In The 13th Warrior, the heroes are a group of rough battle-ready warriors. The viewer of the movie is shown a culture where men live, not for comfort, but for a new challenge. A culture where luxury is rejected in favor of struggle and adventure. They value teamwork and camaraderie and rely on each other for their very lives. Even the physical depiction of the characters as large, strong, hairy, lumbering men is a huge contrast to the popular skinny, weak, and gender-ambiguous male leads we know today (More and more I keep finding myself asking “Is that a man or a woman?”). At the end of the movie, I always feel like I just watched a pretty accurate depiction of male utopia.

The de-masculization of male spirituality in modern culture is a running theme of mine. The strength of the male spirit has been stifled and replaced with sentimentality. Male relationships are designed to grow from conflict, as iron sharpens iron. But we live in such a non-confrontational culture, men rarely take the effort to form the powerful brotherly bonds that allow men to work as a team and create strong communities.

There is a true masculine mysticism in The 13th Warrior that adds additional value to the story. The main character learns for himself to overcome his own whiny sanctimonious spirituality. Ending with what is one of my favorite prayers, he realizes that comfort and wealth mean nothing to compared to one’s character:

Merciful father. I have squandered my days with plans of many things.
This was not among them.

But at this moment, I beg only,
to live the next few minutes well.

For all we ought to have thought and have not thought.
All we ought to have said and have not said.

All we ought to have done and have not done.
I pray thee, God for forgiveness.

Technorati Tags: Christian Mysticism, Masculine Mysticism, masculinity, the 13th warrior

And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. – Jesus Christ, Matthew 10:38

“Now gird up your loins like a man…” – God speaking to Job, Job 38:3

Men and women experience God differently, likewise God requires different things from men and women. God has both feminine and masculine aspects, so men and women will each relate to parts of God the other does not. I am writing this article for what I see as a seriously lacking element in the modern male’s mystic experience… masculinity. Men today are losing touch with the manly aspects of God given to us when we were made in His image. Much of this is because men don’t even know what it means to be masculine anymore.

Two major forces have created this masculine crisis in today’s culture. First is the public school system which is being exposed more and more as favoring women (example). From childhood, men are denied and outlet, and punished, for their God given high-energy levels. We aren’t given the opportunity to work with our hands or labor with our fathers. The second is the sexual ambiguity pervading modern culture. Men are becoming more and more confused as to our roles in society.

I expect such issues from the world, but it pains me to see how it has effected our faith. So much of what I see in our modern Christian culture is weak and childish. The masculine aspects of spiritual have been at best forgotten, and at worst discouraged. Men are encouraged to be emotional and “transparent”, but not strong and courageous. We are encouraged to ask God for help and “give it up to God”, but not to face our struggles head-on.

This is not an either-or, I am not saying those things are bad. All truth is in paradox, and balance. There can be no gentleness without strength, weakness has nothing to sacrifice. The weak man who avoids a confrontation is a coward, but the strong man can bring the light of Jesus Christ when he turns the other cheek and then looks his enemy in the eye.

What father wishes his child to nurse on their mother’s breast their whole life? How much more then, does Our Father wish us to learn to stand on our own two feet. It is such a great deception to teach that true spirituality means we just let God do everything for us. We will bandage our child’s knee, but then ask them to get up and try again. How much more then, does Our Father help us when we need it and then ask us to “get up, and keep trying”.

I love how often God uses the phrase “gird your loins” when He talks to His prophets. So often the men of God come to cry about their plight, or plead for help, and God says “gird your loins”. We may start this life as infants, but God has much more in mind. It is a great example of what God is trying to make of us. Not babies, not even children, but men… men of God.

A Christian mystic is something of a spiritual masochist. We should revel in the challenges and tribulations of life, knowing that God is making something greater of us than we once were. We need to learn to pray, “God, give me the strength to preserver” instead of always saying “God, please save me”. Instead of whining, “God, why me?”, we need to learn to pray, “God, give me the will to go on”.

“Been beat up
Been broken down
Nowhere but up
When you’re facedown
On the ground
I’m in last place
If I place at all…
That’s the way, uh-huh, we like it!”
- Audio Adrenaline, album “Underdog”
(image at top from album)

Technorati Tags: christian mystic, Christian Mysticism, masculine, Masculine Mysticism, masculinity