By Dennis Rowan
October 10, 2004

"A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this." Deut. 22:5

Boys will be boys. At least that was a common statement when I was growing up in these West Virginia hills. We did the bold Halloween pranks, hunted ground hogs and squirrels, worked in the hay fields when every bale had to be manhandled about four times to get it stored in the barn. We built tree houses, dammed up the creek to make a swimming hole, hunted bull frogs with a flash light and a quick hand, and then brought 'em home and ate 'em. We went tent camping in a pasture field with the companionship of my Border Collie dog and we explored caves on three farms within walking distance of home. We still had some time to play high school sports and really felt like we had done something when we beat a team from a school with larger enrollment. Now days I guess you could say that some boys will be boys and others will be girls if the conditions so often thrust upon them in our current culture win out over the natural God given traits of males.

Women are nest builders and men are hunters. Women (we are excluding the dysfunction feminists here) are content to spend a lot of time around the nest, tidying up the place and taking care of the young members of the family. Men (we are excluding the sexually disoriented types here), on the other hand, are hunters. They do some serious thinking as they plan for the hunt; they love to stalk the game and then cherish the moment when they can squeeze the trigger. Triumph and bragging go hand in hand. Just drawing blood doesn't count. You have to have the game in hand. Okay, so most men don't really hunt, but they have that same mentality in a pickup game of basketball, or while cheering their football team on TV. Men are competitive. They like the challenge. They don't like contests that end in loss or a draw; they want to win.

It is no secret than the American male has been feminized during the past 30 years or so. Individuality is out; group think is in. Heterosexuality is boring; homosexuality, lesbianism, and other perverted forms of sexuality are even becoming a part of classroom instruction. Kids are encouraged to have sexual experiences with members of the same sex to determine if they might be gay. How sick!

Butt kickin' is out; sensitivity is in. (i.e. We must be sensitive to other cultures. Let's not call the men who crashed planes into buildings in New York City and Washington, D.C. on 9/11/01 Islamic terrorists. We must understand their culture). How warped is that attitude? I say blast away and ask questions later if you still think it is necessary.

This writing is not meant to dwell on all the politically correct madness in our culture. Most readers are aware of that, but we should be aware of the circumstances that preceded this cultural decay and the feminizing of our boys. Glenn Sacks, who discusses men's and father's issues through his writing and radio broadcasts cited some interesting information about how boys and girls related differently to the elementary classroom. The boys tend to have more behavioral problems and are "four times as likely to receive a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as girls." Ritalin has been in the news for many years and the consensus among sane people is that kids, mostly boys, are being drugged to modify their behavior. I think Glenn Sacks was correct when he stated that "Success in school is tightly correlated with the ability to sit still, be quiet and complete work."

I have read a lot about the history of schooling in America, and I have also sought information about the history of the Church. I think there is a disturbing similarity in the way each is conducted. For many generations people where taught by parents, mentors, and private tutors. There were no special buildings for teaching the young and no large classrooms. The public school system started a little more than 150 years ago. Church buildings have been around longer, but Christianity was about 300 years old before special meeting places were constructed. Today, large consolidated schools and mega-churches are commonplace.

Here's my point; the "sit down and be quiet" mode amidst a large group doesn't go over any bigger with men in church pews than it does with young boys in the school classroom. I speak from experience when I say that Christianity has to be more than sitting with a large number of people listening to one man talk, and then coming back again next week to hear the same man talk again. Men are doer's, red meat eaters. Lets hunt, let's burn some energy, let's battle, let's conquer; enough of just listening to somebody talk. Let's go do something for crying out loud! Its no wonder pastors find it difficult to get men to provide leadership in the church. Men want to do something besides teach Sunday school and rearrange the tables and chairs in the fellowship hall. Those are honorable duties, but it's akin to cuttin' bait. Enough already, lets go fishing!

Life is not about sitting still and being quiet. The school and Church make that same mistake. After a couple generations of training boys to be passive, we arrive at the point where we have grown girlie-men; men who have been told to be tolerant and sensitive to perverted cultures and perverted individuals. Some of these girlie-men are entertainers, politicians and news people (70% of the editors at The New York Times are homosexuals). Why read that girlie-men rag? I don't mean to imply that all girlie-men are homosexual, but in some respects they have a feminine mindset, a timidness toward adventure into uncharted territory. Christian men are told to be bold, but rarely shown how by Christian leaders. By contrast, during the Revolution War pastors preached but they also fought. Look at this example:

If I'm right about boys and men, then how can we change things? First, we must get a grip on how we got here. Next we should abandon public schools. Our state run schools are not Christ centered, and that should be adequate reason for bold, God-fearing Christian leaders. After educating yourself about how we got to the girlie-man stage, and have removed the kids from public schools you are ready for the third step. Do something different. If you don't know what to do, start something! And I mean start something worthwhile like helping the neighbor in need. While colleges and government agencies are holding classes and seminars on cultural diversity, anger management and sensitivity training why not take your son hunting and kill something you can skin and cook. Throw the sissified Game Boys in the trash can, put some work boots on that boy and go tackle a job that would rip his sneakers to shreds. Above all else, read and study the Bible and try to understand how men can be conquerors when they put their trust in Jesus Christ.