18 November 2013
Book Summary - "The Masculine Mandate: God's Calling To Men" by Richard D. Phillips
Our culture is in the midst of some profound conversations surrounding the meaning of gender and the attendant subjects of marriage and sexuality. This promises to be a subject that will stay at the forefront of public debate for the foreseeable future. Doubtless it will continue to make its way into conversations around the family dinner table as well. In light of this, it is important for Christians to think deeply and biblically on the subjects of manhood, womanhood, marriage and family so that we will be able to give more than impressions or opinions, but rather well-considered convictions. In service to that goal I read "The Masculine Mandate" by Richard Phillips. It tackles the difficult task of trying to define what it means to be a man by biblical rather than cultural standards. No book, especially one of 170 pages, could hope to exhaustively treat this subject, but "The Masculine Mandate" is an immensely helpful book in helping to zero in on the core distinctives of masculinity. It is readable. Phillips does a good job of explaining biblical passages in an approachable way while weaving in enough illustrations and personal reflections to bring the force of those passages home to the present day. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking clarity on the issue of male identity.Here are some important excerpts:
"That is the Masculine Mandate: to be spiritual men placed in real-world, God-defined relationships, as lords and servants under God, to bear God's fruit by serving and leading." p. 9
"We have been taught that women are the main nurturers, while men are to be 'strong and silent.' But the Bible calls men to be cultivators, and that includes a significant emphasis on tending the hearts of those given into our charge." p. 14
"The Lord has commanded man not to make and image of God, but to be the image of God." p. 31
"By God's design, as seen in Genesis 2, a man is completed by a woman, and not just any woman, but by a wife. From this it follows plainly: It is vital for the well-being of almost any adult man that he becomes married." p. 59
"The idea is that the woman corresponds to the man, not as a mirror image but as a puzzle piece that clicks." p. 60
"The struggles that men and women experience in marriage are intended by God to drive us to our knees and to our Bibles, that we would restore God to the center of our lives." p. 74
"The main threat against which a man must protect his wife is his own sin." p. 87
"As our children grow, our power over them increasingly consists of influence rather than authority." p.104
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