With the outright attacks on manliness represented by gender-neutered translations, and the general unconcern over this issue, I have decided to highlight example of manliness in Scripture. My first example comes from the book of Job in which Job goes toe to toe with God like an ancient Greek hero. God, for his part, comes back at him with a blast of undiluted masculinity.

How tall was David?  All the authoritative flannelgraphs I have seen have him looking rather slight and runty.    But when reading through 1^st Samuel recently, I started thinking (which would account for the aroma of burning).

On a scale of 1 to 10, how manly is God? This is an idea that has been growing on me for some time now. I want God to be manly. During our men’s Bible study at church a man at my table put a label on his notebook that reads, “Biblical Leadership for Men.” The “for Men” leapt off the page at me. This Bible study isn’t the ordinary, gender-neutralized Bible study. It is for men. Our pastor is determined to lead the men of our church to be leaders of our families. It was during our weekly men’s Bible study that I realized the scope of this need. We have forty to fifty men at a men’s Bible study in a church of 200.

I suggested the idea to my wife that men want God to be manly, and a pained look flickered across her face. She considered “manly” a belittling adjective for God. But God repeatedly identifies himself as Father. I crave a hero, someone whom I can pattern my life after. Can God be this hero?

The issue of copyrights is a difficult subject in the church today. It is not difficult because everyone is talking about it, but for precisely the opposite reason: no one is talking about it when everyone should be talking about it. Churches can take a variety of approaches for assuming that copyright laws do not apply to them. They could simply remain blissfully ignorant. They could argue that the church is using their money more wisely by not paying royalties. Or they could argue that churches are just special and should not have to obey the copyright laws. But none of these are good reasons. Churches should be at the forefront of those setting the example of following the law in this area. How do churches break copyright rules and what can they do? Read on.

Charlie recently offered a posting on the Trinity (don't miss Tom's comment to that post either).  I had been working on one concerning practical ways of applying the Trinity so that follows below.  Generally, the Trinity is considered one of the more (perhaps, most) esoteric and abstract Christian doctrines.  To test the relationship between doctrine and practice, we might as well see what, if any, practical difference the doctrine of the Trinity might make in our lives.  Besides, in one of Millard Erickson’s books (it was on the Trinity), he comments that Kant thought the Trinity the epitome of meaningless, impractical Christian doctrine – and who can resist giving it to a hoity-toity philosopher who can’t possibly respond or find out where I live?