In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the spirit of toxic masculinity that has invaded the church - something at the forefront of sexual abuse scandals and stories of domineering male leadership. As Dr. White said, he's truly sickened by this.

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An earlier podcast episode - CCP8: On Purity Culture - explored how the church sometimes tries to excuse sexual abuse within its walls by creating a caricature of men who are hopelessly ruled by their sexual desires, therefore attempting to put the blame for the incidents on the women involved.

This spirit of toxic masculinity can also move outside the church and into the home, particularly when it comes to the idea of submission in marriage. Dr. White explored the deeper meaning of the words found in Ephesians 5, particularly in verse 21 that says: “… submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” The idea is that husband and wife are to submit to one another. There are a number of excellent series that Dr. White has delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church in the area of marriage and family. You can find all of those messages HERE. One series that we want to highlight that is particularly relevant to today's topic was called #MeToo.” While it talked about the cultural implications of the #MeToo movement, it also has an installment called #HomeToo that talks about this need for husbands to also submit to their wives.

For information on some of the statistics and data shared during this episode, check out the following resources: Paul J. Wright, “Pornography Consumption and Extramarital Sex Attitudes Among Married U.S. Adults: Longitudinal Replication,” ResearchGate; “How Many Women Watch Porn?” Fight the New Drug; “Child Abuse Statistics,” Child Help; and “Child Maltreatment Report 2021,” Children's Bureau.

Finally, several podcasts would be worth going back to listen to as they relate to today's conversation. The recent episode “CCP67: On the Secrets of Hillsong and the Duggars” touched on male toxicity within both the church and the home. The episode “CCP21: On Gender” looks at the idea of gender stereotypes and how these might affect what it means to be a godly man. If we want a full picture of a godly man and how he is called to treat women, we should look no further than Jesus. He leveled the sexual playing field by uplifting the role of women in culture. This is being fleshed out well in the series The Chosen, and you can listen to the podcast “CCP54: On ‘The Chosen'” for more about that series.

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