PROPHETIC VOICE - There'll be no "macho" men in this church!

There are times for crying, there are times for laughing; what does one do when both erupt at the same time? That's how I felt when I read this gut-busting heart-breaker!

I had the same sensation a couple of decades ago when I saw those poor souls in their white robes on a mountain top dancing barefoot, beating drums, banging tambourines, and chanting about some planetary conjunction or other.

Where some people get their image of men eludes me. And the French? Well, just asking the question is enough to explain the answer ... in the fallacious fantasy and rich reverie of their elitist mind! I know, another oxymoron - a French mind!

James Taranto and his Best of the Web brought this to my mailbox (BOTW 6/9/05):

Want to know how to be a manly man? Ask a fashion industry insider. Agence France-Presse did:

Macho man is an endangered species, with today's male more likely to opt for a pink flowered shirt and swingers' clubs than the traditional role as family super-hero, fashion industry insiders say . . .

"The masculine ideal is being completely modified. All the traditional male values of authority, infallibility, virility and strength are being completely overturned," said Pierre Francois Le Louet, the agency's managing director. . . .

"We are watching the birth of a hybrid man. . . . Why not put on a pink-flowered shirt and try out a partner-swapping club?" asked Le Louet.

Sure, why not--if your idea of a real man is someone named Pierre Francois Le Louet!

THE MISSING “TRADITIONAL” MALE

Where in the h-e-double hockey sticks do they begin to define this term? Are they talking about Chinese men or African men? Is it salsa or sweet-n-sour? Western man or third-world man? Modern or ancient?

Somehow a standard for the "traditional" male image is difficult to develop here! Let's see -- Genghis Khan versus Mr. Universe? How about John Wayne versus Maurice Chevalier? Alexandre - Constantine? Marin Luther - Martin Luther King? Lee Marvin – Luke Skywalker? Jesus - Gandhi? Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Billy Graham? Senator Byrd – Larry Byrd? Mad Maxx - AC/DC? Cary Grant - Tom Cruise?

This brought to mind the recent postings on the role of the male in the church (see two of mine here and here). I can almost calculate in my head the positive impact this will have on pew population … hmmmm, zero!

Churches began to be overly influenced by women (or by men who were run by their women) as early as the late 1800s, especially in the mainline denominations. Perhaps this was influenced by a huge percentage of men away fighting the Civil War. Decent, god-fearing, masculine-family men, for the most part, tired of the feminist flapdoodle foisted on them, in the early 20th Century began leaving for more masculine ground.

I believe studies would show by the time of the big exodus in the '60s, '70s, and '80s men just quit coming … the sense I got from other men during those decades was, “Fine, if that’s what they want, let 'em have it.”

I realize it is not as easy as I make it sound but you take the above ingredients and mix in a healthy portion of "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life" [1 John 2:15-16] and you get the church in the West just like the one we now see.

NO IDENTITIY CRISIS
Man knows in his heart who he is, he has no natural identity crisis ... God gave him a role and he is without excuse in fulfilling that role. The feminist farce has confused most "traditional" men; rather than fight with the women over the feminine role, they went to work doing what men have done best for millennia ... earning a living, creating something, destroying something, or fighting a war.

I heard Michael Medved mention on a recent program that the average 22-year-old soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan was significantly more mature than their civilian counterpart. Medved and I agree – it is because a man's heart leads him to activities which fulfill his destiny; protecting his family by protecting his country is one way a man can still be a man without some half-baked "Barbie" wannabe or psycho-babbler telling him what's wrong with him.

Idiots like Le Toi-Louet tell us the sun is setting on man as "traditional ... family super-hero." What the sun is setting on is people with a worldview like the following:

A study along these lines led by French marketing and style consultants Nelly Rodi was unveiled to Fashion Group International during a seminar Tuesday on future strategy for the fashion industry in Europe.

I have to tell you European guys, if you're buying into all of this psycho-babble you're in more trouble than your American counterparts thought you were.

There is an old saying in Christian witnessing circles, "God don't make no junk!" Let me add to that, "God don't make no girly-men either." If you are one, you accomplished that feat by yourself!

Pierre Francois Le Louet, the agency's managing director said, "The masculine ideal is being completely modified. All the traditional male values of authority, infallibility, virility and strength are being completely overturned."

Me thinks Monsieur Le Toi-Louet is a little le light in his BVD's!

CAN YOU HEAR THE RAIN?
One of the nice things about being both a Christian and an American is that I'm free to tell you I think your eyes are a little too brown while at the same time I'm under obligation, constitutionally and doctrinally, to let you be who you want to be and love you nonetheless!

"The traditional man still exists in China, Le Louet said, and "is not ready to go". But in Europe and the United States, a new species is emerging, apparently unafraid of anything. He is looking for a more radical affirmation of who he is, and wants to test out all the barbarity of modern life" including in the sexual domain, said Le Louet, adding that Reebok with its "I am what I am" campaign had perfectly tapped into this current trend."

I knew I didn't like that campaign when it first came out ... now I see why!

We have a name for this guy in my church; he is a “Romans One” man! His end is not so pretty so he'd best enjoy what he has while he has it, because Jesus is not rhetorical when He asks, "What does it profit a man if he saves his life and loses his soul?" [Matthew 16:25]

These people have no concept of the Ark the Lord has constructed ... and He is bringing them in two-by-two (and there'll be no Adams and Steves among them). But the waters are rising, can you hear the rain?

French logic fascinates me. Le Toi-Louet worries about the European fashion industry's doldrums while simultaneously promoting this bilge. What worries me is how many European men will buy into it.

Ironically, a study of tastes and trends by the European fashion industry prompted this frivolous fit … so I must ask: haven't they noticed the results of other recent studies?

How about the dire warnings of a Muslim-Europe in twenty years ... you think the Mullahs will support this fashion advice? How about your miserable birth rates? Think you'll have an army of nattily dressed soldiers to defend your borders in another generation? And have you checked recent reports on the EU economy or on the EU GNP or on the euro?

The waters are rising, can you hear the rain?