12/30/2023 0 Comments Knighthood ceremonyOur culture is in deep trouble, and at the heart of its trouble is its loss of a vision for manhood. In his enthusiastic foreword to Robert Lewis’s book, Raising a Modern-Day Knight, Stu Weber writes: Young men are intrigued by testing themselves against various standards, and the code is inspiring because of its rigor and strictness. Knighthood is attractive because of its code and its call to courage and honor. Since the Middle Ages these men in iron have fired the imaginations of young men. ![]() This is where the image of the knight comes in. In an age of great social, spiritual, and gender confusion, such as ours, there is a desperate need for clear guidelines and models that can inspire young men and harness their aggression for constructive ends. Our young men need a vision for masculinity that challenges and inspires if our society is to be stable and healthy. Now, of course, everyone experiences difficulty balancing competing impulses, but it is specifically the violence by young males that is bringing our society to the verge of breakdown. In this way opposing drives can be harnessed and balanced. In his book, Raising a Modern-Day Knight, author Robert Lewis says that Christian fathers can use knighthood as a symbol, an ideal, and a metaphor for guiding their sons into authentic manhood. Keeping the right balance between our impulses toward power and aggression and the need to be gentle and tender is a challenge most men face. He had the fierceness to kill Goliath, the giant, and the tenderness to provide for the needs of Jonathan’s descendants after Jonathan was killed. In the Old Testament, we see David, who was a poet and singer, but also a warrior and king. He poured himself out tenderly nurturing his spiritual children,(7) but he endured more hardship than most soldiers(8) and didn’t hesitate to castigate false teachers.(9) In Paul, we see the same blend of firmness and gentleness. Once He made a whip, ran off the money changers in the temple area, and turned over their tables.(5) And, in the Garden of Gethsemane, His mere glance knocked grown men to the ground.(6) Once Jesus expressed a desire to gather the citizens of Jerusalem together as a hen gathers her young under her wings.(2) We know that Christ wept at least twice: once at the tomb of Lazarus(3) and again as He looked out over the city of Jerusalem and reflected on the fate of those who rejected His witness.(4) However, Jesus could also be very stern. Jesus Christ, our Lord, revealed both tough and tender aspects in His humanity. Tenderness and compassion without masculine firmness and aggressiveness produce a male without the fire to lead or inspire others.īiblical examples of these two elements resident in one man are numerous. ![]() Strength and power, without tenderness, for example, give us the brute. ![]() Were one of these two bents given full rein, the balance required for authentic Christian manhood would be lost. ![]() Here these competing impulses–normally found in different individuals–find their union.(1) Lewis wrote that the disparate strands of manhood– fierceness and gentleness–can find healthy synthesis in the person of the knight and in the code of chivalry. This book, written by Robert Lewis, grew out his own experiences as he and some close friends struggled to lead their sons into balanced, biblical masculinity.Ĭ. In this essay we will be looking at an inspiring book, Raising a Modern-Day Knight, in an effort to learn how we can motivate our sons to live lives of honor and nobility. This model encourages us to live in Christ as examples of godly men. The ceremonies and the code of conduct of knights are compared to a biblical perspective on Christian manhood. Lou Whitworth summarizes an inspiring book which lays out the characteristics of a godly man.
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