By Patrick McCormick | FāVS News Columnist
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News.
Scripture reports that “In the spring, when kings go off to war, David sent his generals out with the whole army to destroy the Ammonites and lay siege to Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.” (2 Samuel 11:1)
Then stay-at-home David stalked and raped the wife of one of his soldiers and orchestrated a battlefield slaughter of his own troops to avoid exposure of his sexual assault — all without leaving the comfort of his gilded palace. Sound familiar?
Perhaps our wannabe king cannot leave his palaces to accompany or worry about our troops because he is busy manufacturing wargame cartoons or struggling to remember the purpose of this pointless war. Or perhaps the senseless death of American soldiers and thousands of others does have a point — to distract us from reports of other crimes being added to his conviction for sexual assault.
Indeed, with no one in Congress or his cabinet able to rid our wailing king of the ghost of Epstein past, war may be the only way to slay this troublesome pest.
But white evangelicals and Catholics who still support Trump (while trying to ignore the expanding litany of his crimes and scandals) should remember the Bible long ago warned about the folly of our desire to be ruled by amoral strong men lacking conscience or compassion.
When the Bible warned us about kings
In 1 Samuel 8 the Israelites (whom Moses had forbidden to anoint a king) beg God for a strong man to rule over them like all other kingdoms. When Samuel warns that a king will take their sons and daughters for soldiers and servants, steal the best fruits of their harvests and livestock and ruin their lives, no one denies these things.
But the people still want an all-powerful master to rule them. And, as the Scriptures show, the kings that follow form a chain of disasters, amassing ever greater wealth and imposing rising burdens and injustices until their dynasty collapses.
The problem, now and in biblical times, is in our idea of what makes a great man. Since the rise of kingdoms, we have been told we need a powerful and ruthless male to conquer our enemies and bring peace and wealth.
But, as Scripture points out, crowns are usually worn by narcissistic psychopaths who lie, cheat, steal and murder. These are not great or good men. They are not good sons, brothers, fathers, husbands or friends. They do not protect the innocent or care for the suffering. They care only about themselves and their glory, wealth and power.
Tragically, this distorted image of the great man is also being offered to millions of young men who feel displaced by the loss of jobs and status resulting from an economy where the top 1% grabs more and more of the nation’s wealth.
Even worse, they are being told in the so-called “manosphere” that the threat is not from wealthy elites taking an ever-bigger slice of the pie, but from women, immigrants and people of color stealing their jobs.
According to these dark fables, we need more strong men ruling their households and keeping their wives home to have babies. More muscles, more testosterone, more rage — that is the cure for the DEI ailing America.
In our homes and the gilded White House we are fighting over manhood, and the toxic version being offered is deadly. Of course, we must first reject the notion that our families and country need to be led by men.
That patriarchal lie has been exposed in countless ways and needs to be put to bed or buried deep in the ground. Which means we must fight first and foremost for true and full gender equality.
But we should also offer corrective models of good or great manhood, ones challenging the toxic masculinity on offer from Trump and the manosphere.
One possible alternative for Christians wrestling with our masculinity crisis might be St. Joseph.
A different kind of strong man
Joseph was not a king, did not live in a palace, and never killed, assaulted or harmed anyone. He is not reported to have lied, stolen or cheated, and he clearly did not put himself first when making important decisions.
There is every indication he was a skilled carpenter, hard worker, great husband and father, loving and caring for his wife and children with courage and compassion.
On learning his betrothed was pregnant with a child that was not his own, Joseph might have been humiliated and enraged. The law allowed him to have Mary killed, and he certainly could have publicly shamed or divorced her.
But he chose not to do any of these things. Scripture reports a heavenly visitor told him to take Mary and raise the child, but not everyone obeys such instructions. And yet, Joseph, shaken by the news, listened quietly to his better angels and married his beloved without ever saying a word.
And when Joseph learned his child was endangered by a psychopathic king he listened again to his better angels and found a way to protect his family as a refugee and immigrant laborer.
Years later, after the mad king died, Joseph again transplanted his family and found skilled labor with which he could protect, care for and train the son who would be called a carpenter.
Scripture reports Joseph was righteous, a righteousness overflowing with mercy, compassion, courage and strength. He was not inflamed by male pride or rage or defeated by setbacks or threats. Driven by love and capable of quiet reflection, he made continual sacrifices and demonstrated great resilience in his struggle to protect and cherish those in his care.
This March 19th, when kings send troops to war but stay home to cover up their crimes we celebrate the feast of a great man, husband and father, strong enough to choose love over rage, to put others first, to find meaningful work in tough times and to listen quietly to his better angels. We need no kings, only men such as this.
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