Macho Jesus

Andrew Sullivan reports on the "macho Jesus" movement.


Stephen Sawyer describes his drawings of Jesus, part of a growing movement to
"defeminize" the man's image:

No more cissy Kumbaya stuff. In this testosterone-fuelled theology, the Saviour finally has the rippling biceps he would have developed as a carpenter from a working-class home in Nazareth. The macho Jesus movement has been bolstered by books like No More Mr Christian Nice Guy and The Church Impotent – the Feminisation of Christianity. But it's artist Stephen Sawyer, whose paintings of the Son of God as a tattooed biker and boxer have captured the imagination of Christian men searching for a more manly role model.


More from The Guardian:
As the Rev Eric Delve, vicar of St Luke's, Maidstone, Kent points out: "Men are looking for action figures. That's why they follow footballers." With the Messiah looking like a midfielder, David Beckham could be in for some competition.

Add your comments

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

Reminder: At Episcopal Café, we hope to establish an ethic of transparency by requiring all contributors and commentators to make submissions under their real names. For more details see our Feedback Policy.

Advertising Space