[SkyPilot]

Interesting article. It was republished this summer. I had not heard of the book before, but there are several out there now that deal with the same subject.

I believe it needs to be stated that worship is something that is not about us. It is about God. We should be there for Him. He deserves our praise and thanks.

Having said that, I see the author's main point. Much of the Christian church has, I believe, been feminized. Instead of sermons on God's power, honor, truth, and justice (subjects that appeal to men), we get far too many sermons on intimacy, relationships, and emotions (subjects that appeal to women).

Moreover, I am often drawn to the 19th century hymns more and more - as too much of Christian worship has become the "Seven Eleven" song. The same seven words, repeated eleven times.

Again - all worship is good and just that gives our Creator thanks and praise.

But I believe the church needs to seriously re-examine whether or not it has become overly feminized in its message and worship services.

[SkyPilot]

Ping for your opinion.

[MeshugeMikey]

were this not the case..... we would not HAVE beheadings In Oklahoma...nor Police getting shot in ferguson missouri

Men as the spiritual leaders of their [ intact ] FAMILIES...is an imperative

[Bryanw92]

I recently moved from the UMC to the PCA. The UMC is heavily feminized, even though most pastors are men. In the PCA, women cannot serve as Elders or Deacons, so men are much more involved and the preaching is a lot more meat and potatoes Christianity than the Smoothie-style Christianity in the UMC.

[P-Marlowe]

Everything in our culture has become over feminized.

Being a man is politically incorrect.

[ElectionInspector]

...used the book a few years ago while part of a group redesigning the “men’s ministry”. Well done thesis about the temperature of your church building and how to get men to come, and stay as well as lead their families.

Too many pastors are soft and overly emotional males, so Christ like men are needed running the lay groups in such a way that the leaders of industry, business etc will be part of the Body... especially to model for the young men of the church. Not an easy road to follow but worth the battle, and the book has a pretty good blueprint!

[wintertime]

Re: Insipid modern hymns

How about ?

“He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; ...”

This powerful and rich language won’t be found in any modern hymn.

[OrangeHoof]

Women, in general, are conditioned to let others provide for them - from daddy as a child to hubby as an adult. It is easier for them to accept that there is a Heavenly Father who dispenses to us according to our needs if we will just submit to Him and confess out need.

Men, in general, are raised not to depend on others but depend on themselves to survive. Accepting a Heavenly Father who wants us to submit to Him is a harder sell because men expect to be masters of their universe and walk with self-determination.

It is only as men are beaten down by life do many reach their knees and accede that they need a Heavenly Father to provide for their needs.

I don't know if the church is more feminized or not but a key both to Salvation and happiness in Christ is the acknowledgement of our willingness to submit to Him and the development of a personal relationship with Christ.

I agree that a lot of the modern Christian music seems bent towards the "Good News" without any mention of cost or submission but, overall, the Christian message is one that ought to appeal more naturally to women than to men. But it is the Holy Spirit that works in all of us who desire a relationship with Christ, regardless of gender. He seeks those who are willing to be led.

[junta]

IMO the 503s are women lead charities. I know of one extremely capable woman who is Catholic and her job at the church was running its housing charity which she took up with vigor. So one day I asked he isn’t the job of the church to care for the immortal soul and she looked at me like I was Martian. Now I’m no theologian but frankly she took her charity work far more serious than the theology.

[olepap]

The last thing I want is to sit and listen to a woman preacher. I already have a woman preaching to me at home.

[olepap]

My Grandpa, a magnificent man, would say, when asked about religion: “You better talk to Naomi ( grandma ) about that. She knows all about that stuff”

[polymuser]

Feminization of church, schools, government and media. Yep. Sure has helped America progress - suicidal teens, half of adults unmarried, tatted and pierced girls, millenial lost boys, bastard children galore, rampant queerness.

Side bar: Know anyone that like angels a lot? Angel figurines and such?
What do those angels look like? Beautiful girls and women, little boys, chubby cherubim?
Ever see the kind that has to say “Fear not!”?
Go online and try to find a realistic or even just adult male angel figurine.

[Lorianne]

This may be true but if women stopped going to church would the men go back? I wish we could run that experiment and find out.

If it were not for (older) women the Christian church would have completely died out in Russia and probably places like Spain and Italy. When I’ve traveled, in Europe especially, there is a noticeable absence of men and I’ve been told by European friends that it has been that way for a long time.

Would there even be a Church if women did not keep up the traditions and raise their children in the faith?

[strider44]

I agree with the statement that many men go to church to avoid being hassled buy their wives. In fact, 80% of what I do is to avoid being hassled by my wife.

We dont go to church but I see this in my married friends. I see it big time in my father-in-law who gets dragged to church every weekend.

[RebelBanker]

Just a personal observation from the relatively small number of churches I have attended - The difference in male vs. female attendance looks to me like it is concentrated in the elderly, which I attribute to women having longer life expectancies. While I doubt that this accounts for the entire gap, I think it does make up a large part of it.

[If You Want It Fixed - Fix It]

Would a man go to a rock concert to hear a male solo artist sing?

Perhaps. I’d find it a bit creepy, but I’m weird.

Would he sway his arms?

More creepy.

Would he chat like the devil with the fellow attendees?

More or less creepy.

Would he go to a concert to here a woman solo artist?

Creepy.

Hence, men are not excited to attend mass to hear a guy talk, definitely not a woman, and aren’t so big or the chattiness afterward - but For Jesus Christ and the Eucharist, he attends. If he doesn’t much believe in the Eucharist, then he drops back and the priest becomes the reason he attends....and that feels creepy after he gets to know him.

Go for Jesus, or you’ll eventually go home. The more talking, the more creepy for the guy. This guy anyway. All for Jesus.

[narses]

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[PapaBear3625]

But isn’t the reverse true — that the church is controlled by men?

The staff is male, but the paying customers -- the ones who decide which church to attend, whether to tithe, and how much -- are increasingly women. And so the women call the shots.

[familyop]

Isaiah 43:11

Zechariah 14:9

Malachi 3:6

[familyop]

“By law, public sentiment, and religion,–from the time of Moses down to the present day,–woman has never been thought of other than as a piece of property, to be disposed of at the will and pleasure of man. And at this very hour, by our statute books, by our (so-called) enlightened Christian civilization, she has no voice whatever in saying what shall be the basis of the relation. She must accept marriage as man proffers it, or not at all.” [Susan B. Anthony, arguing in favor of liberalizing divorce law. CHAPTER XIV. VIEWS ON MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE. Eighty Years And More: Reminiscences 1815-1897 (1898) by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Initial text entry and proof-reading of this chapter were the work of volunteers Teresa McEachern and Mary Mark Ockerbloom. A Celebration of Women Writers: Mary Mark Ockerbloom, Editor. University of Pennsylvania. Accessed 23JUL14. http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/stanton/years/years-XIV.html]

[familyop]

“I tell them I have worked 40 years to make the W.S. platform broad enough for Atheists and Agnostics to stand upon, and now if need be I will fight the next 40 to keep it Catholic enough to permit the straightest Orthodox religionist to speak or pray and count her beads upon.” —Susan B. Anthony, to her Association