Disbanded Brothers – Has a ‘Feminised’ Church Alienated Men in the UK?

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Who would you say are the most influential writers on male spirituality? 255 mentions were made, referring to 111 different writers. Those with more than 2 mentions were: John Eldredge 37 Philip Yancey 17 Paul 15 C.S. Lewis 14 John Stott 8 Richard Rohr 6 Christian Vision for Men 4 David Murrow 4 Henri Nouwen 4 Rick Warren 4 Rob Parsons 4 Adrian Plass 3 Brian McLaren 3 David Pawson 3 Jeff Lucas 3 Lee Jackson & Baz Gascoyne 3 Max Lucado 3 Roy McCloughry 3 52
APPENDIX 4 SOME REFLECTIONS ON MALE SPIRITUALITY It is regrettable that in this dissertation there is no space to engage with what constitutes or defines male spirituality. By way of an introduction to this topic, however, I have selected some interesting quotes relating to spiritual aspects of masculinity: “It would seem that there are four ‘primary colors,’ so to speak, of the masculine spirit that, blended together in unique combinations, compose the ingredients of masculinity: competition, vulnerability, independence, and responsibility.” Patrick Arnold, Wildmen, Warriors, and Kings (1991, 30) “The wild man is not easy to explain, although most men can in some way relate to the concept. The wild man is not savage or violent, but he is spontaneous and intuitive. He is the source of creative brilliance. He is what happens when we let go of control and trust to something inside of us to do the right thing.” Steve Biddulph, Manhood (2004, 256) “Spirituality today has a feminine mode of expression which leaves many men uninterested or threatened by the processes. Having networked in many spirituality circles, I am conscious that 90 percent of participants are women. The rituals, methods and topics reflect the clientele which utilizes these facilities. There are few deliberate attempts to integrate men into programming and to articulate their needs or spiritual search.” Donald Bisson, ‘Men’s Spirituality,’ The Way 38:4 (1998, 321) “When a contemporary man looks down into his psyche, he may, if conditions are right, find under the water of his soul, lying in an area no one has visited for a long time, an ancient hairy man… For generations now, the industrial community has warned young businessmen to keep away from Iron John, and the Christian church is not too fond of him either.” Robert Bly, Iron John: Men and Masculinity (1990, 5-6) “I am convinced that there is a direct psychodynamic connection between the formation of the melancholy self and the ways in which men are religious… the impulse of moral rectitude, the impulse of searching and questing, and the impulse that challenges the seriousness of the other two.” Donald Capps, Men and their Religion (2002, 27, 102) “In the struggle to develop a male spirituality for today, two of the emerging trends are to see, more and more clearly, that men do have an innate hunger for God… and that spirituality needs to be broken out of isolation and connected to every important aspect of a man’s life… I believe that accepting one’s masculinity ought to include accepting one’s inclination to be strong, take responsibility, hone a lucid mind, develop a warmth that mixes desire and tenderness, and make a virtue of the frequently more limited emotional range that, compared to women, men seem to exhibit.” John Carmody, Toward A Male Spirituality (1989, 73, 94-95) “The silence of Adam is the beginning of every man’s failure, from the rebellion of Cain to the impatience of Moses, from the weakness of Peter down to my failure yesterday to love my wife well… Since Adam every man has had a natural inclination to remain silent when he should speak… Men are uniquely called to remember what God has said and to speak accordingly, to move into dangerous uncertainty with a confidence and wisdom that comes from listening to God… Spiritual manhood involves the courage to keep on moving – in the middle of overwhelming confusion – toward relationships.” Larry Crabb, The Silence of Adam (1995, 12, 14) 53
Page 1 and 2: Disbanded Brothers - Has a ‘Femin
Page 3 and 4: “What it means to be a man under
Page 5 and 6: LIST OF TABLES Table Page I. Variat
Page 7 and 8: CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Incre
Page 9 and 10: spirituality - especially masculine
Page 11 and 12: 2005 estimates that men constituted
Page 13 and 14: 3.2.3 Variations by Denomination TA
Page 15 and 16: from the research survey. However,
Page 17 and 18: Whilst there have undoubtedly been
Page 19 and 20: 4.2 A Derived Definition of Feminis
Page 21 and 22: Jesus, Friend forever. (Repeat) Wha
Page 23 and 24: countryside),” 21% of women also
Page 25 and 26: has found that “where there is a
Page 27 and 28: 4.4 Some Survey Indicators of Femin
Page 29 and 30: CHAPTER FIVE ANDROGYNY - A FURTHER
Page 31 and 32: But to the extent that the androgyn
Page 33 and 34: 5.3 Consequences of Denying Gender
Page 35 and 36: CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSION This paper h
Page 37 and 38: Clare (2000) Clare, Anthony, On Men
Page 39 and 40: Murphy (1994) Directions for Men’
Page 41 and 42: May-June 1991, pp.591-593 Sheppard
Page 43 and 44: APPENDIX 1 SURVEY AIMS AND METHODOL
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Page 47 and 48: APPENDIX 3 SURVEY RESULTS Church In
Page 49 and 50: "The church today is a patriarchal
Page 51: Males constitute an estimated 38% o

Disbanded Brothers – Has a ‘Feminised’ Church Alienated Men in the UK?

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