Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/wild-at-heart-after-25-years/ 

This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org

*Editor’s Note: How should Christians view masculinity? As something godly to be cultivated? As something toxic to be suppressed? John Eldredge’s 2001 New York Times bestseller Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul gave millions of young men permission to pursue adventurous, valiant masculinity. At the same time, some within evangelicalism accused the book of dangerous implications, even excusing violence and the viewing of women as commodities. In this article, Jeremy Bacon, author of Sermon on the Mount: 40 Days of Learning the Ways of the Kingdom, weighs in on what Eldredge’s landmark book says well—and what it could say better.

I read Wild at Heart shortly after it came out almost 25 years ago. I hadn’t put much thought into what it means to be a man, so Eldredge’s analysis hit me like a lightning bolt. It resonated. I did see in myself a desire to fight a battle, to live an adventure, and to love a beauty. What stunned me and took the Christian world by storm was his argument that in Christianity these impulses find their deepest fulfillment.

Now that I have sons on the cusp of manhood, I revisited the book (the expanded edition), and a lot has changed. Our old cultural scripts for masculinity and femininity are being revised. Unfortunately, the new script for women is about fifteen years ahead of the one for men. Never has masculinity been more homeless. This disorientation (“Where do we fit? What is our role?”) is causing a backlash as many men cling violently to the most oppressive and alienating features of the old model. Welcome to the age of “toxic masculinity.” Yet the counter-reaction to this backlash comes dangerously close to acting like all masculinity is toxic. You can’t tell half a society that they have no constructive role to play and expect that to end well.

Listen for more...

Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/

Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/

Get our Premium podcast feed featuring all the breakout sessions from the RENEW gathering early. 

https://reallifetheologypodcast.supercast.com/ 

Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media! 

You can find us on: