Part 1: How to Be A Man

What does it mean to be a man in the twenty first century? The idea of manhood and what it takes to be a man varies in different cultures. National Geographic televised a 13 year old boy being initiated into manhood by his tribe. 8 to 12 cows were lined up side by side,and the boy had to run across the backs of the cattle without falling off.if he failed, his family would be humiliated and he would not be considered a man by his tribe. Here in the United States, the idea of becomming a man has ranged from a boys first sexual conquest, to how much alchohol he can consume until unconscious.

I have been reading articles portraying the American male as "dazed and confused" over what it means to be a man today. Women are much easier to bed down nowadays,so their is not much "manly" skill needed for a sexual "conquest", and drunken masculinity is now an oxymoron. So what makes a man today, or any day for that matter? I believe the problem is theological, philosophical, and then anthropological. It is theological because if there is a god and he created us male and female, then there is a reason and a purpose for the two sexes. It is philosophical because we must define what it means to be human, and male or female. It is anthropological because we must discover how humans have been defining their roles as men and women throughout history.

The theological probelm is the cornerstone;whatever we conclude about god and his purpose in our creation affects the philosophical and anthropological. Men are lost because god is lost to them. Secularism has defined humanity as a meaningless product of evolution, and since relativism is the going trend, feminism, homosexuality,and transgenders can redefine the meaning of manhood. Men are confused because society is in a spiritual and moral upheavel. As a Christian I am not bound to the whimsical speculations of a lost society, but I have hope and guidance in God's word to lead me to a true definition of manhood.

Stay tune for my next exciting post on manhood! That is, if you are man enough to take it! Except for you ladies of course. TOTT