Man Up?
It is happening again. Last week, Senator Josh Hawley stated that masculinity is under attack. The senator claimed that society was on the edge of collapse because traditional manhood was being undermined. Hawley went on to define traditional manhood as participating in marriage, parenting children, and being assertive. The lack of manhood is sending males into depression and sexualized video-game addiction. He then said he would make restoring masculinity the centerpiece of his political life. After one speech, Hawley’s words spread throughout various news platforms and social media. Before the end of the week, some Christians were heralding this promotion, embracing Hawley’s claims as biblical.
Biblical ideas of masculinity are not as simple as Hawley would have people believe. A reading of Genesis alone troubles the gender waters significantly. The first gendered being, Adam, subverts masculinity when he births his mate. Abraham cannot father children until he is older, and then he is willing to kill both of his sons. Issac’s agency is continually undermined by the more interesting Rebekah. Jacob is an emotional trickster who ends up spending the night wrestling with a strange man before he is named the father of the Israelites. Joseph loves a fabulous frock more than his role in the family. In all respect to the good senator, video games cannot hold a stick to the Bible.
The biblical text is not egalitarian. and it is not gender-free; it can be patriarchal and androcentric. This by no means equates prejudice, inequality, and violence as natural, God-given, and enforceable. On the issues of gender, sexuality, and faith, there are no easy answers. There are decisions to be made. Here the Bible is more than just a book. The Bible becomes a dialogue partner that allows us to infuse all aspects of our collective lives into the sacred stories, and it compels us to move from theory into action. If people of faith can make this transition, then the Bible becomes what it should be—not a rock to throw at our enemies, but a rock on which we build a firm foundation.
Brian Crisp, Minister of Mission & Adult Education
