Real Men, Manly Men

Donald,

What movie is that clip from in your first comment?

I have to say, I too wonder if this is something of a joke. Commentary with a sword? Now, don’t get me wrong – I am a swordphile myself, and I consider fencing to be the only sport I can actually play well – but come on.

The truth of the message of the commentary was somewhat lost. Certainly we do not need to see the brandishing of a weapon to make the point about masculinity. In fact I think it trivializes it. And I wouldn’t want women to get the unfortunate notion that weapons are for men only!

I can’t quite tell if the sword-wielding Catholic gentleman in the above video is joking or not when he complains about feminists and homosexuals making a mockery of modern men: I fear not.

The sword is a recurring theme in men’s ministries, as I note in my book, Numen, Old Men:

‘Once men have been released from “mediocre lives into lives of excellence” by Real Man Ministries, the men receive a Real Man Sword symbolizing the Sword of Truth. A sword is also the emblem of Faithful Men Ministries. Both Faithful Men Ministries and Real Man Ministries swords are Richard Lionheart swords, an aesthetic beloved by extremist right-wingers with a propensity to violence. Honorbound, a significant men’s ministry of the Assemblies of God has a logo of a crusader shield and they continue the theme with their “Raise an Army” conferences. Honorbound’s accompanying music CDs Raise an Army and Take the Nations again carry graphics of crusader swords. Some Honorbound promotional material is quite fanciful in this respect. Their Rise Up and Do Battle poster depicts a clean-cut individual in a battle stance with his sword: he stands upon an apocalyptic scene of ruin, above him ascends a muscular Aryan angel, also carrying a sword. Champions of Honor ministry also use a shield as their logo and their founder, Chuck Brewster (the ex-United States Secret Service Special Agent), is shown wielding a sword.’ (pp. 64-5)

And if you connect the dots to where wielding shiny swords leads…

‘Ann Burlein (2002) charts the intersection of the Christian Right and white supremacists, whose strategies share some disturbing commonality with men’s ministries. Burlein looks at two case studies, one “hard” and one “soft”: Pete Peters of Christian Identity and James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Dobson has written several books about Christian masculinity (Dobson 1975, 2001, 2003 and 2005) and is often referred to within men’s ministry material. We have already seen how men’s ministries have a penchant for swords and knights, and it is possible to identify a similar attraction with Christian Identity-aligned ministries similar to Peters’. Church of the Sons of YHVH/Legion of Saints employs the “sword of truth”. Kingdom Identity Ministries shows a sword-wielding knight. The Scriptures For America logo employs a sword, as does The Church of Jesus Christ Christian/Aryan Nations, not to mention the crusader aesthetics of those others upholding white Christian ideals: Stormfront and the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.’ (p. 66).

Then you got yourself some family values!

“Real men” do not go about pointing out how brave and manly they are. They just do their thing.

It may perhaps be best summed up by the wife who says [or quietly thinks] of her husband” He’s a jackass but he’s my jackass”.

The subject was well discussed in Fritz Stern’s THE FLIGHT FROM WOMAN.

Yeesh, the sword was just a prop. I suppose if you were to ask the man why he thought to use it as prop he would tell you he was just thought it would provoke thoughts of chivalry; of strong, principled, and caring Christian men who are willing to use their strength and talents in sacrifice for others. ‘Twas no big deal, really, other than it probably turned out to be a mistake. A mistake that in turn proves his point to a degree.

I really hope I’m not being misunderstood here as being, lol, anti-sword.

I’m just saying, I wouldn’t speak about masculinity with one on my hand. That’s all.

“There is nothing wrong with the sword as a symbol; it is the noblest weapon, requiring the most skill and grace to wield.”

Au contraire –

1. Those who use the sword, die by the sword.
2. The noblest weapon, requiring the most skill and grace to wield is: The Cross! That’s why we need the Holy Spirit to do so!