Boundless.org is THE place preachers kids like me go to get a good laugh at the sheeple who follow, blindly, whatever the church tells them. They have forfeited any ounce of sentient, independent thought, they reference bible passages to explain their behaviors and mistakes, and they fully throw themselves to fateism, allowing them to chalk horrendously stupid decisions on their part to "god's plan," while taking full personal responsibility for the rare decision they make that pays off. But what makes this site so entertaining is to see this mindless, blind, lazy jettisoning of intellect to a religion run full steam, head on into the realities of human nature and sexuality.
There was, however, one man who is no doubt ruffling feathers at the (veritable) cult of Boundless.org.
David Murrow.
he dared to write a piece that was critical of the modern day church and suggested the church has become more feminized to the point it alienates men. By default (and whether he did this knowingly or not, I don't know) he implied that women were looking for biological and Darwinistic men who displayed NON-christian traits of manliness, impatience, independence and the lack to conform. He also pointed out the glaringly obvious fact that church by its nature, weeds out real men. To stick with the "modern day" church is essentially against male nature. Which means the few males that remain are pansified, listless, indecisive, conformists. Traits women viscerally LOATHE, but "good" modern day christian traits women of the church artificially champion.
The train wreck happens when the christian women start complaining about the lack of manly men in church, while at the same time hypocritically demanding any man that courts them follow christianity to the point of "beta-ness."
I enjoy watching them try to reconcile this irreconcilable situation. Mr. Murrow makes an honorable and well-intended attempt to help them.
But we all know what happens to those who do good deeds.
To quote Jesus from the Book of Matthew, Chapter 28, Verse 213, Section B, Subsection aa:
"Enjoyeth the decline."
I dunno about this whole alpha vs. beta business, Cappy. You seem to subscribe to the theory that it's a black & white condition - a dude is either one or the other.
ReplyDeleteBut manliness really seems like more of a spectrum. At one end, you have the latte-sipping VW-driving latent-sausage-sitter urban hipster type...and at the other end you have the muscled Harley-driving 72oz. steak-eating MMA guy with the wifebeater and the barbed wire tattoo on the arm. Most guys tend to fall somewhere in the middle.
Negativism is a destructive force. It is sad to see in relation to religion. I've been exposed to the myth of "God will take care of you if you just believe." But... And there is a but, the tenants of Christianity hold true, become a positive force and are undoubtedly a good thing when followed in a positive manner.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to see the church as nurturing, loving and showing acceptance. Those are all effeminate qualities. The real question is have the mores changed fundamentally?
To quote Jesus from the Book of Matthew, Chapter 28, Verse 213, Section B, Subsection aa:
ReplyDelete"Enjoyeth the decline."
I literally laughed out loud.
I gotta agree. One of my best friends in high school dragged me a few times to after school christian events. Generally a good bunch of people but I never felt more like I didn't belong when the girls were in charge.
ReplyDeleteWow! He nails it!
ReplyDeleteI do have to say that it was this way when I was young in the 1960s and 1970s.
There were very few guys in my youth group by the time I was a senior in 1988-89, which predates his timeline a little.
ReplyDeleteBoth of the women youth pastors I've known and worked with were hot messes - up and down (mostly down), emotional, food bingeing, perpetually single.
The music in Protestant churches has really gone downhill too. Now it's all 7/11 choruses (the same seven words sung eleven times). Hands in the air, accompanied by electric piano or (shudder) drums.
The old hymns frequently had "battle" language - A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, Lead On, O King Eternal, Onward, Christian Soldiers, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Lift High the Cross. The Catholic church I attend now is about 50% men, and not just old men either. We don't have so many teens, but we've got quite a few Gen Xers, and I think it's the liturgy. That traditional man-in-the-pulpit, alter boys, candles, incense, stained glass thing seems to appeal to men. We also have GREAT music - classical compositions sung and played, pipe organ music, occasional Gregorian chant.
The thing about youth group is that girls will go even if it gets pretty drippy, but they lose enthusiasm without the boys too. It's not just the boys who don't respond well to female-led Churchianity.
When I was a kid, inspired by the Little Rascals, we formed a boys only club. We'd meet in a little cabin someone had built in the woods and read comics, fart, drink coke and play with our star wars figures. It was fun, awesome and great. Then one of the Mommies insisted we invite one my friends sisters. Mommie comes along and makes us clean up the cabin. Then she decides the woods are terrible, and keeps her son from going in. Before too long other mommies got involved, and soon after the club vanished and the cabin was pulled down by order of the Matriarchy.
ReplyDeleteI learned a lesson that day about how women can never be content to allow men to be men. Its not surprising that temperance movements were lead by dried up old cat ladies and church spinsters.
Delurking because of my vast Murrow hate.
ReplyDeleteClassic Murrow quote, "The stallions hang out in bars, the geldings hang out in church."
This a new trick in evangelical circles. They say they're going to help men, then they spend 95% of their time shaming and abusing men, then finish with a 5% men should do better speech.
This article's no different. It's a long explanation of why christian men are no good. He even divides them into types, wimp, creep, pervert.
I love the part about how the Christian women snap up the reformed alcoholics and criminals because they're the only real men in church.
As a man I like loyalty. The whole "We need new men because all the men we have now are cowards and peverts," just doesn't sell me.
Izanpo,
ReplyDeleteAgreed, but it's not like I can go into the whole theoretical "alpha, beta, delta, gamma" type concept and fully flush it out in a post without losing the reader. I sipmlify it for efficiency's sake.
Grerp,
ReplyDeleteI started refusing to attend any church that had an acoustic guitar being played as part of the service.
I always associate acoustic guitars with communism.
And it's true.
Captain Cappy:
ReplyDeleteI used to play guitar, but that did not annoy enough people so I switched to ukulele (which did not do the job) so I am now learning the viola: it is not the use of any one of these instruments. You can make them work in formal situations.
But the, I do live in the people's republic of Dunedin -- where Berkeley dreams of retiring to (No more Libtard Yanks... PLEASE. We have enough of them)
It is the 1 hour praise band @ 120 dB, often with songs that are long on feeling and short on theology.
My advice to those others with teenage boys is take them to church with you and let them avoid the youth group. Just select a church with a Godly male pastor.
Because it is never enjoyable when your family declines.
PS. Older son devoured worthless.
I knew I had a good church, when I heard my pastor say in the pulpit "You ever notice nowadays that sitcoms portray men as these awkward buffoons?"
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Acoustic guitars are useful for 1) Komsomol campfires and 2) picking up chicks. They are not a Sunday morning instrument.
ReplyDeleteI don't like picking up hairy chicks.
ReplyDelete