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David Maywald
Draws on enduring wisdom and deep insight
Reviewed in Australia on 28 September 2023
David Maywald
Reviewed in Australia on 28 September 2023
“We hear it in the cadences of modern liberalism, which contends that the greatest evils to be defeated are found in social “structures” – like the family, or Christianity, or manhood. The evil in these institutions, today’s Epicureans say, is that they oppress the individual by preventing him from choosing what he can become. If you want less pain and suffering in the world, the argument goes, liberate individuals. Let them throw off the bonds of family obligations. Let them repudiate “gender roles.” Let them flout religious ordinances regarding the sanctity of life or holy matrimony. Let them mock tradition, ignore history, and deny the immutable facts of biology. Let nothing stand in the way of their pursuit of personal satisfaction.”
Hawley has dug deep into the Christian tradition as well as empirical research, unearthing wisdom and insight:
“The number of men – of all ages – committing suicide in America leapt by more than 25 percent between 1999 and 2017. Some thirty-five thousand men in this country now die by their own hands every year, amounting to one suicide every fifteen minutes.”
“the Bible says every man is called to lead and, equally significantly, to take up the responsibilities of leadership. Every man is called to use his influence to help bring the world into order, which begins with bringing his own life into order, and by doing that, to discover true freedom for himself and others… The left today warns shrilly that male leadership can only ever amount to domination. The Bible says it can bring liberty, for a man and those around him; it can bring flourishing – if a man is willing to do what liberty and flourishing require. Our problem today is not that too many men lead, but that too few do.”
“His solution, in short, is to call men toward the kind of character that embraces servanthood, to the subordination of self. That is the kind of character that will sustain true leadership. That is the path out of the darkness. That is the way each man must trod, the Bible says, toward a new Eden… A man who would take up his vocation and realize his promise must forge his soul and shape his character: he must become something more. The Romans were right all those years ago. Manhood is something attained, not born to. It is an attainment of character.”
“In short: You have the power to bring order from chaos. God gave it to you. Start using it. Use your influence to encourage: God looked at the world he had made and called it good; you can extend that blessing to your friends, your children, your spouse. Use your power to provide for the people in your life, beginning with your wife and children, if you have them, or other family and those in need, if you do not. Use your power to see that things around you work properly, whether it’s improving a system at work or repairing a relationship.”
His succinctness and clarity will help new generations to appreciate the immense value of Western civilisation:
“True courage is a virtue men must be encouraged to acquire... In our own lives, facing danger may expose us to loss, but it also makes us men we would otherwise not be. It builds qualities of character we would not otherwise possess.”
“Collins and MacNamara discovered that the most successful athletes were those who encountered some of the most significant personal setbacks, whether from physical injury or other hardship. The most successful athletes not only survived adversity, but they grew from the trauma.”
“The antidote to dependence is building. The antidote to passivity is work. And work is, according to the Bible and the Western tradition it defines, an invitation that speaks to every man. It is an invitation to do what every man wants to do: matter, in the most lasting way possible… What we learn from David as a builder is this: that a man is born to work and to acquire the character that working brings. This is no small thing. If done humbly and well, work can help make the world what it was meant to be… David does not come to an ancient city that he reveres to pay homage to its god. He comes to a stronghold or corruption and conquers it, and begins to build something new.”
He is a strong proponent of families as a social institution, for the benefit of women, children, and our entire community:
“The percentage of children living with only their mother – no father present – has doubled since 1968… Boys raised in fatherless homes face increased odds that they will use drugs, commit crimes, perform poorly in school, and live in poverty – and then become absent fathers themselves… Our epidemic of fatherlessness has spawned a series of related pathologies, among them poverty, delinquency, drug use, and depression. Children in homes without a father present are more likely to live below the poverty line than children in two-parent households. Here is another measure of the same phenomenon: kids in homes with only a single mother have a poverty rate approaching 50 percent. For married-couple families, it’s nearer 10 percent.”
“Marriage is in decline in America, and an increasingly sharp one. More and more men are delaying marriage or opting out altogether. As a result, America has more men who never really grow up, men who never see beyond themselves. This fact lies at the root of our present social troubles. The Adam stories summon men to a different path, to a manhood of sacrifice and self-giving, the manhood of a husband.”
The political narrative draws a dichotomy between “Epicurean liberalism” and traditional Christian virtues:
“Epicurus’s ideas have exerted enormous influence on the modern mind. Today’s popular culture instructs us to prioritize self-fulfilment over duty, pleasure over sacrifice. It tells you to find “your truth” and choose your own values. Like Epicurus, today’s thought leaders reject religious faith in favor of atheism and materialism.”
“Modern, Epicurean liberalism is fundamentally atheistic, after the pattern of Epicurus himself, who rejected the relevance of “the gods.” Modern American liberals have followed this example. Their attack on American society as “systematically” racist, sexist, and oppressive stems in large measure from their atheist ambitions. They denigrate the traditional family, manhood, and even the reality of biological sex for the same reason. Their target is the biblical influence that has shaped much of American life… The atheist project promises individual “liberty,” but what it has in fact delivered is isolation, despair – and a new social hierarchy based on education and income. In short, liberal atheism has been a failure. The world still needs God, which means it still needs men with the character of priests.”
“Leftists want to raze the inherited structures of society so individuals can be “free.” The biological realities of male and female constrain individual expression, they say, so they must be denied, and traditional gender roles abolished. The traditional family, likewise. And traditional religion, too. All must go so individuals can do as they please.”
“This mixed message puts young men, especially, in a bind: they are supposed to fashion an identity entirely of their own choosing in order to be authentic, but leave out the features that have defined men for millennia. Good luck with that. No wonder young men feel bewildered.”
“John Rawls was one of modern liberalism’s foremost philosophers, and he coined a famous phrase. He said we are, as individuals, “self-originating sources of valid claims.” He meant that individuals should and do have the power to choose their purposes and aims in life independent of any preexisting moral order. What makes a claim valid – what makes your actions praiseworthy or good – is the simple fact you have chosen them, not that they comport with or advance a moral order beyond yourself… That road leads, at best, to narcissism and self-indulgence.”
“This is the Epicurean left’s new ideal, a nation of androgynous consumers who don’t rock the boat and don’t question much (and certainly not those in power) but buy plenty of cheap paraphernalia to keep the corporations profitable.”
The book is dedicated to his two young sons, a touching tribute:
“The worst of these interventions may be the “zero tolerance” policies found in many schools which treat boys’ mere interest in aggressive play as a problem. In New York in 2010, Patrick Timoney – age nine – was threatened with suspension for bringing a Lego minifigure, armed with a tiny plastic rifle, to the school cafeteria… If boys don’t comply, they are drugged. Childhood diagnosis of ADD and ADHD have soared in the last three decades, concentrated overwhelmingly among boys. Research indicates that nearly 10 percent of elementary-aged boys are on Ritalin or some similar drug… A 2019 study found that therapists evaluating boys are prone to see evidence of ADHD where it doesn’t exist. In the researchers’ words, “even a child who presents no characteristics of ADHD is rated more severely if participants thought that the child is a boy.”
“Solomon’s reign was a premonition of things yet to come. The world is still waiting to be made a temple. Until then, every man has a part to play. And this work is the story of a man’s life, the call that summons him to be what he was made to be. He can acquire the character of a husband and father, a warrior and a builder, a priest and, yes, a king. These are the roles toward which a man’s responsibilities guide him. These are the virtues that make a boy a man.”
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Health Joy Vitality
Self Mastery Is The Key To Unleashing Divine Masculinity
Reviewed in the United States on 26 June 2023
Health Joy Vitality
Reviewed in the United States on 26 June 2023
As a life coach that helps people connect with their souls to find their true purpose in life — as many life coaches do — we innately stumbled upon this exact same reasoning from my spiritual practices, so I know this reasoning is true. From having many mystical experiences in my life I know what Josh is saying here is true on a spiritual level.
Even in indigenous cultures, boys had to go through an initiation to become a “man” and this initiation helps build these qualities. Today’s men are more fatherless than ever and are so coddled that they never leave boyhood, never achieve self mastery and never develop these divine masculine qualities. Senator Hawley depicts how American culture encourages this unhealthy development through abandonment of its Judeo Christian values and as a spiritual person I would agree.
On a personal level this book brought me closer to my partner, who exhibits all these Christian values but I had no idea their relavence until reading this book. It made me understand him so much better and realize how lucky I am to have hit the divine masculine jackpot. He truly has self mastery and that’s why our relationship works so well.
Last thing to note: Any intelligent person can see that all the 1 star reviews are from people who did not read the book, because it attacks the author personally with no comments of the book. So go read the book, and see for yourself without judgement what you can learn. ❤️
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AzBlond
Must read for Father's Today
Reviewed in the United States on 23 December 2023W. Parker
Good guide for men to use their masulinity for good.
Reviewed in the United States on 21 December 2023