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Muscular Christianity: The Relationship Between Men and Faith QUOTES

Muscular Christianity: The Relationship Between Men and Faith QUOTES

1 " In this way, Jesus might be seen by the faithful as the ultimate “Gentleman Barbarian” — he had the power and capacity to destroy all of his enemies with a wave of the hand, but chose to lay down his life — making the sacrifice not an act of weakness but of perfect and complete will. "

― Brett McKay , Muscular Christianity: The Relationship Between Men and Faith

2 " Sharp of tongue, deft in debate, and unafraid of conflict, challenging the status quo, or causing offense, Jesus was anything but safe and predictable. Far from hiding in private solitude, and playing it small, Jesus was a public figure, a revolutionary who rigorously confronted the establishment, and who preached such a confrontational and audacious message that he was ultimately killed for it. "

― Brett McKay , Muscular Christianity: The Relationship Between Men and Faith

3 " While Jesus does not directly charge his followers with fighting human foes (though there have been those who have found an implicit justification for such in the name of a righteous cause), many of the faith’s adherents have seen the gospel as a call to continue Christ’s cause by engaging in another kind of warfare — one waged on the spiritual plane. The Bible is full of references both to contest — what the ancient Greeks called agon — and to war. Individuals wrestle with God (both metaphorically and literally), and the apostle Paul refers to believers as “athletes” who must “train” their souls and run the race set before them. Believers are to gird themselves about with spiritual “armor,” and wield the “sword of the spirit” in battling unseen forces and directly confronting the conflict between good and evil. "

― Brett McKay , Muscular Christianity: The Relationship Between Men and Faith

4 " I quite agree that the Christian religion is, in the long run, a thing of unspeakable comfort, but it does not begin in comfort . . . In religion as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth — only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair.” –C.S. Lewis "

― Brett McKay , Muscular Christianity: The Relationship Between Men and Faith

5 " Different scholars have lent a different order, and more or fewer steps to the journey, but its three big stages are separation, initiation, and return, and these are some of the basics contained within those stages: Hero receives a call to adventure Leaves his ordinary life Receives supernatural aid Crosses a threshold that separates him from the world he has known Gathers allies for his quest Faces test, trials, and challenges Undergoes an ordeal Dies a physical or spiritual death Undergoes transformation and apotheosis (becoming godlike) Gains a reward or magic elixir Journeys back home Shares the reward and wisdom he’s gained with others Becomes master of the two worlds he’s passed through Gains greater freedom "

― Brett McKay , Muscular Christianity: The Relationship Between Men and Faith