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I never questioned whether I or any other disabled male was inherently deficient. Very fortunately for me, my emotional response to the fact that I will never be a Christian caricature of a man has been, even from a young age, a healthy dismissal. I was never going to be a soldier, police officer, cowboy, or any of it. You don’t want me in your hunting party. I’ve told my wife more than once that if anyone ever attacks us, I sincerely wish her the best of luck. Why did I never pay attention to these authority figures? The background is that I am blind, and have been since I was very young. #What episode of the ranch do they say jesus and john wayne seriesIt explains the origin of the gender norms we grew up with, which were for many confusing or outright damaging. In articulating that origin, Du Mez demystifies and undermines the authority of those norms. The book is researched and written well, and should be right up this disaffected evangelical history major’s alley. So why did I spend so much of this book uninterested and struggling to pay attention?įor about half the book, this was a hard question for me to answer. But then one afternoon, the persistent, distracted feeling I had while reading erupted into a series of memories: youth pastors, men’s Bible study leaders, conference speakers, all talking about what it means to be a Christian man, and my mind in a haze while I stare at the floor. ![]() Like a seemingly large number of white people with conservative, Christian backgrounds, I recently read the book Jesus and John Wayne by Calvin University historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez. It traces the development of conceptions of masculinity in the white evangelical world from just after World War II to the present. Du Mez describes leader after leader - movement after movement - preaching a militant manliness of hunting fighting protecting weak, witless women from danger rescuing American freedom from liberals or foreigners and earning the rewards of power and obedient, sexually submissive wives. The widespread appeal of the book among white Christians is easy to identify. If you want more writing like this plus our weekly newsletter and bonus episodes of our podcast, please consider subscribing by clicking the button at the bottom of this post. We really appreciate it. #What episode of the ranch do they say jesus and john wayne freeNote : this is one of the occasional free pieces on our blog. ![]()
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