Filed under: Top 5
In honor of reaching our 100,000 view, Manspeak would like to remember all 452 posts by asking, “What are your top 5 Manspeak posts of all time?”
According to the numbers:
1)Women Aren’t Men
2)Women Aren’t Men (2)
3)Cereal, Glorious Cereal
4)How Can I Prepare Myself?
5)Who Shouldn’t I Court?
Agree? Disagree?
Filed under: Thought Initiative
by Justin Day
In Christendom there is no more heated of a debate than the one over justification. To shortly sum it up, the debate can be thought of as a dispute over how God declares us to be legally righteous (to have perfectly acted in accordance with his law) in his sight. Predominantly there have been three main views on this: (1) works [or legalism]; (2) faith; (3) faith and works.
Thankfully, every major Christian sect has rightly condemned option (1), works-based righteousness, as pure heresy. Thus, this debate has fallen between the last two options. Protestants proudly proclaim that it is by faith, and by nothing of our own merit, that we are saved. However, most Christians today (mainly Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians) believe that we are not saved by faith alone, but by faith and works.
Although their position is heavily influenced by tradition, proponents of justification by faith and works do not believe that their position is without biblical support. In the 17th verse of the 2 chapter of the epistle of James we are told that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Later on in the chapter, James explicitly states in verse 24 that a person is “justified by works and not by faith alone.”
These verses seem to fly in the face of the Protestant notion of Sola Fide. Any thoughts?
- Is this interpretation of James correct? Is he teaching that we are justified by faith and works, and not by faith alone?
- If he is teaching against justification through faith alone, can this be reconciled with Romans 10:9-10? If not, does this mean there is a contradiction in scripture?
Filed under: Culture
By: Travis Evans
This year, both of my grandparents will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversaries. I think that part of the reason that they have stayed together for so long is that they understand the commitment that marriage is, something that our culture has lost. They married with the knowledge that “till death do us part” really meant something and that their vows had weight as they were making a covenant with each other before God.
From Divorcerate.org:
Age Women Men Under 20 years old 27.6% 11.7% 20 to 24 years old 36.6% 38.8% 25 to 29 years old 16.4% 22.3% 30 to 34 years old 8.5% 11.6% 35 to 39 years old 5.1% 6.5% The divorce rate in America for first marriage, vs second or third marriage: 50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce, according to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri.
Why do you think that fewer and fewer marriages have the lifespan that my grandparents’ have?
Filed under: Humor
So I’ve got this “pet peeve,” so to speak. And hopefully you can relate. When dog owners give their pets people names. When I’m in the mall or some place comparable, and I see an older lady or some high school aged female, and they’ve got a dog that’s too small to sustain itself in the wild and they call it “Jessica” I just can’t help but feel like something is terribly wrong. Animals should be named things like Tiger, or Spock, or Lucky, or Pit-of-Vipers, etc. NOT names like Jonathan, Phillip or Elizabeth.
Some, however are okay. Ralph, Jack, Bob. I can handle those. But please don’t name your dachsund Jeremy or your Shitzu Amanda.
It’s just wrong.
Any other examples?
–by joshcan
Filed under: Devotions
by Caleb Hancock
While blogging regularly, I have come to realize that I can benefit greatly from others’ posts. Especially when those others are pastors and authors of gospel-centered resources that edify the church world-wide.
Therefore, for your blogging pleasure, I have linked a post from John Piper below that corresponds to our current theme and is sure to challenge and encourage your faith in the fight for sanctification. Enjoy!
Filed under: Top 5
No details here. Manliness pure and simple. Meat! Meat! Meat!
What are your Top 5 meats?
Filed under: Thought Initiative
by Tyler Thayer
Over the Inauguration we saw three prayers given by various pastors: Gene Robinson, Rick Warren, and Rev. Joseph Lowery. Essentially, each came from different walks of life, each represented a different protestant denomination, and each prayer sounded drastically different. Obama said he wanted the event to reflect diverse views, and thus we received three very different prayers with different content and contexts.
Check out this article from AP: Inaugural prayers aim for a more diverse America
Also, please read/watch each of the prayers:
Rick Warren’s Prayer | Video
Gene Robinson’s Prayer | Video
Rev. Joseph Lowery’s Prayer | Video
Some questions to help us think about these prayers:
1.Are all the prayer’s biblical? What makes them different, and what is significant about each?
2.Was Obama right in asking such a diverse group of pastors to pray? As President and as a Christian, is his inclusive and ideas about representing diversity of religion a good idea? Are there any consequences?
3.Do the prayers contradict each other or are they unified? Do they cause a problem for Christianity?
4.After the Inauguration, is Christianity represented more clearly or is doctrine and scripture hazy?
5.Were each of them praying to the God of the bible?
Filed under: Culture
By: Travis Evans
I don’t know anything about fashion. [Insert Lynchburg/hick/redneck joke here.] I don’t own or wear argyle. I don’t know the rules about what to wear and when. I’m not sure what a “waist coat” is. I don’t own a scarf or a turtleneck. I don’t care how you carry things or what in or where attached (phones clipped on the waist for example). The only wool I own is found in my wool hunting socks. I don’t wear any accessories.
I’m sure I can be pretty “closed-minded” about men and clothing. For me, the cheaper the better…no “designer yatta yatta yatta”. So, I’m going to leave this one up to you, the reader.
Can guys be fashionable? Should guys know what’s “in”? Are there “do’s and dont’s” for men when it comes to clothing? What about different styles? Who can wear what?
Today we witnessed what the media is calling a major event in history. Hopefully, you had a chance to watch the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. In many respects it was truly intense and quite epic. If you missed the Inauguration, I encourage you to check out the Inauguration Address.
Dr. Albert Mohler posted a prayer for President Obama on his blog today. Mohler concluded his article by saying, “Christians are, first of all, citizens of a heavenly kingdom. The followers of Christ know no allegiance of ultimate rank to any government or earthly authority. Yet, the Bible clearly teaches that God has given us the gifts of law, government, and ruling authorities for our good. We are instructed to pray for “rulers and all who have authority” and to be faithful in praying “so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God” [1 Timothy 2:2].”
So men, I encourage us to respond to scripture’s charge and pray for our President and his family. If you are married, get your family together and pray. If you are around some buddies, get them together and pray. If you are by yourself today, before you go to sleep pray. If you would like a starting point for your prayer, I highly encourage you to read A Prayer for President Obama on Albert Mohler’s website.
Men, let’s lead our nation in prayer as we cry out to our Creator.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Tyler
Filed under: Humor
– by joshcan
With no intention of taking scripture lightly, you can’t ignore how the old testament touts some awesomely manly tales of masculinity. Just check these out!
Second Samuel 23 (Appropriately named “valiant men”):
Josheb-basshebeth–He wielded his spear against 800 whom he killed at one time.
Shammah–He stood in a plot of beans and defended it against the Philistines when all the other men fled.
Abishai–He wielded his spear against 300 men.
Benaiah–A doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. Wait a second. I’m not completely convinced of this guy. He struck down two ariels (?). (I guess that’s tough?) He did dominate a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen, which is pretty bad. He must be tough. But then it says he struck down an Egyptian, a “handsome” man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear (I can respect that).
Then there’s Ezekiel–He lied on his side for 410 days in front of a model of Jerusalem to “bear their punishment”! Dang. I don’t care who you are, that’s intense! I can’t even go a whole night without turning over, let alone, 14 months!
Shamgar–In Judges 3, this manly dude took an ox goad and killed 300 Philistines with it.
Basically, the OT’s got some stout fellas. Empowered by the Spirit of God, they were faithful and dominated.
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Have any of you dominated anything comparable before?
