Sunday, September 5, 2010

A Book on Being Catholic for Men Only


From For Men Only: Strategies for Living Catholic, by Mitch Finley:

The approach of this book is christological. Jesus of Nazareth was a man and Christian men should look to him as their model. Catholic women may–indeed, must–do the same, but how they do this is not this book's concern. Is it significant that Jesus of Nazareth was a man and not a woman? Let scholars of both sexes wrestle with this question, and good luck to them all. Jesus of Nazareth was a man, the Gospels take his maleness for granted, and this book looks to the Jesus of the Gospels for insights into a man's approach to being a Catholic and a Catholic approach to being a man.
Mind you, the maleness of Jesus is no reason for men to boast or women to be offended. It is simply an objective historical fact, and there is no reason to pretend otherwise. Jesus' maleness is not irrelevant. We acknowledge the fact of Jesus' maleness and pay close attention to see if there is something men can learn from this fact. Both men and women need to develop psychologically healthy and theologically sound ways to relate to the historical fact that Jesus was male. This book should be taken as a male contribution to that project.


To learn more about this book, or to purchase a copy, click here: For Men Only.