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| First Written | 2001 |
| Genre | Religion |
| Origin | US |
| Publisher | Canon Press |
| ISBN-10 | 1885767838 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1885767837 |
| My Copy | borrowed paperback |
| First Read | June 14, 2012 |
Future Men
I think I should point out that I read this at the same time as a Jane Austen novel. I'm sure it influenced my take on it.
Noted on June 21, 2012
This is an inflammatory, aggressive book about raising Future Men - that is to say, boys - written by a reactionary fundamentalist pastor who lives in Idaho. It's by turns embarrassing to think that it purports to represent my faith - and then delightful in how perceptive it is in skewering 21st century American culture. There were several moments where I literally had to stop myself from throwing the book across the room. And I sort of loved it.
It's a book with a bone to pick about today's Christian men. He's got a very specific, culturally- and temporally-based idea of what masculinity is supposed to be, and it's often hard to take him seriously when he tries to justify a 1950's John Wayne style of manliness (Sports! Guns! Never doing dishes!) with an ancient text like the Bible.
That said, he's probably 50% right, and much of the book felt like an enumeration of my personal character flaws.
Noted on June 21, 2012
It does have the air of a rush job; just a bit of carelessness or sloppiness. It's exactly the way an old professor or pastor will talk about ideas he's been discussing for decades, when he references but doesn't bother to fully articulate the idea.
Noted on June 21, 2012
[on 'christian culture'] The evangelical catch-up artists, manufacturing their copycat Christian designer gods, have transcended all this secular silliness and clambered up into a veritable nirvana of pious imbecility. Pagans are bad; we are worse.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
Related to this subject, young boys should obviously be trained in the use of real firearms. [obviously!]
Quoted on June 21, 2012
And we must understand that every aspect of manhood should start in boyhood. This means that boys should learn when, where, and how to fight.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
For whatever reason, you have reason to believe that friendship between your kids and theirs will not be spiritually healthy for your kids. So what do you do?
The fear is that if you say why you do not wish to arrange a friendship between your kids, you will give offense. This is quite possible. At the same time, this is why we need to live together in covenant community. While you may not wish for your son to be friends with their son, at least you can play the role of a biblical friend to them- and that means telling them honestly where the difficulty lies.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
Someone who desperately 'needs a friend' will rarely make a good friend.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
The Christian faith is a religion of world conquest. Are the giants which confront us big enough to qualify as giants? And have we taught our sons what they are supposed to do when they grown up? Part of fulfilling the Great Commission involves climbing the beanstalk.
Christians are a race of dragon-fighters. Our sons are born to this. Someone ought to tell them.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
The writer of most of the psalms was a warrior, and he knew how to fight the Lord's enemies in song. With regard to the music of our psalms and hymns, we must return to a world of vigorous singing, vibrant anthems, open fifths, and glory.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
Put another way, manners for boys should be a means of disciplining and directing strength; and not a means of denying it. This means that boys need to be taught that manners are a means of showing and receiving honor. Honor is a concept which boys instinctively understand and love, but they still have to be taught to direct it with wisdom.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
The end or purpose of Christian liberty is not to smoke or drink; liberty is given for the pursuit of holiness... The point is not to drink or smoke or dance according to our own whims, in the light of our own wisdom, but to do whatever we do before the Lord, with the increase of joy and holiness obvious to all. ... And this is why the mature may drink wine to the glory of God, and the same cannot be applied to young men who may be more concerned about looking cool than being holy.
But with all this said, wine was given to gladden the heart of man (Ps 104.15), and one of the duties a father has is that of teaching his son to drink.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
It should be obvious now that laziness is hard. "The way of a lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, but the way of the upright is a highway" (Prov 15:19). Proverbs teaches that laziness is counterproductive; it does not accomplish its desired end.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
With that understanding, he should know that honest work belongs to the Lord. "Honest weights and scales are the Lord's; all the weights in the bag are His work" (Prov. 16:11). The Lord identifies with honest work. The weights in the bag are His; the nails in the wall are His; the repair job is His--provided it is done honestly. The honest report on homework is His.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
Parents who rob their sons of a work ethic have taken from him one of this life's most precious gifts - sabbath rest.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
Fathers must teach their sons; the point of discipline is not to retaliate against a boy. The justice involved in familial discipline is not retributive - there is no question of 'getting back.' The point of discipline is to gain an audience, and there is no sense in gaining an audience if you then do not say anything.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
Boys must learn to say, regularly--to God, to others, and to themselves--that they were wrong when they were wrong, and that they were responsible when they were responsible. When they do this, they will discover that authority naturally flows to those who take responsibility.
Quoted on June 21, 2012
Suppose a young son is playing left field, and in the course of that game, he drops an easy pop fly. Suppose further that he dis so because "the sun was in my eyes," "a bee was near me," "the grass was slipper," and so on. This should be taken with the utmost seriousness by the parents--this boy is in grave spiritual danger. This pattern of fending off a threat of wounded pride through excuse-making is typical of males in sin, and yet is thoroughly unmasculine.
Quoted on June 21, 2012