Jacob's Shadow:
Christian Perspectives on Masculinity

Item #095812
$18.95

Men’s underdeveloped abilities or capacities are often the other side of practices for which men have been praised in the past, even while those patterns limited the full discovery of humanness. When men have difficulty expressing certain feelings, for example, this difficulty usually relates to the practice of self-control for which men have been praised. Men have regarded emotions as dangerous because they may contaminate rational thinking. From that perspective, even admitting that men have emotions that we control is risky. Although this view of reality no longer dominates the experience of most men, many of us are still uncomfortable expressing intense emotion.

One of the central themes of Jacob’s Shadow is the relation between power and vulnerability in human life in general and for men in particular. While I was writing the book, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Ironically, that small organ, regarded by many as the source of our potency, is also the locus of our greatest vulnerability to cancer. This is not a book about cancer but a book about the importance for men to learn to live between the opposing forces of power and vulnerability. Having power does not eliminate vulnerability, and being vulnerable does not mean we are not still powerful.

The cross is the Christian symbol of faithfulness. It is the crossing of power and vulnerability for the sake of freedom, compassion, and abundant living. No other community practices dying as Christians do when they come together to study and pray. The golf club, the health club, the neighborhood pub, and a political caucus are all important places where men and women gather. The church, gathered about the cross in prayer, is the only place in society that practices dying as a way of living. Men who long to discover their full humanity will be sustained for such faithfulness by regular participation in the life of a church.

The image of Jacob wrestling in the night with a stranger whom he later understands to be God captures the dangerous journey men need to take on their way to Christian faithfulness. Jacob wrestling is a particular moment in his life, but it is also thread throughout his life and this book. To be like Jacob one must struggle with an unknown, unnamed fate and then go forth in the morning, wounded, thankful, and refreshed.

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The Rev. Dr. Herbert Anderson has written a number of articles and books on subjects ranging from a theology for the seriously ill to handling loss and grief, living alone, story and ritual, and the pastoral care of families. He is a much sought-after speaker on these topics and Christian perspectives on masculinity. To schedule Dr. Anderson for your next event, please contact him directly. He can be contacted via email or send USPS mail to: Witherspoon Press, 100 Witherspoon St., Rm. 1427, Louisville KY 40202.