American conservative Christianity exalts a hypermasculine, militarized image of Jesus.

Evidence

Hypermasculinity, if not always drawing from the same sources, is a leitmotif of conservative Christianity in America. Reverend Jerry Falwell disdained androgynous, gentle representations of Jesus, insisting that his savior was hypermasculine. “Christ wasn’t effeminate,” Falwell asserted. “The man who lived on this earth was a man with muscles … Christ was a he-man!” The Family Research Council’s Jerry Boykin said Jesus “was a man’s man, but we feminized him in the church,” adding, “I believe that sword he’ll be carrying when he comes back is an AR-15.” — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 347

Categorization

• SHARE: “Christ was a he-man” and the AR-15 sword quote are quotable for anyone writing about American religion or gender.
• SEED: Essay angle: the theological project of re-masculinizing Jesus and what anxieties it discloses about institutional religion.
• XREF: connects to: Armed Christianity treats Jesus as a conqueror needing weapons — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 489; Evangelicals spent a half century remaking Jesus in their own militant image — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 664; Evangelical leaders treated tenderness in Jesus as a heresy undermining national defense — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 414 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Evangelicals spent a half century remaking Jesus in their own militant image #corroborates (1.00) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 664
• Graham actively constructed a hyper-masculine Jesus to make Christianity compatible with manhood #exemplifies (0.95) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 55
• Evangelical leaders treated tenderness in Jesus as a heresy undermining national defense #expands (0.90) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 414
• Mark Driscoll reframed Jesus as a hypermasculine warrior to attract men to church. #exemplifies (0.90) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 438
• Evangelical manhood doctrine fused Christlikeness with ruthlessness #expands (0.90) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 294
• Evangelical militarism inverted the traditional civilian-control-of-military ideal #expands (0.85) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 522
• Evangelical identity may be defined by culture-war militarism rather than doctrine #expands (0.75) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 552