Marginal Christianity

Written by: Anthony Bradley Published on: February 12, 2018 ·            F or about a month now, I’ve been trying to sort out why so many of my male students—Christian guys in their twenties—are such huge fans of Jordan Peterson . By the end of chapter two of his new book, The Twelve Rules for Life , I had my answer. Peterson understands something about the world of men that evangelical pastors seem to have been clueless about for almost thirty years. It is simply this: since the 1980s, young men have been shamed and emasculated in a culture determined to destroy the archetypal masculinity of figures like Jesus Christ. How We Got Here Evangelical pastors and leaders have been exegeting the culture of men from an outdated, mid-1960s cultural playbook—a playbook that often reduced men to lustful sinners who think too highly of themselves and need to be tamed by someone reminding them of their destined depravity. Exc...

2 Samuel 1:1,17-27 1 After Saul’s death, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, he stayed in Ziklag two days. 17 Then David sang this funeral song for Saul and his son Jonathan. 18 David ordered everyone in Judah to learn the Song of the Bow. (In fact, it is written in the scroll from Jashar.) 19 Oh, no, Israel! Your prince lies dead on your heights. Look how the mighty warriors have fallen! 20 Don’t talk about it in Gath; don’t bring news of it to Ashkelon’s streets, or else the Philistines’ daughters will rejoice; the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate. 21 You hills of Gilboa! Let there be no dew or rain on you, and no fields yielding grain offerings. Because it was there that the mighty warrior’s shield was defiled— the shield of Saul!— never again anointed with oil. 22 Jonathan’s bow never wavered from the blood of the slain, from the gore of the warriors. Never did ...