September 19, 2007 by Walter Schneider.

IVA wrote (in a forwarded message):

A writer for the Jackson Sun argues, correctly in my view, that men are staying away from evangelical churches in droves because the evangelical church has been so thoroughly feminized that males find little there to appeal to them.

He cites a book by David Murrow, “Why Men Hate Going to Church,” which argues that “manly men” have all but abandoned the church because churches primarily cater to women by over-emphasizing the softer, feminine virtues of Christianity such as gentleness, forgiveness, sensitivity, meekness and sweetness. (I’ve often observed that one of the myths the evangelical church has believed is that God has primarily called Christian men to be “nice” rather than “good.”)

There are masculine qualities that are just as much a part of the Spirit of Christ, such as courage, boldness, strength, standing for the truth against fierce opposition and calling for justice. However, when Christian men exhibit these qualities, rather than being praised for imitating these dimensions of Christ’s character, they are often castigated by a feminized church for being harsh and difficult.

Says the writer, “No wonder so many men have a faulty view of Christianity as ‘too feminine’ for them. If that’s what Christianity was about, I wouldn’t want to go to church either.”

(Jackson Sun - Men have abandoned our churches)

That is almost correct, but not just for Evangelical churches. It is generally true, to slightly varying extents, for all Christian churches.

The discussion omits the feminists’ role in the feminization of the churches.

Here is what Robert H. Bork had to say about where all of that is coming from and what ultimately the consequences will be:

Radical feminism is the most destructive and fanatical movement to come down to us from the Sixties. This is a revolutionary, not a reformist, movement, and it is meeting with considerable success. Totalitarian in spirit, it is deeply antagonistic to traditional Western culture and proposes the complete restructuring of society, morality, and human nature.

— Robert H. Bork
in Slouching Towards Gomorrah, p. 193

But not only that:

The strongest force seeking to destroy traditional religions is feminism. Radical feminists have little use for religion or churches as they are, but they do not leave the churches whose doctrines and liturgies they find objectionable. They work within to change the churches so that the final product will bear little resemblance to Christianity. The feminists call for “reimagining” the Christian religion, which means rejecting all traditional doctrine. One form of reimagining is to reject the gospels because they were written by men and replace them with a history that pleases feminists. Feminists see no problem with that, according to Catholic theologian Joyce Little, because they believe that written history is merely the record of the victors, and that includes the Bible. “Everything is a form of propaganda pushing somebody’s ideology. Nothing is to be trusted at face value. This is what the feminists mean by their ‘hermeneutics of suspicion’. And on this foundation of suspicion the feminists have constructed their ideological alternative to Christian faith.”^[1] The implications of this approach for honest investigation are obvious: anything goes. “The purpose of scholarship has become, not the discovery of truth, but the nurture of feminist consciousness,” wrote theologian William Oddie, then an Anglican, in the process of analyzing the views of a feminist theologian teaching at Notre Dame.^[2] Thus, biblical history is rewritten, without evidence to support the rewriting, so that it better fits the feminist view of what women must have done, what ought to have happened.

— Robert H. Bork
in Slouching Towards Gomorrah, p. 287

And:

…the mainline Protestant churches have conformed their standards to those of the secular culture, on the theory, which has proved mistaken again and again, that to remain “relevant” and keep its members, a church must change with the time. The Roman Catholic Church has made the same mistake, but to a somewhat lesser degree.
The obtrusive fact is that the churches that make the highest demands on their members, that focus on salvation, community, and morality, that stand against the direction of the secular culture, are the churches that have gained in membership. The same phenomenon is observable within denominations. The Catholic Church suffers from a shortage of priests and men seeking to become priests, but there is no shortage of vocations in the orthodox dioceses.no shortage of vocations in the orthodox dioceses.

— Robert H. Bork
in Slouching Towards Gomorrah, pp. 286, 287

And:

Feminist gatherings within traditional denominations celebrate and pray to pagan goddesses. Witchcraft is undergoing an enormous revival in feminist circles as the antagonist of Christian faith. The damage done to traditional religion that is most obvious to the people in the pews is the feminist drive to make the language of the scriptures and the liturgy “inclusive.” As in all of feminism’s endeavors, the charge is that the traditional—in this case the English language and the original language of the Bible—are unjust and offensive because they make women feel left out.
The complaint is both silly and one more instance of feminists’ ability to find offense everywhere and whine about it. But in churches as in universities and the military, the opposition collapses at once when belligerent women claim to be offended.

— Robert H. Bork
in Slouching Towards Gomorrah, pp. 287, 288

That is why, in churches, men stay away in droves. In case you missed one of the most important statements in all of that:

The strongest force seeking to destroy traditional religions is feminism. Radical feminists have little use for religion or churches as they are, but they do not leave the churches whose doctrines and liturgies they find objectionable. They work within to change the churches so that the final product will bear little resemblance to Christianity.

— Robert H. Bork
in Slouching Towards Gomorrah, p. 287

–Walter

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September 19, 2007 by Walter Schneider.

From: http://savannahnow.com/node/360206

Men: guilty until proven innocent

Quotes from the article:

Child advocate John Walsh advises parents to never hire a male baby sitter.

The host of Fox’s “America’s Most Wanted” wants to help other parents protect their kids. He’s advocated for missing children since 1981, after his son was killed by a stranger….Is the no-mannies rule male profiling? Or is it just a precaution, no different than mothers dragging their sons into the women’s room with them until the boys are old enough to protest? Or moms standing outside the men’s room, yelling inside to their pre-teen sons “Are you OK in there?”….

Zaslow gave example after example of perfectly harmless men who, fearing they’ll be suspected of being a predator, give up on volunteering to mentor kids; coach a sports team; lead a scout troop; or even help a distraught child.

A doctor in Austin, Texas, Zaslow writes, came upon a lost child in tears in a mall. The man’s impulse was to help, but he feared people might think him a predator. He walked away, Zaslow writes. “Being male,” the man said, “I am guilty until proven innocent.”….

Refusing to hire male baby sitters is not the equivalent of saying all men are sexual abuse predators. It’s about minimizing risk.

But that’s not to say only men are high risk.

Sexual molestations committed by women are seriously underreported in this country, Rice said. Such cases often involve adult women having sex with adolescent boys whom they know. Which, sadly, too many people still don’t consider sexual abuse, but rather good fortune on the boy’s part….

“If men are so dangerous, then you should throw all your brothers, uncles, sons and fathers out of the house,” Rudov said. He is a frequent guest on cable news talk shows and talk radio (i.e. shoutfests), hence the snappy sound bites. He’s using hyperbole to make a valid point: casting all men as villains in the name of precaution isn’t fair.

Rudov says statistics about male sexual predators are distorted because sexual abuse by women is not reported or not even considered abuse. He also cites federal statistics that show physically abused children are more often victims of female perpetrators.

This summer, Virginia’s Department of Health launched an ad campaign for its sex-abuse hot line in the state where 89 percent of sexual abuse perpetrators are male. Billboards displayed pictures of a man holding a child’s hand with the caption “It doesn’t feel right when I see them together” and urged people to report suspected child abuse. Hundreds of men complained….

But one thing is clear: we don’t want sexual abuse education and awareness to result in fewer male teachers, fewer male mentors, fewer male role models; fewer fathers holding their children’s hands.Instead, we need more fathers and children holding hands.

Tighter than ever.

Contact Anne Hart at anne@southernmamas.com.

__________________
Comments and links by F4L:

Quote:

“But one thing is clear: we don’t want sexual abuse education and awareness to result in fewer male teachers, fewer male mentors, fewer male role models; fewer fathers holding their children’s hands.Instead, we need more fathers and children holding hands.

Tighter than ever.”

My question: “Who is we ?” At the very best, “we” is a small minority-sector of the population in the “enlightened” western nations. The vast majority of the population is “enlightened”, so much so that it firmly closes its eyes and minds to the all-out vilification of men. Yet, most of us (including most of all women) know that the vilification of men is unjustified or at least inequitable.

Gender profiling is mentioned in the preceding article. Yes, I was (as many other men were) many times in a situation where a child asked for help and I was too afraid to help. Then I either walked away, or, if possible, I went to ask the wife to come and help.

The gender profiling of men is not justified. The article doesn’t say much about that, other than stating things such as:

“Sexual molestations committed by women are seriously underreported in this country, Rice said. Such cases often involve adult women having sex with adolescent boys whom they know. Which, sadly, too many people still don’t consider sexual abuse, but rather good fortune on the boy’s part.”

Yes that is true. Unfortunately, the article does nothing to clear-up that issue. Let me therefore do it.

Check these links:

Sexual abuse of children

• Health Canada: Adolescent Sex Offenders
• USA: (2003 11 06) A Lansing mother accused of molesting her 2-year-old son and broadcasting the incident on the Internet pleaded no contest Wednesday to a reduced charge.
• Woman charged with raping boy after giving birth to his son
• Political opportunism and grand-standing vs. scientific facts: Women commit at least as much sexual abuse of children as do men.
• The extent of involvement by women in the sexual abuse of children
• Female perpetrators of sexual abuse of boys , by Jim Hopper, Ph.D. (off-site)
• Sexual Abuse of Males — Prevalence, Possible Lasting Effects, and Resources, by Jim Hopper, Ph.D. (off-site)
• The Invisible Boy: Revisioning the Victimization of Male Children and Teens
  by Frederick MathewsPrepared by the Canadian Foster Family Association (CFFA) on behalf of the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence of Health Canada.

  This document provides insight into the issue of sexual abuse of male children and teens. It outlines the prevalence of sexual abuse against boys and male teens in various settings, summarizes data on the perpetrators of the abuse, and identifies some of the effects on survivors. Implications for research, assessment, treatment, and program development are also presented. 1996, 68 p. Full Report (287kB PDF file, off-site)

• The psychological impact of sexual abuse: Content analysis of interviews with male survivors (off-site) [warning, 2 megabyte PDF], Lisak, D. (1994), Journal of Traumatic Stress, 7, 525-548.
• Meet the ‘Women’s Auxiliary of NAMBLA’
• Lesbian Child Sexual Abuse

–Walter
http://fahersforlife.org
http://blog.fathersforlife.org

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