'Braveheart' Becomes Role Model for Christian Men

[Kire]

'Braveheart' Becomes Role Model for Christian Men

Sat Jan 22, 9:22 AM ET
By Nigel Hunt

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Movies like "Braveheart" and "Legends of the Fall" are on the viewing list for men in a growing Christian movement that calls for them to throw off their "nice guy" personas and emulate warriors.


The book which inspired the movement, John Eldredge's "Wild at Heart," has already sold 1.5 million copies in English and been translated into 16 languages, most recently Korean.

Eldredge believes many Christian men have become bored, "really nice guys" and invites them to rediscover passion by viewing their life's mission as having a battle to fight, an adventure to live and a beauty to rescue.

"The modern era has brought up immense conveniences but at what price. The human heart is desperate for something more than a quicker serving of popcorn," Eldredge said in a recent interview.

Eldredge calls on men to be prepared to take risks and rediscover their dreams but does not provide a specific route to find, for example, an adventure to live. Career, marriage and family become heroic quests rather than chains which bind.

He focuses on how men can become less passive and "engage" those around them, particularly their wives and children.

"The guy who sits in front of the television is unengaged. That man is a bad man. They (children) need engagement whether it is playing on the floor with your 1-year-old or tougher games when they are 15 (years old)," he said.

Eldredge said he has been astounded by the response to his book with momentum gathering steadily since the book was published in 2001 by Christian publisher Thomas Nelson.

Men have been flocking to retreats and forming small groups to study it. Some are organized by Eldredge and his team, but many are just informally arranged by readers of the book. These groups have sprung up as far away Kazakhstan and even among tribes along the Amazon River in South America.

"It has become something of a grass-roots wildfire," Eldredge said.
More: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=572&e=1&u=/nm/religion_wildatheart_dc

[theresistance]

1. The English propaganda could have called Braveheart

a "terrorist" or an "insurgent" or something. It all depends on your point of view. It's sort of like how British people now consider Queen Boadicea (not sure of spelling) as some sort of a hero for fighting the Romans. Heaven's above, she was a bloodthirsty brute if I ever saw one. She would be like if the resistance in Iraq defeat the Americans, march into Baghdad and slaughter every single person. Sure they might kill selective people, but they wouldn't slaughter everyone like she did in London.

[Dead_Parrot]

2. Meanwhile...

Presumably Christian women have to throw off their "emancipated" personas and hang around all day doing needlework waiting for hubby to come home after a hard day fighting injuns.

[Dead_Parrot]

3. Oops... nt

[T_i_B]

4. Er...no

Christianity for me is about the opposite. If anything it might be better from Christianity to rediscover monasticism but not this.

Christ taught us to turn the other cheek, to love our neighbour and to give to others. St Paul teatches us this in Galatians

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=galatians%205;&version=31;

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23gentleness and selfcontrol. Against such things there is no law.
24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

The New Testament is hardly an ode to masculinity. It is about humility and gentleness. That is what we as Christians need to rediscover.