For most of this century there has been much talk of a crisis in masculinity. The discussion has been warranted. Masculinity is indeed in crisis. Males are desperately searching for some sort of way to make men of themselves while bombarded by a daily stream of soy and homosexuality. The online world of discussion boards and forums has been an excellent resource to both follow the unfolding crisis and to reach many males of all ages. Men who have made their bones, so to speak, have been able to mentor those who are still searching.
In other words, the critical art of mentoring has moved into an online mode; not exclusively so, but in terms of volume it has to be considerable.
I have followed this process online since around 2004. Back then I was heavily involved in the poker world and the online forms at 2+2 were an incredible resource. But there were many sub-forums where lots of discussions took place around all kinds of topics. I noticed that young guys were desperately searching for some sort of guidance and so I posted a thread which I called, On Changing Your Life. That thread became my first book, which is a journey to manhood through whitewater adventures. This website I set up to help promote the book, hence the site name.
So I have been observing the masculinity crisis and actively participating in trying to come up with some solutions to the issues for some time now.
The online discussions gradually morphed into a focus on how to get the girls. This had various guises which I will not go into here. Suffice to say that this was a stepping stone. The various stepping stones became known as the red pill journey, of which getting the girls was the introductory stone. But in the last couple of years the online masculinity communities have embraced Christianity to a very large extent. Not completely, but definitely in big numbers. The ultimate red pill as it were.
If the previous introductory step was how to get the girls, the introductory step today is totally different. The introductory step now is Christianity because how to get the girls takes you away from Christ and towards mortal sin. In other words, for young guys today the introductory step is different from what young guys only 10 years ago were doing. Not completely of course, but in numbers high enough to be influential.
You see a lot more talk about God in the manosphere than you would ever have seen only 5 years ago. And more importantly, it is celebrated whereas before it would often have been ridiculed. This is a comprehensive and profound change to an online community that is large enough and influential enough that it has been the target of documentaries and studies by our enemies.
And so to the title of this article, “I will draw all men to myself.” This passage from John 12:32 is usually interpreted in two different ways. For the pie in the sky Protestants it means that everyone gets to be saved no matter how much they have sinned. Good luck with that. The more traditionally accepted interpretation is that the Gospel of Christ will be disseminated indiscriminately, no matter from which tribe or nation that men hail from. I do not disagree with this. However, I believe that there is another interpretation of this passage.
All men will be drawn to God. That is, all of those who succeed in making men of themselves, who pass the test of masculinity and become men, will inevitably be drawn to God. If you are a man then you will be invested in truth and God is truth. The red pill journey has this as both a final and beginning destination. For all of those guys who have floundered through the process of making a man of themselves and succeeded, this is both the end game and the beginning. Congratulations, you now comprehend that your spiritual growth exists and it is infinitely more important than your physical growth.
Hence, the beginning. It is the start of our spiritual journeys.
Our enemies have always hated and attempted to discredit the manosphere. I believe in most cases that that was driven from a subconscious understanding that the manosphere was on a path to collectively finding God in a fearsome way. It’s one thing for a bunch of boys to find God; it’s another matter entirely for a large group of men to do so.
As an active participant in this process, it has been both eye opening and inspiring. We have gone from a collection of guys trying to all get our shit together to a brotherhood of men invested in our own spirituality and that of our brothers. Whereas before we used to often tear one another down, now we try and lift each other up.
Is my interpretation of this passage correct in this context? I will leave it up to God to decide. But from what I have lived and observed, it makes perfect sense to me.
Originally published at Pushing Rubber Downhill. You can purchase Adam’s books here.