Defending Good Men: A Review of The Toxic War on Masculinity
by Josiah Hasbrouck, Juicy Ecumenism:
In her new book The Toxic War on Masculinity, evangelical scholar Nancy R. Pearcey provides a thoughtful and factually grounded rebuttal to popular narratives about manhood.
A key theme in the book is the juxtaposition of two archetypes for manhood: the Good Man and the “Real” Man. The Good Man is identified by universal moral virtues, summarized in the broader categories of responsibility and generosity. The “Real” Man, in contrast, is identified by attributes of machismo, not virtue.
Pearcey proposes that Christians ought not reject masculinity, as some in our culture would have us do. Instead, we ought to embrace the model of the virtuous Good Man, not a normative model of the too-often-vicious “Real” Man. When men sin, the problem is not their masculinity (as culture around us would have us believe), it is their sin.
Unfortunately, she notes, many voices today argue that the sins of men are the result of masculinity itself. Because of this, popular voices often neglect to observe that men are doing worse than women on various metrics including education, life expectancy, mental illness, drug addiction, incarceration, and suicide. Instead of seeking to address these issues, many people continue to villainize men.
Pearcey also addresses how men and women relate to the biblical metanarrative of Creation, Fall, and Redemption. Scripture teaches that men and women are created different from each other, yet both are created in the image of God and called to fulfill the cultural mandate. The Fall has hindered our ability to live this out, but through God’s redemption, men and women can live in accordance with God’s original design.
Pearcey divides the majority of the book into three parts. In Part One, she examines social science data and biblical principles, arguing against the popular narrative that Christian teaching about gender roles is necessarily oppressive or abusive. The biblical vision is more positive, she says, and Christians today are embodying this vision.
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