Wrong from the Heart?
“Right From the Heart” identifies itself as “Spreading Christ through Radio, TV, and the Web”. I got a good laugh recently when I heard its founder, Bryant Wright, say the following on a radio spot:
Are you a spiritual wimp? It amazes me that men who are good athletes, who pride themselves on hard work and self reliance, are absolute wimps when it comes to being the spiritual leader in the home. Many macho men are classic spiritual sissies in this area. They scoff at religion and church, leaving their family’s spiritual well being in the capable hands of the mothers. But scripture is clear. This major responsibility belongs to fathers. The biggest reason for the disintegration of family in America is because so many men are spiritual wimps when they should be spiritual leaders, which is a servant leader.
If you’re a husband or a father, ask the Lord how to be a spiritual leader. Come on, men, rise to the challenge. The future of our land is depending on you.
This might be the most convoluted use of the word “wimp” I have ever seen. Dictionary.com defines it as “a weak, ineffectual, timid person”. If anything, such a person is more likely to be easily led by men claiming to speak for God, or more specifically, to blindly accept the divine authorship of “scripture”. They are also more likely to be easily manipulated by the rhetoric of a confused preacher challenging them to not be “spiritual wimps”. Moreover, if there are men who “scoff at religion and church”, this could very well be a manifestation of reasonable skepticism. And critical thinking isn’t exactly a hallmark of being a “wimp” or a “sissy”.
Good fathers (and mothers) will teach their children to think critically, not insist that they accept any particular religious claims as absolute truth. Being a good parent is more important than being a “spiritual leader”, and the “future of our land” will be better served by the former than the latter. But if nothing else, I’ll give Mr. Wright points for disagreeing with the thundering chorus of all those who would claim that the biggest reason for “the disintegration of family in America” is gay marriage.