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.