Table of Content
Robert Lewis is really onto something here! John Eldridge, in Wild at Heart, talks about the systematic and comprehensive "demasculinization" of society. Boys are taught from a young age that they're not to act like boys. At the same time, our society praises the objectification of women and, through popular media, imply that manhood is something that is defined by the woman at your side. What a complete and ludicrous statement! Our boys don't ever have a transition - so we have a bunch of fully grown male homo sapiens that haven't stepped into their role as men.
Lewis also designs the book around four major "ceremonies" that he believes one might give their son. He defends the importance of ceremony for a man and gives PLENTY of examples to use or get your own creative juices flowing. My favorite line was "Live pure. Speak truth. Defend the right. Honor the King." An additional concept that some might challenge in Lewis' plan for modern-day knights, is his focus on loving a woman. In my own life, loving my wife has defined much of who I am as a man, but I'm not sure that every man will find the love of a woman as a key component of his service to Christ. I hope that as our boys grow up, they can become like knights - men that we are proud to have parented, that we can turn to and honestly say, "I'm very pleased with you."
Lists with This Book
I was also stricken by the power of ceremony and rites of passage and their nearly complete absence in modern America. We have fallen so far away and don't even realize it. It brought tears to my eyes about my own childhood and underscored both my duty to raise my sons and my startling lack of knowledge or preparation on how to do that.
It's a book about the importance of being a father of integrity. It's a book about how to give your son something that will allow him to become a man because he's been taught about becoming an adult, keeping him from having to figure it all out on his own. In much the same way, Raising a Modern-Day Knight will show how you, too, can confidently guide your son to the kind of authentic, biblical manhood that can change our world. Second, this book unexpectedly opened some deep wounds for me .
A Challenge to Families with Boys
Moreover, how do you as a father instill that reality in your son? If your son is pretty young, you may like to wait until they are old enough to grasp the manhood-definition ideals so they can help with the design. However, in the meantime, you might like to pull this site up as it is an easy interactive way to get them excited about being a part of the process. Below are helpful links and information to help kick start your project. Remember, this is a process—nothing that has a deadline. However, it should put some ‘flesh & bones’ to your discussion with your sons about the four definitions of manhood.
No person or animals were hurt for this blog post . Overall, I recommend this book for parents of boys. The constant mention of affirming your son to his manhood. This is exactly why men become stalkers and killers of their girlfriends/wives. Because they lost validation of their wonderful masculinity and their "manly" nature makes them act. And all the above is only half way in the book.
Raising A Modern Day Knight Defined
While of course teaching the bible throughout the whole book. I enjoyed the themes in this book very much. I think it present Biblical manhood without trying too hard to be macho or overstate the point. The focus on explicitly teaching concepts is welcome advice, and the concept of having ceremonies to mark important stages is certainly one to consider. The tone is challenging without being aggressive, and I would give the overall themes of the book five stars. The book pulled on my heartstrings and really led me to want to encourage my husband to be a more involved force in our sons' lives.
They have formed a fellowship with which to hold each other accountable – to create moments together where rites of passage can be documented and boys can turn into men through ceremonies and training. The author's larger point about being proactive and 'strategic' fathers is well taken, and there are lots of good practical suggestions to help raise boys into 'authentic' men. I ordered this book as a mom of 3 boys.
The medieval custom of knighthood offers a unique approach to shaping a boy into a strong, godly man. Centuries ago, select boys went through a rigorous, years-long process of clearly defined objectives, goals, and ceremonies—with the hope of achieving knighthood. Along the way, the boys acquired a boldly masculine vision, an uncompromising code of conduct, and a noble cause in which to invest their lives.
If you are around us, you will hear us encouraging our boys to be dangerous. We purposefully try to NOT say, “Be careful.” While we don’t want them to get hurt, we also don’t want them to fear life. My three boys deserve my very best as a Father and Man.
In this book, the author shares that no one ever told him when he officially became a man or what it meant. He and his friends were inspired to create an experience for their sons, akin to the journey a boy took to become a knight. This book shares their story, examples of what they did, and ways that you could do the same.
What a powerful, life changing moment that really can be so simple. However, there are two things that take the book down a notch. For one, he urges men to build a strong network that will provide for accountability, encouragement, and support. In the time that has passed since he began his friendship with the men in his circle, time and culture have made it more difficult for men to form tight bonds. The second issue I have is that there is more must go into a father/son relationship for all the training and ceremony to truly take hold. Admittedly, that could be covered outside of this book, but I still think that there is some foundational work that must be done for these lessons to have the impact he describes.
God has given us a wonderful son, we are blessed, but we also want to do all we can, that God calls us to do, to help him as he transitions to manhood. May I challenge you to invest in your sons and teach them how to be a Modern Day Knight in our technology driven society. Our journey initially led us to A Family Guide of Biblical Holidays. There are lots of other areas that I took note of, specifically leveraging other men to formally assist in raising your son. The only mention of a gay person is someone who, oh what a disgrace! Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
No comments:
Post a Comment