Ingrained in human nature is the Natural Law. Men of right reason agree that God ingrained this moral law in our very nature. That we know it through Reason. Distinct from divine Revelation itself.
Christian philosophy calls this General Revelation, in contrast to Divine Revelation. God makes the moral order known to our human intellects. In our nature. Common sense itself is able to know it, without any book learning or having read the Bible. Therefore, there are fundamental Truths about Manhood we all can know under attack today.
Five Modern Errors about Manhood
1. True men should be uncivil (ie Jerks) = Falsehood. The de-evolution of Christian Manhood the last century or more has resulted in the view that a man you respect needs to be rude. If he isn’t rude, he is weak and will be dominated by rude men. Dog eat dog. Yet common sense says men must be Gentlemen. If they aren’t, marriages break apart, children stop talking to their father, men become isolated in themselves by work and alcohol addiction, bitter tumors of despair. Men must be civil, to lead by example.
2. A man is to be measured primarily by means of his financial fitness to provide a comfortable contemporary lifestyle = Falsehood. Such foolishness would render Christ Himself a loser, or for that matter His foster father Joseph, or the Apostles. Or 99% of men throughout history on all four corners of planet Earth. It is true, laziness, selfishness, and immaturity (what people used to call Vices) can be detected in a man by the fact he may be poor or unsuccessful, though historically most men are poor but neither lazy, selfish, nor immature or else civilization would never have arisen in the first place. But the Truth is that the measure of a man is his overall moral composition, his character. Good moral character is the primary determinant of a man’s value. Few men believe that anymore which makes them ignorant about life.
3. Men are equal to women in terms of financial and leadership roles = Falsehood. A man’s role in earning money and leading the family and society is superior to that of a woman. We have sacrificed traditional domestic tranquility in favor of weekly family dinners at Olive Garden, two brand new finances cars,, and the annual vacation to Disneyland. And men are to blame. By enabling women to have careers, we’ve destroyed traditional marriage and family life. Not to say no women should work ever, which obviously from history most women have to do some work outside the home at times. A true man is selfless and spiritual. He shuns the materialism imposed by our two income lifestyle. A true man does everything he can to provide a family wage so his wife doesn’t have to work full time, long term; but he doesn’t demand of himself, nor let modern culture demand of him an income that is the modern equivalent of a six figure two income lifestyle. A true man does not impose that on himself.
4. A man should be loud = Falsehood. If I had a dime for every loud, excessively talkative, blowhard man I’ve encountered, I could treat myself to an expensive steak dinner. With cocktails and a big tip for the waiter. We have come to venerate the man who dominates the conversation, to prove his intelligence or knowledge level. Most think that means a smart, wide man to follow. Yet, the true man is quiet, somewhat stoic. He is slow to speak, slow to react, careful with his words. He means what he says, and says what he means. Whether sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, or melancholic in temperament, men are by nature quiet. They are silent more often than they speak.
5. A real man puts religion to the side = Falsehood. Religion is treated as an emotional crutch, a sign of weakness. Because of materialism. Modern man has allowed himself to be reduced to a proletariat, one oriented totally to work and making money. Having an active devotion to your religion as central to your daily life is treated as a gigantic impediment to success. And achieving esteem from others. This is a poisonous lie. The true man lives for God, his faith, to save his soul, for his family, to help save their soul — everything in his life is ordered to those ends. Such a man is blessed with wisdom. The contrary is a fool.