided a new roadmap for masculinity, where “'he shall rule over you', [is] 'redeemed by He shall die for you'. And that cross of subversive power, where the strongest sacrificed himself for the weakest, became the emblem of the Christian movement in general and of Christian masculinity in particular.” (Cunningham)
The early church quickly became known as a refuge for women and children, the most vulnerable of society, because the Christian movement demanded and expected men to act according to their Creator’s design. True religion, as Jesus taught, was to be exercised in the protection of the widow and orphan and not the common exploitation of them carried out by fallen men.
The Gospel produces the men our world longs for
Cunningham comments, “Christianity succeeded where feminism has failed. It did not shame men for being men. It demanded that men become the man God created them to be. It did not deny the obvious intrinsic strength of men. It redeemed masculine strength by reframing it according to the cross. And to this very day, Christianity continues to produce the men our world is longing for.”
Episode: The Mighty Meekness of Masculinity: Part 8 - A History of Christian Moral Progress
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Reflection
- How does the cross of Christ and the gospel reframe your masculine strength?
- It’s easy to fall into the thinking that we are entitled to something as “the man”. How does the gospel confront this entitlement?
- Consider the expectations of the Christian man. Where are you currently falling short? Ask the Lord to grow you and ask others for help and accountability.