What is a Man?

For the past several years I've been noticing an increasing body of writings about "being a man". About 2 years ago, I read "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge.

This was really my first look at Christianity outside of the matriarchal structure that has shaped the way men are supposed to be and "tamed" them. Under the matriarchal structure, men become pets that can be fed and watered and shown off to your friends when they are "behaving" well. I immediately identified with many of the tenets of the book. But at the end of the book, I didn't feel I was any better prepared to be a real man than when I had first started.

Since then, I have been looking off and on for another book/study that might offer more practical insight into who God intends me to be as a man. Today, I think I may have found a study that will provide this direction, "What the Bible says about... Being a Man" by Richard Fugate.

Some comments from the back go like this:

• "...Christian books on manhood today tend to mimic the world's unbalanced view of masculinity. Instead of teaching men how to understand and overcome their macho, emasculated, or effeminate distortions, they encourage men to become more womanlike..."
• "...It explains systematically why real manhood has practically disappeared in our country,..."

Anyway, I look forward to beginning my study of this material tomorrow. I hope that in the ensuing weeks, my reports will show growth in answering the question, "What is a Man?"