Friday, November 29, 2013

"Liberty for Captives" and Stephen A. Smith

Watch out for this guy. In a good way. Watch out for him like you would a deep discount at Macy's. Watch out for him like you would a trooper on the highway. Watch out for him like your impending cruise to Alaska. Watch out for him like an article that seals your doctoral research. His name is Stephen A. Smith. He is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M.) and he writes at a blog entitled Liberty to the Captives. A  recent article of his entitled The Myth of Biblical Manhood has turned a great deal of attention his way. Rarely will you read a writer that combines world history, wit and humor, as well as a profound commitment to the truth of Scripture. Watch out for the writings of Stephen A. Smith. He has a bright future and I think his blog is a temporary way station until he gets on the book train. The sooner the better!

12 comments:

Victorious said...

Having just recently found great sales at Macy's, I can assure you they brought nowhere near the satisfaction or joy reading Stephen's "The Myth of Biblical Manhood" did!

Interesting comments (over 300) by a number of "manly men" defending their heroes. :)

Thank you so much for this post!

Aussie John said...

Wade,

Read Stephen's article. Agree with your comments.

Seems as if a lot of "manly" Christians weren't impressed by his representing four views representing their gurus, who, in turn, obviously represent many of we who claim to be Christian, including those who commented.

I was each of them at varying stages of my 63 years of being a follower of Christ,during some of the years of pastoral ministry as well.. I'm still aiming to be more like "Josh" in the story.

What a terrible mistake we make when we settle into a theological/denominational position in which we are comfortable, and imagine we have found truth.

Tango Whiskey said...

Thanks for pointing me to Stephen Smith's blog. I love what I have read there. BTW I also love your blog. The football blog and related comments were quite interesting to read. I appreciate how you always respond gracefully to your critics. I hope to grow in that area!

Victorious said...

Off topic...

I can't get the blog search feature to work. :(

Wade Burleson said...

Victorious,

Thanks for the heads up. The problem must be with Google. I removed it, re-added it, and still have the same problem. I will test it again in a couple of days.

Wade

Victorious said...

Thanks, Wade. I use that feature lots! :)



Anonymous said...

I didn't finish the article.

It seemed slanted, nasty spirited, and aimed at making fun of anything traditionally masculine.

I may not agree with the fab four of Biblical manhood, but I'd much prefer to watch Duck Dynasty than to read this sort of article:)

Linda

Wade Burleson said...

Linda,

Hmmm. I didn't get the same feeling as you. I love manliness as much as the next guy. What I don't understand is the American cultural view of manliness passed off as biblical.

Thanks for the comment.

Anonymous said...

Pastor Wade--I totally agree with you that what passes as manliness in the USA today isn't always all that Biblical.

But then, I found the article totally unbiblical in that seemed to have as its intent ridiculing and being sarcastic in regards to other human beings. Not at all Christlike.

It was once my distinct privilege to sit under the preaching of a man who was very bookish, not into hunting and fishing, etc. He was extremely effective at reaching the raunchiest in the oilfield because he treated all with dignity and respect, the true marks of a man.

So as I said, not impressed with the fab four of Biblical manhood, but not impressed either with the putdown gurus. Never found Don Rickles funny, myself, either.

Unapologetic however that there is nothing wrong with that stereotyped manly man as long as he is under the Lordship of Christ. He isn't the only manly man around, but he isn't evil either.

Linda

Victorious said...

But then, I found the article totally unbiblical in that seemed to have as its intent ridiculing and being sarcastic in regards to other human beings. Not at all Christlike.

You mean ridicule and sarcasm like when Jesus called the Pharisees a brood of vipers, white-washed tombs, blind guides, hypocrites, and lovers of the chief seats in the synagogues?

They had a strong commitment to obeying the law of God, but totally missed it in some areas and Jesus was not afraid to call them out on their warped views.

Jesus didn't mince His words when correcting some erroneous teachings.

Anonymous said...

Dallas Theological doesn't offer a M.Div ... try again. They offer a Th.M ... In any event Steve is another excellent product of DTS.

Wade Burleson said...

Anonymous,

Thanks. Masters of Theology and Masters of Divinity are similar, but different. Corrected.