Boys will be Boys, and Other Myths , livre ebook

Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd - Will Moore

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96 pages

English

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Throughout history, we have exalted and theologised about men like Adam or David to the point where we have become oblivious to the fact that they are far from perfect role models for Christian manhood. Failing to read scripture properly, we have used it to shape a distorted understanding of masculinity.
Stretching from issues of violence, emotional and sexual abuse, the desire for power, homophobia, and the suppression of emotions, Will Moore draws from scholarship, personal stories, and popular culture to offer an honest and accessible insight into the toxic myths which frame how w e read scripture. Only when we expose these myths, he argues, can we start to see the authentic men staring straight back at us from the pages of our bibles, and be able to reshape the way in which we produce Christian men today, tackling the violence that is being done by men to themselves and others.

Sujets

Religion

Hermeneutics

Exegesis

Philosophie et théologie

Biblical Studies

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Publié par	Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd
Date de parution	28 juillet 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780334063025
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,1600€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Boys Will Be Boys, and Other Myths
Unravelling Biblical Masculinities
Will Moore

© Will Moore 2022
Published in 2022 by SCM Press
Editorial office
3rd Floor, Invicta House,
108–114 Golden Lane,
London EC1Y 0TG, UK
www.scmpress.co.uk
SCM Press is an imprint of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd (a registered charity)

Hymns Ancient & Modern® is a registered trademark of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd
13A Hellesdon Park Road, Norwich,
Norfolk NR6 5DR, UK
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of
the publisher, SCM Press.
Will Moore has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the Author of this Work
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations indicated with ‘NIV’ are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The ‘NIV’ and ‘New International Version’ are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
978-0-334-06300-1
Typeset by Regent Typesetting
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd

Contents
Preface and Acknowledgements

1. Boys Will Be Boys: Introduction
2. Men Are Built Better: Adam
3. Men On Top: Moses
4. Violence Is Manly: David
5. Men Know Best: Job
6. Boys Don’t Cry: Jeremiah
7. Men Are Unbeatable: Jesus
8. Men Don’t Doubt: The Disciples
9. Bottle It Up: Paul
10. A Manly God: Conclusion

Bibliography
Further Reading and Resources
Glossary

Preface and Acknowledgements
I cannot even begin to describe how surreal it feels to have written a book and to have it openly available to be read by others. It is an achievement that I only ever imagined as an unlikely fantasy. I am grateful to God that I have had this opportunity to share my insights and reflections on masculinity and the Bible. I pray that my words will make at least a small ripple in the pool of the world, even if it only speaks to just one person who is struggling with what it means to be a Christian man today.
The main reason for writing this book was the fascination and captivation I had during my four years at university studying theology. I had been a Christian all my life and yet I barely knew anything about the Bible (rather typical of a Church of England upbringing, I must add). Yet, in those four years of research and study, my eyes were opened. I found a passion for a subject that was still relatively new to me. A lecturer’s whizzing tour of the texts and overarching narrative of the Bible in no less than 50 minutes had me entranced. A couple of years later I had my undergraduate degree dissertation published as a chapter in an academic volume and my master’s degree dissertation published as an academic journal article, with a few other publications and media and speaking appearances scattered along the way. I have been so lucky to have had these opportunities and they have always given me a hunger for more research, study and sharing of knowledge and experience. This yearning has led me to this book.
And so, first and foremost, I would like to thank all those people who have been a part of my academic journey so far, particularly at Cardiff University (alongside St Padarn’s Institute and South Wales Baptist College) during my time studying for a BA and an MTh. Without those tutors, colleagues and friends who have intellectually challenged, aided and inspired me (and continue to do so), I would not have been so motivated in my writing and thinking as to be able to write a book. I hope such stimulation will carry on as I continue my research and study while at Westcott House in Cambridge, and within the Cambridge Theological Federation, for my ordination training and formation.
I realized, however, that much of what I was immersing myself in was unknown to the rest of the Christian community. Why should such information be locked away, only for the eyes of those within the academic sphere? More bluntly, why should such knowledge only be available for those who pay thousands of pounds to access it? When I particularly began to study masculinities in the Bible, I was mesmerized by the work that was being done. However, on the ground level, Christians in churches were only just coming to terms with feminist readings of the Bible, and even that kind of theology still oozes with controversy in some settings.
In the churches I had been to, no one had really heard of queer theology (or had associated it solely with arguments of LGBTQ+ affirmation), let alone masculinity studies. I wanted to share the knowledge I had learnt, studied and researched with my fellow-Christians and students. I acknowledge that in the academic world these subjects are much more advanced and intellectually challenging, but if feminist theology had shared its teaching with Christians in an accessible way, why not masculinity studies? And that is what I want this work to begin to rectify. If academic theology performed by those of faith is not for the benefit of other Christians and the wider Church, who is it for? If it is not practical and consequential to our Christian living, what is it for? In many ways, the book I have written is the book I was looking for as I began my research into gender and masculinity studies in the area of theology.
However, I worried that such research would be of no interest to many Christians. Most people have had enough of talking about men after centuries of it, within church history in particular. When I was in the final stages of the first draft of this book, unsure whether I would ever put it forward for publication, I participated in a Zoom book launch (thanks to Covid-19!) with the Centre for the Study of the Bible and Violence. I posed a question about the responsibility of men in situations of domestic abuse in which the Bible was used as justification. I suggested that remedying the root cause of such violence might require a re-education of ‘Christian manhood’. After hearing some responses from the author and other academics and ministers, I received a private message from someone else in the Zoom meeting that I did not know. In their message, they applauded my question, suggesting that someone needed to write a book on this topic from a man’s perspective and that they would be eager to read it. In that moment, with an early draft of this manuscript tucked away in a virtual folder, I knew that this book might actually have an impact. Christians needed to know about the violence that men have been (and are) doing to themselves and others. I sensed that such a book might fill a void, even satisfy a hunger for a healthy and progressive re-understanding of Christian masculinity in the light of what the Bible has to say about it.
During the writing, this book has had much review and revision. I have immense gratitude for all those who have undertaken a thorough reading of the typescript and given generous feedback of these pages and the thoughts that lie within them. I am particularly thankful to David Shervington and the SCM Press team for believing in my words, as well as my dear friends Olly Hearn and Lottie Trombin for all of your wisdom and guidance in the reading of and conversations about this book. Drawn together, I have been offered an expansive pool of experience, academic learning, interest, insight and faithfulness that has been invaluable. Any errors that remain within these pages are, of course, solely my own.
The constant support and love of my family and friends has been integral to being able to write this book. My partner, Georgie Rose, has had incredible patience, love and grace to support me in this endeavour, while going through her own exciting journey of training to be a teacher. Her caring, listening ear, immeasurably loving heart, and fantastic sense of humour have been such a gift in my life that I can only hope to have returned half as much in hers. I look forward to seeing where God takes us together in the years to come. Thank you to my parents Gill and Barry Morgan for the stability, security and encouragement you have provided, particularly in recent years. I also wish to honour my Nana, Joan Cook. She has always been interested and engaged in my research and study, even if she does not always quite agree with its subject matter! She has a love for God that I will only ever be able to aspire to. Little did she know when she said ‘I think you could write a book’ that I was doing just that! I additionally want to thank my sister, dad and wider families for being a part of the journey of life that has made me who I am today.
The supportive friendship of many others has also been so valuable to me. I dare not begin naming them, for the list might never end and I will be sure to forget someone! However, I still wish to acknowledge the many conversations and much encouragement that I have had from friends in recent years, and I am sure many of them will know my appreciation for them, even if their names are not spelled out here.
I would also like to thank all those Christian communities of which I hav