Rant of the Exiles

Romans 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. I have been fortunate to have some great male mentors who demonstrated that masculinity is about initiative, confidence, and a commitment to purpose greater than ourselves. This is what “having game” is about. It is also what God teaches us about manhood. Beta-tude is characterized by passivity, supplication, and a heightened sensitivity to others’ feelings. As R. Bradley Andrews comments , Adam evidenced classic beta behavior. He should have spoken up to protect himself and his wife. Only he was charged with God’s command not to eat from the forbidden tree. Only he was charged to tend and care for the garden of Eden. And only he was made directly from the dirt that he was entrusted to cultivate. God’s purpose for mankind belonged solely to Adam. Woman was designed to support man. Being a helpmeet is a subo...

When Caleb's 5th grade teacher began reading Hunger Games in class last August, I knew I had to read it. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, as well as the other two in the trilogy. I had a vague sense it was thinly disguised chick-lit and my suspicion has been confirmed. Haley says so here . Be warned her post contains all kinds of spoilers, as does mine. Haley is a Christian blogger who writes about the dynamics of game (how men can attract women). Her site is a legend of awesomeness. Before Caleb's teacher finished reading the book to the class, half the girls in the class had bought the rest of the trilogy and finished it. Cue comparisons to Twilight and Harry Potter. What makes Hunger Games unconventional is that Katniss Everdeen is portrayed as a masculine protagonist who doesn't know how to be feminine. So she has to learn to be a woman kicking and screaming. The trilogy is a coming of age story for the modern woman. It portrays Katniss on a journey towards gender equali...

I love this article . I love his solution less but the courage it took for Boundless (a division of Focus on the Family) to print David Murrow's piece is admirable. The gist of Murrow's article is that beginning from a young age, activities like Sunday school and youth group are screening out the most dynamic and marriage-suitable boys. Sunday school is catered towards girls. Youth group has all the super-sentimental music girls not boys love. And this is what Murrow says we're left with: "The single men who survive the screening process generally fit one of the following profiles: 1. The Bible geeks. Quiet, studious men who love to study theological tomes. Or verbal guys who love to teach. 2. The musical. They play in the band. Or they stand on the front row raising their hands during the music. 3. The asexual. Guys who are OK with kissing dating (and kissing) goodbye. 4. The predators. Guys who know there are plenty of desperate young women in church and enj...

Ten years ago, I posted the following blurb as my Friendster profile. It's amazing how times change. Friendster got obliterated by Facebook years ago. But my sentiments about masculinity haven't changed. I'm still very much committed to helping my Asian American brethren to fight the good fight. · Common perceptions of the typical Asian Male: Physically weak, slight in stature and build, emotionally distant, subdued, nerdy, academically obsessed, professionally overboard, socially inept, without sex drive, and unassertive. Many weak-willed Asian Women have bought into these lies and have sought refuge in the steroid-injected arms of White Men. But help is near. . . across the urban ethnic enclaves of America, a new grass-roots movement is on the rise - Asian Men Against Asian Women Who Only Date White Men (AMAAWWODWM, pronounced ah-mah-wad-wum). AMAAWWODWM is dedicated to the liberation of Asian Women everywhere from the lies and oppression of despicable White Men. We a...

Genesis 2:24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. In the first part of this topic, I wrote about how hookup culture affects men and women differently. In the second part, we’ll examine how hookup culture undermines marriage – in terms of marrying later or avoiding marriage altogether. One well-researched blog post asserts that the percentage of college students active in the hookup culture is actually quite low – not even 20%. (I love Susan Walsh’s blog – I don’t agree with some of it but she’s doing amazing things). This confirms what I observe anecdotally. But the perception exists that almost everyone is hooking up. And because the hookup minority represents the top of the social hierarchy (the best-looking and most charismatic people), hookup culture affects the marital prospects of the remaining 80%. Aside from the biblical evidence, marriage is important for society. In every culture, a marrie...

The title of this recent article is “Is online dating destroying love?” but the article is really asking whether hookup culture is destroying love. Online dating is merely one of the many forums where today's sexual patterns are expressed. England is a leading indicator of American societal trends. We’re 5-10 years behind Europe as far as cultural change. Christianity is dying in Europe and we’re seeing signs of that death here in the U.S. And the coinciding loss of Christian morality is not without consequence. Let’s define some terms. Sex, in this context, means sex acts between a man and woman. Love, in this context, means commitment in all it’s aspects – temporal, emotional, financial, intellectual, physical, etc. By my definition, a healthy and lasting marriage is the highest form of love. Hookup culture is a pattern of physical intimacy with various partners involving little or no emotional attachment. Boy meets girl at club/bar/frat party/coffee shop. Words ar...

There’s no way to make pain enjoyable to read. Pain has to be painful in order to do justice to its unique sensation. But some writers are simply gifted in describing pain and suffering with exquisite vulnerability, realism, and humor. This is a story about suffering, mistakes, and redemption. And throughout there’s pain and loss and even the redemption costs the characters something. It's difficult to fill a book with pain and yet have it brimming with hope, humor, and satire as well. And that’s precisely what makes Freedom a masterpiece. Its not always enjoyable and it bogs down at certain points. Towards the end, Franzen tends to sabotage the momentum he’s built up by giving detailed background that we care nothing about. I skimmed these pages quickly – refusing to be distracted from the burning question driving the narrative. Larson did the same thing in his Dragon Tattoo series and its annoying. It’s a story about family, love, sex, and the irony of postmodern socie...