Three Centuries of Masculinity in Crisis

Recently I watched this delightful video on the history of masculinity in English speaking lands by London historian and tour guide J Draper. In it Draper shows how masculinity has been in crisis ever since the term "masculinity" was coined in the mid-1700's. Now, the concept of "male" and "female", and diverse ideas about the archetypes that surround them, have been around in various languages in various societies as long as humans have gathered in socieities. So, the idea of certain traits associated with males and females and third gender categories were not suddenly invented in the 18th century. But what was crystallized around this time was a uniquely aristocratic Anglophonic aesthetic that was dubbed "masculinity" by which males were judged as "manly" (or not). And that aesthetic has been in crisis and constantly renegotiated ever since!

FAITH(FULNESS): Actively receiving God’s Grace

This is a sample chapter from my Systematic Theology project "Theology for Thriving". 📎MORE TO THE STORY notes are not part of the main text of the book, but additional resources, charts, or other materials from Biblical Theology class resources.

Hebrews 11.1-3, 6-10 [1] Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. [2] Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. [3] By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible... [6] And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. [7] By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith. [8] By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. [9] By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. [10] For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

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🗝️ Key Concept: Faith(fulness)

If Theosis is the ultimate destination on our spiritual map— the journey of participating in God’s own life— then how do we take the first step? How do we actively receive the grace that makes this journey possible? The answer is found in our key concept: Faith(fulness).

In our modern world, "faith" has often been reduced to a purely intellectual exercise. For many, it simply means believing a list of correct ideas about God, an assent to a set of facts. While what we believe certainly matters, this definition is a pale shadow of the rich, dynamic, and life-altering reality the Bible describes. To grasp the biblical concept, we have to see faith not just as a noun, but as a verb; not just as a belief, but as a way of being.

The Old Testament builds its understanding of faith on God’s own character. The Hebrew words for faith, emet and emunah, are rooted in the idea of firmness, reliability, and trustworthiness. Before the people of Israel are ever asked to have faith in God, the story first demonstrates that God is faithful to them. The LORD is the one who keeps promises, who shows steadfast love to a stubborn and unfaithful people. The prophets’ primary job was to call Israel back to a life of faithfulness that mirrored God’s own. The great hero Abraham is the prime example. His “faith” was counted as righteousness not because he passed a theology exam, but because his inner trust in God issued forth in the outward action of leaving his home and journeying into an unknown future, guided only by God’s promise.

The New Testament builds on this foundation. The Greek word for faith, pistis, carries this same dual meaning of trust and loyalty. Following the work of scholars like N.T. Wright, we can see that the gospel is not primarily about our faith in Jesus, but about the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the embodiment of God’s own covenant faithfulness, the perfectly loyal Israelite who succeeds where all others failed. It is His faithfulness that saves us and restores our broken relationship with God. Our response, then, is to participate in His faithfulness with our own. 

This is why the key concept for this chapter is the dual word "faith(fulness)": Because Jesus' faithfulness calls us to not only have faith in him, but practice faithfulness to him. This rich, biblical faith(fulness) has at least three interconnected dimensions:

• Cognitive: It includes our beliefs, the "what" of our faith. It is the intellectual assent to the good news that God, in Christ, has acted to save the world.

• Affective: It involves our hearts, the "who" of our faith. It is a radical trust in God’s goodness, a confident reliance on His presence and providential care in our lives.

• Volitional: It engages our will, the "how" of our faith. It is active loyalty, an obedient journeying with God as we seek to co-write our chapter of His redemptive story.

VIRTUE: Forming Godlikeness within ourselves

This is a sample chapter from my Systematic Theology project "Theology for Thriving". 📎MORE TO THE STORY notes are not part of the main text of the book, but additional resources, charts, or other materials from Biblical Theology class resources.

Galatians 5.16-25 [16] Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17] For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. [19] Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, [21] envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [22] By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. [24] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25] If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

🗝️ Key Concept: Virtue

We have explored what it means to be made right with God through righteousness. But this is just the beginning of our journey. Being made right is the foundation for becoming right: For growing into the person God created us to be. But how does this happen? How do we move from a legal status of forgiveness to a lived reality of goodness? The answer is through the cultivation of virtue. This isn't about becoming a stuffy, self-righteous person. Virtue is about becoming more fully, vibrantly, and joyfully human. It’s about forming Christlikeness within ourselves.

Virtue can be defined as Christlike character. More specifically, virtues are habits of the heart and dispositions of the mind that are lived out in our decisions, words, and actions, to lead us to thriving. They are the practical, tangible ways we become our truest and best selves as creative children of a creative God. The Apostle Paul gives a great summary of virtue when he encourages the Philippian church to focus their minds on whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).

In Christian thought, virtue is not something we achieve through sheer willpower. Instead, it is the natural result of God's own Spirit living and working within us. This is why Paul doesn’t call these character traits the "achievements of the disciplined" but the "Fruit of the Spirit." They are the evidence that Christ's life is taking root in our own. Paul’s deepest desire was to see this transformation happen in the communities he served. He tells the Galatians, “it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20), and he writes to them like a loving parent, saying he is “in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). This is the ultimate goal of the Christian life: To have the character of Jesus himself formed in us by the power of his Spirit.

Wisdom after Bulgakov: A Trinitarian Sophiology

I recently had an extended discussion with a couple of friends about the nature of Divine Wisdom, which is called Sophia (in Greek) and Hokhmah (in Hebrew). We find this Divine Wisdom as a feminine co-creator with God in Proverbs 8, and as the Creative Spirit sent by God to create and sustain the world in Wisdom 7. Indeed, Wisdom is strongly correlated as the character trait that is associated with God's Spirit and those indwelt by God's Spirit (cf. Deut. 34.9; Is. 11.2; Dan. 5.11, 14; Wis. 1.6; 7.7, 22; 9.17; Sir. 39.6; Acts 6.3, 10; 1 Cor. 2.4, 13; 12.8; Eph. 1.17). Anytime any person or chain of events is guided by God's will toward God's ends, this is the gift of Wisdom at work gently but persistently influencing things in a Godward direction. Thus, it is God's Spirit who is ultimately active to shape and mold and guide creation to fulfillment in its Creator, as the Spirit strives and suffers with us to bring about the new birth of Creation (cf. Romans 8).

The Ethics of Lesser Evils and Greater Goods

As an ethics teacher and pastor I have noticed that many people reflexively think most choices are a stark contrast between “good versus evil”. In reality, very few choices are that clear cut.

Stupidity as a gateway to Fascism

These excerpts on stupidity as a gateway to fascism are taken from a circular letter, addressing many topics, which was written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer to three friends and co-workers in the conspiracy against Hitler, on the tenth anniversary of Hitler’s accession to the chancellorship of Germany:

Core Values at TMI Episcopal

The following is a statement of the Core Values of TMI Episcopal which I developed over a period of several years while working with our Administration and Board of Governors. The Mission of TMI states that we are rooted in "values based on the teachings of Jesus Christ". The following five values are central to Christ's teachings, and form the Foundation that the Pillars of TMI are built upon. So these values can be adapted for presentations, publications, prayers, and programs, they are presented "telescopically": Each includes a memorable word, short definition, several bullet points of description, action steps, and a Scriptural study to illustrate what these values are. The purpose of these Core Values is to create a "moral compass" that guides our students to grow W.I.S.E.R. day by day, so we may become an excellent educational community which develops their full potential in service and leadership.

Theology and Compassion, Objectivity and Subjectivity

One of the pastoral and practical tools I use to evaluate theology— besides whether it is Biblical and Creedal and rooted in the Trinity and Incarnation— is this:

If you cannot preach it to hurting people, or pray it with a forgiving heart, it’s bad theology. If you won’t preach it, and can’t pray it, you shouldn’t believe it.

This is to say that our theology must integrate Christlike Compassion as its first and foremost effect on our life for it to be healthy theology.

The Most Damnable Reason

The most damnable reason for existing 

Is to be liked. 

Virtue, Vice, and Cognitive Distortions

The chart above is also available in an INTERACTIVE PDF with live links to Scriptures and online materials that elaborate the brief descriptions in the chart.

For a long time I have had a fascination with the intersection of Theology, Philosophy, Psychology, and Pastoral Care. As a pastoral counselor, I have always trended toward the insight from forms of Cognitive Therapy that we tend to make ourselves miserable by the way we think, and the distorted thought patterns that govern how we process reality. As a philosopher of ethics and moral theologian, I have always been drawn to virtue theory as a way to describe how a person becomes more (or less) Christlike. 

In the Catholic Tradition, this centers on the Seven Cardinal Virtues as descriptors of Christlike character, and the Seven Deadly Sins as descriptors of the vices that inhibit Christlikeness. In fact, the Bible is full of lists of virtues (which describe Christlike character) and lists of vices (which describe selfish and sick character). However, I prefer to adapt St. Paul's list of the "Fruit of the Spirit" (cf. Galatians 5.22-23) as a more robust description of Christlike Virtue, with a corresponding list of "anti-fruit" (or Vice) which describes unhealthy personality traits.

On Sickness, Healing, and Unforgiveness

“But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” (Jesus, according to Mark 3:29)

“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors... If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” (Jesus, according to Matthew 6:12–15)

Out of all the things Jesus said and did, at the top of his list were Love, forgiveness, and healing. Jesus taught and acted as if all things could be forgiven and healed, no matter how big or how small. From little children, to squabbling siblings, to women caught in immorality, to a thief dying on a cross, to his best friend denying him in his time of need: Jesus forgave everything, and healed everyone, out of his deep Love. 

All except for one thing.

Pontius Pilate and the inversion of Cynicism

One of the many things that interest me about the Passion narrative in the Gospel of John is how he writes Pilate. Pilate is the epitome of worldly wise, battle hardened, cynical wisdom. His one liners of “What is Truth?” (John 18.38) and “What I have written, I have written” (John 19.22) show us the sardonic gallows humor of a man who doesn’t believe anything anymore, except the power of power to crush and silence. And yet...

On making images

When taken at their best
Even idols give us glimpses
Of the God beyond words
And reveal that uncontained Other
Contained in matter and mind

And when pushed to their limits
Even the most accurate prose
And the most inspirational poems
Become idols
Which damn and destroy

That of which we cannot speak
We must pass over in silence
Except we can't not
Speak of what we have experienced
Except we can't not
Paint what we have seen
Except we can't not
Pray to the One
Who calls us from Beyond

Just because words
Always make us liars
Doesn't mean we can't use them
To point to the Truth

Just because images
Obstruct the Light
Doesn't mean we can't make them
To reflect the Sun.

Stay in the conversation!

Just found out that an old mentor of mine, who has taken a hard swerve to the Alt-Right, has blocked me on Facebook. I thought they had left FB, but a mutual friend said they are still on FB posting Alt-Right memes daily. It saddens me that political propaganda can make us so brittle, and our relationships so fragile, that we retreat into our safe spaces of only people who hold to the same dogmas we hold.

Now I have blocked people on FB too, but I think I have only blocked people who (a) were super-argumentative but not my friend in real life, and/or (b) were verbally abusive to me personally, and/or (c) advocated violence against persons they despise or disagree with. But as long as someone doesn't cross these boundaries, I stay in the conversation, even if I find most of their posts to be complete bovine excrement.

So, it saddens me when someone exiles themselves from relationships so their ideology will remain unchallenged. It can even mean a loss of memories and experiences that were only shared with that person. So, as I have said many times: Stay in the conversation, and learn how to debate using evidence and reason, instead of memes and insults.

A Politics of Virtue

I have been struggling for quite some time to figure out where I fit politically, and crystalize it into some coherent form I could communicate with others. After reading quite a bit from the Left, some from the Right, and a healthy smattering of Hauerwas, Radical Orthodoxy, and MacIntyre, I have come across a concept called by some "Politics of Virtue" (cf. Philip Blonde). I think this is a pretty good summary of where I am at.

So, before I give my summary statement, I would like to clarify two things: What I mean by "politics" and "virtue".

Ode to Infotainment

Ode to Infotainment
2011. Nathan L. Bostian

In an age of simple slogans and blustery books / How shall we show an argument's lame?

Some resort to snide sneers and haughty looks / But that only fans the emotional flame.

Some complain of ad hominems and ad hocs / But that sounds like an unending whine.

Some argue with evidence and logic / But that only casts pearls before swine.

Of all the ways one may disagree / With a pundit's pride and brawn:

I suppose the most effective may be / To simply shrug and yawn.