Headship? Wives submitting to husbands? Yep, we're talking about Christian MASKulinity this week with the help of theologian and author Dr. James Spencer.

The hosts start out reflecting on how much Christianity has impacted not only their own lives but American life as a whole.

• What has our society retained as a nation founded by Chiristian men? The hosts set the stage for the conversation.
  • What exactly did these two former Christians learn about gender and masculinity in church? They share the views that their respective churches had on gender and how they were taught to be in that context.
  • When they compare their learnings and experiences to James’s biblical conclusion of what it means to be a Christian man, they discover key differences.
  • Men are expected to be the final decision maker on everything, and people will often turn to the Bible to prove that point. But what if that’s not what God intended? James gives us
• Where in the Bible does it say men should be in charge? When it comes to marital relationships, a very specific verse tends to come up to justify male leadership, but there seems to be some context missing. Samantha gives us the verse, and James fills in the blanks.
  • The idea of headship comes up consistently when folks say that men’s leadership is a biblical mandate. It’s not just because the biological essentialist claim that men are better leaders in the home, because they’re men; it’s also because God said so. But does the Bible actually back that up? James lets us know.
• Christian men don’t have to be married to have integrity with their faith.
  • James gives us insight into what different Christian masculinities can look like…

Referenced on this episode:

• Inclusivity & Gender in Christianity - Two religious leaders lend their thoughts to the gender debate in Christianity today
• Myths of Male Headship
• Dr. James Spencer’s podcast, Thinking Christian (Samantha mistakenly mentioned Christian First, which is the name of the framework he teaches courses in)

COMPANION PIECES:

• Notes on Christian MASKulinity - our new Substack piece
• The Anti-Anti-Porn Episode about Christian men and porn