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The Mark of a Man
In a world where men and women are encouraged to reject traditional sex roles, Elisabeth Elliot candidly reminds men why the sexes are not interchangeable. Written as personal advice to her nephew, The Mark of a Man reveals the glory and purpose of true masculinity. With Christ as the example of the ultimate man, this classic take on understanding a man's role in life and relationships, romantic or otherwise, helps men define their own masculinity in a positive way. This timely repackage encourages men to stand strong in their unique role established by God for all time.
184 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1981
About the author
Elisabeth Elliot
133 books1,914 followersFrom the Author's Web Site: My parents were missionaries in Belgium where I was born. When I was a few months old, we came to the U.S. and lived in Germantown, not far from Philadelphia, where my father became an editor of the Sunday School Times. Some of my contemporaries may remember the publication which was used by hundreds of churches for their weekly unified Sunday School teaching materials.
Our family continued to live in Philadelphia and then in New Jersey until I left home to attend Wheaton College. By that time, the family had increased to four brothers and one sister. My studies in classical Greek would one day enable me to work in the area of unwritten languages to develop a form of writing.
A year after I went to Ecuador, Jim Elliot, whom I had met at Wheaton, also entered tribal areas with the Quichua Indians. In nineteen fifty three we were married in the city of Quito and continued our work together. Jim had always hoped to have the opportunity to enter the territory of an unreached tribe. The Aucas were in that category -- a fierce group whom no one had succeeded in meeting without being killed. After the discovery of their whereabouts, Jim and four other missionaries entered Auca territory. After a friendly contact with three of the tribe, they were speared to death.
Our daughter Valerie was 10 months old when Jim was killed. I continued working with the Quichua Indians when, through a remarkable providence, I met two Auca women who lived with me for one year. They were the key to my going in to live with the tribe that had killed the five missionaries. I remained there for two years.
After having worked for two years with the Aucas, I returned to the Quichua work and remained there until 1963 when Valerie and I returned to the U.S.
Since then, my life has been one of writing and speaking. It also included, in 1969, a marriage to Addison Leitch, professor of theology at Gordon Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts. He died in 1973. After his death I had two lodgers in my home. One of them married my daughter, the other one, Lars Gren, married me. Since then we have worked together.
Our family continued to live in Philadelphia and then in New Jersey until I left home to attend Wheaton College. By that time, the family had increased to four brothers and one sister. My studies in classical Greek would one day enable me to work in the area of unwritten languages to develop a form of writing.
A year after I went to Ecuador, Jim Elliot, whom I had met at Wheaton, also entered tribal areas with the Quichua Indians. In nineteen fifty three we were married in the city of Quito and continued our work together. Jim had always hoped to have the opportunity to enter the territory of an unreached tribe. The Aucas were in that category -- a fierce group whom no one had succeeded in meeting without being killed. After the discovery of their whereabouts, Jim and four other missionaries entered Auca territory. After a friendly contact with three of the tribe, they were speared to death.
Our daughter Valerie was 10 months old when Jim was killed. I continued working with the Quichua Indians when, through a remarkable providence, I met two Auca women who lived with me for one year. They were the key to my going in to live with the tribe that had killed the five missionaries. I remained there for two years.
After having worked for two years with the Aucas, I returned to the Quichua work and remained there until 1963 when Valerie and I returned to the U.S.
Since then, my life has been one of writing and speaking. It also included, in 1969, a marriage to Addison Leitch, professor of theology at Gordon Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts. He died in 1973. After his death I had two lodgers in my home. One of them married my daughter, the other one, Lars Gren, married me. Since then we have worked together.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
March 11, 2022
I'm not really the intended audience for this book since, while I may be a guy, I have some pretty big concerns with Elliot's version of complementarianism and I don't care much for her personal writing style that tends to make a bunch of claims without really defending or supporting them.
However, there was one really important chapter of this book that made me quite upset and which I'd like to note and warn against.
In chapter 23, Elliot attempts to set forward a definition of how God's expectations for men and women differ. In that chapter, she explains that, for these lists, "what is right for men is wrong for women." In other words: these are unique roles that both men & women fill that the other should not do themselves.
And what's #1 on her list for women?
"The wife has no longer full rights over her own person, but shares them with her husband."
(And no--there's no similar statement on her list for men.)
This is pretty horrible.
1 Corinthians 7:3-4 makes a similar statement--but it makes it very clear that this command is equally true for both the husband and the wife. Both men and women are equally called to surrender their full rights in that passage. But by only including this in the list for women (and by arguing that what's right for women on these lists is wrong for men, Elliot is suggesting that this surrender goes only one way. And that's a pretty disastrous patriarchal argument to make that is not at all based in Scripture (and that, in fact, actually twists Scripture in order to make it).
I'm not going to argue malicious intent on Elliot's part. Most likely, this was a sloppy oversight. But it exemplifies so many of the issues I have with this book. Its arguments are sloppy--and they veer toward exalting male authority in such a way that women are too easily trampled on when people act on such beliefs in real life. Elliot may have been a pretty strong woman who wouldn't be trampled on herself. But I've heard far too many stories of women in Christian circles who have been trampled on by husbands who believed the errant view of marriage that she's teaching in this book (even if she wouldn't have fully practiced or believed this herself). This is a really bad oversight--especially in a book that's written to men about how they should act.
While there are certainly many parts of this book that are uncontroversial and decently good advice for the average Christian, the 15-20% that isn't that really stands out. And not only do her opinions tend to lack much support or defense, but her claims are pretty sloppy--at times with pretty disturbing implications as shown above. As a result, I really can't recommend this book.
Rating: 1.5 Stars (Poor).
However, there was one really important chapter of this book that made me quite upset and which I'd like to note and warn against.
In chapter 23, Elliot attempts to set forward a definition of how God's expectations for men and women differ. In that chapter, she explains that, for these lists, "what is right for men is wrong for women." In other words: these are unique roles that both men & women fill that the other should not do themselves.
And what's #1 on her list for women?
"The wife has no longer full rights over her own person, but shares them with her husband."
(And no--there's no similar statement on her list for men.)
This is pretty horrible.
1 Corinthians 7:3-4 makes a similar statement--but it makes it very clear that this command is equally true for both the husband and the wife. Both men and women are equally called to surrender their full rights in that passage. But by only including this in the list for women (and by arguing that what's right for women on these lists is wrong for men, Elliot is suggesting that this surrender goes only one way. And that's a pretty disastrous patriarchal argument to make that is not at all based in Scripture (and that, in fact, actually twists Scripture in order to make it).
I'm not going to argue malicious intent on Elliot's part. Most likely, this was a sloppy oversight. But it exemplifies so many of the issues I have with this book. Its arguments are sloppy--and they veer toward exalting male authority in such a way that women are too easily trampled on when people act on such beliefs in real life. Elliot may have been a pretty strong woman who wouldn't be trampled on herself. But I've heard far too many stories of women in Christian circles who have been trampled on by husbands who believed the errant view of marriage that she's teaching in this book (even if she wouldn't have fully practiced or believed this herself). This is a really bad oversight--especially in a book that's written to men about how they should act.
While there are certainly many parts of this book that are uncontroversial and decently good advice for the average Christian, the 15-20% that isn't that really stands out. And not only do her opinions tend to lack much support or defense, but her claims are pretty sloppy--at times with pretty disturbing implications as shown above. As a result, I really can't recommend this book.
Rating: 1.5 Stars (Poor).
September 5, 2020
To comment on masculinity and femininity is practically to sign up for a social stoning these days; nevertheless, I'll risk some brief thoughts prompted by this book. Our society has apparently played an elaborate trick on Christians, and the trick is this: first, it redefined authority by stripping it of service and humility and overburdening it with dominative power; then, it stripped submission of its virtue and made it the exclusive domain of slaves and the oppressed. Partnered with a third redefinition, the redefinition of freedom from freedom *to live a righteous life* to freedom *from external constraints*, and an elevation of that freedom to the highest good, submission, in particular, has been seen not as a state to strive for, but to be liberated from. Therefore, to make the claim that husbands ought to be in authority and wives ought to be in submission is a grotesque statement in the eyes of the culture because they have come to understand those two positions as master and slave and therefore protest against it loudly, and *many Christians have followed them in this, rightly concerned about just treatment of women but blind to the fact that what they are trying to dismantle is nothing but a farcical echo of what God intended*.
Elizabeth Elliot wrote this book as advice on how to be a Godly man to her nephew Pete, and I find that even though it was written some 30 years or so ago, her teachings are just as relevant (because they are timeless) and her refutations are likewise (because the arguments they rebut have apparently changed little). The book mostly concerns itself with masculinity in relation to femininity, so you won't find much that does not have to do with how a man ought to act towards a woman, or a husband towards his wife.
I found it to be a quick (3 hour) and enjoyable read, with some of her points being very convicting. I would recommend it to someone wanting to read a book on how God designed man to be, and I think a woman could enjoy reading it just as much if she is curious to know what kind of standards to hold men to.
Elizabeth Elliot wrote this book as advice on how to be a Godly man to her nephew Pete, and I find that even though it was written some 30 years or so ago, her teachings are just as relevant (because they are timeless) and her refutations are likewise (because the arguments they rebut have apparently changed little). The book mostly concerns itself with masculinity in relation to femininity, so you won't find much that does not have to do with how a man ought to act towards a woman, or a husband towards his wife.
I found it to be a quick (3 hour) and enjoyable read, with some of her points being very convicting. I would recommend it to someone wanting to read a book on how God designed man to be, and I think a woman could enjoy reading it just as much if she is curious to know what kind of standards to hold men to.
March 3, 2016
There are many people that are praised in their death, but if they lived and wrote they would be hated. Mrs. Elliot is one of those people. She is loved by many evangelicals for her devotion to missions and her husband's death at the hands the Auca Indians. But I am convinced that if she was in her prime in 2016 and was blogging and writing books she would be vilified by many who say they love her. Why? Her views on male and female roles are classic. She holds to what most of Western Christendom held to, as well as most of the world, for several thousand years.
This is book is straight forward talk on what it means to be a man. Nothing spectacular or amazing. Just straight talk from a woman who was not afraid to hold to what the Scriptures teach. She sounds like John Piper or Douglas Wilson in many, many places. A good read for any young man thinking about marriage and any married man who is not sure what he is supposed to be doing.
This is book is straight forward talk on what it means to be a man. Nothing spectacular or amazing. Just straight talk from a woman who was not afraid to hold to what the Scriptures teach. She sounds like John Piper or Douglas Wilson in many, many places. A good read for any young man thinking about marriage and any married man who is not sure what he is supposed to be doing.
November 22, 2020
A companion to Let Me be a Woman. Full of good advice on marriage, sexuality, masculinity, and femininity from a traditional Christian perspective - which means it would be wildly unpopular with a mainstream audience. To quote Chesterton, "Christianity is always out of fashion because it is always sane; and all fashions are mild insanities." Read this if you want solid and sane advice from a woman who is not afraid to speak the truth.
October 8, 2013
A very solid book full of good advice. Man is to love as Christ loved, and that's a tall order, but worthwhile. Her social commentary is also something special, and surprisingly relevant even thirty years later.
November 30, 2014
Whereas Let Me Be a Woman offers practical advice on how to adjust to being married to a man-who surprise, surprise, is very different from a woman (ie-he will not fold towels correctly or notice the nice changes you make around the house), this book offers more philosophical points about why the man is designated as the leader/head of the house. I only gave this book a 3-star rating because while Elliot makes some good points here and there, overall she just repeats herself over and over again.
May 30, 2019
Great book. I love Elisabeth Elliot's writing style is is so personal and it really feels like she is speaking to you in letters. And though the book is written for men, women can certainly benefit from it too. It will also give you an idea of what a man should be like so if you are on the look out for one you can make sure he has the marks of a Godly man. As always it is easy to read and both encouraging and challenging.
December 9, 2014
The mark of a man as exemplified by the Life of Jesus:
1. Responsibility
2. Sacrifice
3. Courage
3. Obedience
4. Initiative
6. Forgiveness
7. Endurance
8. Tenderness
9. Leadership
10.Love
1. Responsibility
2. Sacrifice
3. Courage
3. Obedience
4. Initiative
6. Forgiveness
7. Endurance
8. Tenderness
9. Leadership
10.Love
March 19, 2023
"Sacrifice was required of His love for us. Nothing less than sacrifice will be required of us if it is our serious intention to love for a lifetime."
October 3, 2018
This was a phenomenal read. Elliot wrote with such forceful grace, I was practically blown away on nearly every page! She says things about men and women that only a woman can, and only a woman who was widowed twice. The bite-size nature of the book--adapted from letters to her nephew Pete--makes it easy to read and study and ponder in portions. I'd highly recommend this book equally to men and women, both those looking to date/court/marry and for those already married. Read it and give to someone else to read!
July 27, 2017
Wow! Really, Wow!
Elisabeth Elliot lays out masculinity and femininity not based on culture but the Word of God. Written to her nephew as advice on marriage and finding a good wife. The cover is certainly dated but the truth it contains is timeless and desperately needed in these times.
A book targeted at the other gender.
Elisabeth Elliot lays out masculinity and femininity not based on culture but the Word of God. Written to her nephew as advice on marriage and finding a good wife. The cover is certainly dated but the truth it contains is timeless and desperately needed in these times.
A book targeted at the other gender.
October 9, 2020
This has been one of those books I have thoroughly enjoyed reading. Several times as I approached the end I wished it would just keep going. It was a good book to read a little, set it down, try to implement it, and then come back for more later. I highly recommend this book to any men out there who are wanting to explore more of what it means to be a man.
December 24, 2019
This book was great. Better than I expected, though I don’t know exactly what I was expecting.
If you’re interested in a solid take on the book I would point you to the book review on Goodreads by Peter Jones.
If you’re interested in a solid take on the book I would point you to the book review on Goodreads by Peter Jones.
January 29, 2020
Every man should read this book. It is so challenging and eye opening regarding the differences between masculinity and femininity.
March 17, 2020
Love anything she writes... you just have to get to the middle before the light goes on and you speed to the end.
February 24, 2023
Solid, but nothing new to a complementarian.
May 7, 2023
Such an incredible and timely read. So clear and hopeful and challenging (in a great way!). LOVEEEEEEE
September 3, 2018
Fantastic stuff. Some outdated illustrations but they don't get in the way. Eliot doesn't exposit texts of Scripture per se, but her writing drips Bible saturation. Highly recommended.
September 11, 2023
The Mark of a Man parallels one of my favorite reads, Let Me Be a Woman, but instead of writing to her daughter, Elliot writes to her nephew Pete regarding manhood. What keeps this book from being a 5 like Let Me Be a Woman is the first 1/3 of the book, where Elliot speaks on the culture's changing definitions of marriage, the beauty of complementarity, and other foundational things. Though everything she writes is true, I felt she belabored some points and the book struggled to really get started. Once she transitions into speaking about manhood in particular, however, she delivers the most clear and direct points on manhood I've read. I have found the way Elliot writes about manhood and womanhood specific enough for me to make actionable changes in my life, but broad enough to apply in every circumstance I find myself in. Voddie Baucham for example, spoke in ways that were a little too narrow (such as providing for a family single-income), whereas authors like John Piper speak in ways perhaps too abstract for me. Elliot uses words that are more understandable to me, such as initiation and responsibility, and provides helpful analogies, stories and examples to really drive her points home-- this differs from words like headship, leadership, gentleness, etc. that are easily understood theoretically, but hard to visualize practically.
Some of my favorite quotes:
"God is the initiator. This is the distilled essence of masculinity: initiation."
" When you're looking for the right woman to marry, Pete, look for one who is prepared to adapt to you. Now don't suppose for a minute that you yourself have to budge... But if you find a woman who is ready to go where you go and do what you do without brooding about being 'her own person,' you'll have found a treasure."
"It is at best a misguided chivalry and at worst irresponsibility that prefers to take a backseat and let women run things. If you following this course of action, at least you won't be called a male chauvinist, but it is disobedience."
"It was their willingness to give up themselves for the sake of God and other people that proved them real men."
"Surely an effort to acknowledge that transcendence whenever possible-- even on so apparently casual an occasion as a date-- will not be misplaced, since dating is at least an initial approach to marriage and perhaps the only even remotely formal one in our society."
"A leader is a man who does not groan under burdens, but takes them as a matter of course, allows them, tolerates them--and with a dash of humor."
"Rarely do we think of the ordinary 'breaks' of life as suffering; yet the moral, emotional, physical, and financial responsibilities that any ordinary man takes on, if he has a wife or a wife and children, are a good place to start. Job hunting, taxes, promotion, competition, and family headship-- not to mention the daily realities of commuting; maintaining house, yard, and car in order; being a faithful church member; and paying the bills-- make up a heavy load for a human being to carry on his shoulders."
"...your manhood is a gift that you offer back to Him. It's also a gift you offer your wife. Without that offering, she is not free to be fully a woman; for to be fully a woman means to respond, to receive, to be acted upon, to follow. You've got to give her the gift of your manhood-- initiating, cherishing, leading. This is what women want, in their heart of hearts."
Some of my favorite quotes:
"God is the initiator. This is the distilled essence of masculinity: initiation."
" When you're looking for the right woman to marry, Pete, look for one who is prepared to adapt to you. Now don't suppose for a minute that you yourself have to budge... But if you find a woman who is ready to go where you go and do what you do without brooding about being 'her own person,' you'll have found a treasure."
"It is at best a misguided chivalry and at worst irresponsibility that prefers to take a backseat and let women run things. If you following this course of action, at least you won't be called a male chauvinist, but it is disobedience."
"It was their willingness to give up themselves for the sake of God and other people that proved them real men."
"Surely an effort to acknowledge that transcendence whenever possible-- even on so apparently casual an occasion as a date-- will not be misplaced, since dating is at least an initial approach to marriage and perhaps the only even remotely formal one in our society."
"A leader is a man who does not groan under burdens, but takes them as a matter of course, allows them, tolerates them--and with a dash of humor."
"Rarely do we think of the ordinary 'breaks' of life as suffering; yet the moral, emotional, physical, and financial responsibilities that any ordinary man takes on, if he has a wife or a wife and children, are a good place to start. Job hunting, taxes, promotion, competition, and family headship-- not to mention the daily realities of commuting; maintaining house, yard, and car in order; being a faithful church member; and paying the bills-- make up a heavy load for a human being to carry on his shoulders."
"...your manhood is a gift that you offer back to Him. It's also a gift you offer your wife. Without that offering, she is not free to be fully a woman; for to be fully a woman means to respond, to receive, to be acted upon, to follow. You've got to give her the gift of your manhood-- initiating, cherishing, leading. This is what women want, in their heart of hearts."
September 20, 2012
Ugh. This book was dragging me through the burdens of its words.
This Elliot lady really was getting on my nerves the whole time. She was drawing opinions on everything I knew about what it is to be a man or to be a woman. She was, as Kayla would put it "forcing it down my throat".
I did not agree with everything was saying. Her views that girls should not seek out men, but should be innocent and wait for men to find her. I do somewhat agree, yes, that a man must do whatever he can to get the affections of a woman, but I think women are fully allowed to flirt and try to get the attentions of a guy too.
The author seemed strongly against this approach, which I don't like.
I also had no idea this book was written in the early eighties! Since I was reading from a copy that looked much more modern, I thought everything was fairly new, but then when the author spoke of the "recent eruption of Mount Saint Helen's" I had a double take and realized that this book was published originally in 1981.
There were some good facts, and advice don't get me wrong. Like Tenderness, and the man taking charge while the woman takes direction.
Now right off, I can see some women taking offence to this book because the author really seems to bathe in the facts that women are to literally stay at home, in the kitchen and raise the children.
One of the last chapters gave me the impression that a woman cannot be married with children and have a career, it is "simply impossible" if the family hopes to live a full and pleasing Christian Life, which is something I want. So for myself, I need to find a woman who will be home for my children and raise them in our faith.
The most annoying thing about this book by far was how the author kept saying her nephew's name. I seriously did not and still do not care about "Pete" gosh, could she at least have called him PeteR!?
If I took anything out of this book, it is that I am for firm in my decision to marry a Catholic woman who comes from a strong Catholic family.
This Elliot lady really was getting on my nerves the whole time. She was drawing opinions on everything I knew about what it is to be a man or to be a woman. She was, as Kayla would put it "forcing it down my throat".
I did not agree with everything was saying. Her views that girls should not seek out men, but should be innocent and wait for men to find her. I do somewhat agree, yes, that a man must do whatever he can to get the affections of a woman, but I think women are fully allowed to flirt and try to get the attentions of a guy too.
The author seemed strongly against this approach, which I don't like.
I also had no idea this book was written in the early eighties! Since I was reading from a copy that looked much more modern, I thought everything was fairly new, but then when the author spoke of the "recent eruption of Mount Saint Helen's" I had a double take and realized that this book was published originally in 1981.
There were some good facts, and advice don't get me wrong. Like Tenderness, and the man taking charge while the woman takes direction.
Now right off, I can see some women taking offence to this book because the author really seems to bathe in the facts that women are to literally stay at home, in the kitchen and raise the children.
One of the last chapters gave me the impression that a woman cannot be married with children and have a career, it is "simply impossible" if the family hopes to live a full and pleasing Christian Life, which is something I want. So for myself, I need to find a woman who will be home for my children and raise them in our faith.
The most annoying thing about this book by far was how the author kept saying her nephew's name. I seriously did not and still do not care about "Pete" gosh, could she at least have called him PeteR!?
If I took anything out of this book, it is that I am for firm in my decision to marry a Catholic woman who comes from a strong Catholic family.
October 1, 2014
Every Christian man and every married Christian man would do his soul well to read this one! It had the right balance of challenge and encouragement. It also spelled out in practical terms what it means to be a man. Elliot, strongly encourages her nephew to not cower to the culture but to "be the man" like David exhorted his son Solomon.
She gives a lot of scriptural basis for her views. I found fault with a couple of her views but the overall quality of this book greatly overshadowed them.
Although she spent a great deal of time on manhood in the context of being a husband and father, there still was some great insights for the single man.
Again it was quite refreshing to read something that not only defended masculinity but also encouraged it without apology. I tip my hat to Miss Elliot.
She gives a lot of scriptural basis for her views. I found fault with a couple of her views but the overall quality of this book greatly overshadowed them.
Although she spent a great deal of time on manhood in the context of being a husband and father, there still was some great insights for the single man.
Again it was quite refreshing to read something that not only defended masculinity but also encouraged it without apology. I tip my hat to Miss Elliot.
August 2, 2012
A must read for all young men of today. We have one or two generations who have been raised in America without affectionate or emotionally available fathers, so they are lacking role models. This very lack is what deceives many into questioning their sexual orientation. This book is not about sexual orientation, it is about LEADING. Man was designed by God to lead. Woman CAN do lots of things man can do, but is not wired to do them, and definitely should NOT do them while trying to raise a family. God is a God of order, and His ways are best. Elisabeth Elliot shoots straight and provides solid guidelines for a generation of fatherless boys and all boys who want to become true men. This is a book for all teen boys, and young men who wish to have a family someday.
February 16, 2014
First off, I think it's important to mention that this book was written in the early 80s, and as such, it has some points that are no longer applicable nor feasible to apply. The first of these is her stress on the wife/mother forgoing any kind if career or job in favor of staying home to manage the household and raise the children. The cost of living in America these days is ofyen simply too high for the average family to be able to live on one income.
To be honest, I felt that many of her points related to manhood and what it means to be "manly" in a Christian context were very good and in fact still very relevant today, despite their age. Overall I found this book to be helpful, though a bit maddening at times.
To be honest, I felt that many of her points related to manhood and what it means to be "manly" in a Christian context were very good and in fact still very relevant today, despite their age. Overall I found this book to be helpful, though a bit maddening at times.
September 10, 2016
You can find my full review at Quieted Waters.
Elisabeth Elliot is a treasure from a bygone era, although she still lives and writes in ours. Her active, living faith shapes her life in a profound way, and her traditional, biblical view of manhood and womanhood hearken back to a time before modern feminism.
Men and women steeped in feminism and liberal equality will not enjoy The Mark of a Man, but traditional Christians with a complementarian view of the sexes will find a treasure in its pages.
March 15, 2016
Loved that she wrote the book as a letter to her nephew. I am tempted to buy another copy and whiteout everywhere she wrote "Pete" and put my brother's name in its place. I think the author does a good job of illustrating gender roles with in the body of Christ as God intended. The differences between men and women do not equate to inferiority or superiority. There are things that a man must do that a woman can't, likewise there are many things that a woman must do that a man could never. Written as a book for christian masculinity, still I think young women should definitely read the book as well, allowing them to see exactly what a Christ-built man looks like.
January 26, 2008
The best book I've read about manliness in a long time, was written by an older woman - go figure. She describes the character of a godly man from biblical examples in the form of a book to her young nephew.
This book was far more worthwhile than the pile of other Christian books on "manliness" out there that suggest that being a man is all about going on an adventure out in the woods with a bunch of other guys with bad hygiene, grunting a lot and then having a good cry. (not that I'm against those things per se. . .)
This book was far more worthwhile than the pile of other Christian books on "manliness" out there that suggest that being a man is all about going on an adventure out in the woods with a bunch of other guys with bad hygiene, grunting a lot and then having a good cry. (not that I'm against those things per se. . .)
June 13, 2018
Elisabeth Elliot says "The world cries for men who are strong: strong in conviction, strong to lead, to stand, to suffer." And these words written to her nephew Pete are words for all men and women. Elisabeth calls all men to strong biblical masculinity, and does so boldly, persuasively, and insightfully.
As biblically focused and biblically demanding as her words are it would be hard to come away from this book unchanged and unaffected!
The only disappointment of this book is that it had to end!
As biblically focused and biblically demanding as her words are it would be hard to come away from this book unchanged and unaffected!
The only disappointment of this book is that it had to end!
August 5, 2014
Provocative. A good, biblical exploration of the God-ordained roles of men (and women) in marriage. I found this book both encouraging and convicting - particularly in relation to feminism and homosexuality. Despite being written over 30 years ago, I found this to be mostly relevant and reflective of current culture. Not all would agree with the extent to which she emphasises leadership/submission within marriage. Overall a worthwhile (speed)read.
3/5.
3/5.
August 21, 2010
The content is specific to Christian young men. Correction: Christian young women will benefit from this book as well. While this book wont convert male chauvinists and champion feminists, what it will do is explain the complementary roles of men and women as described in the Bible. Quite convincing, that is, if you're willing to listen to the Bible.
May 24, 2007
I think Elisabeth Elliot has a lot of great ideas about relationships- Between us and God and between men and women. I benefited greatly from her lifetime of experience.
She also had an awesome radio show.....
She also had an awesome radio show.....
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews