Based on some conversations with some good friends, and some personal observations, I think it is arguable that society, at large, is confused about man. What does it mean to be a man today? What are his responsibilities? What is he supposed to aspire to?

I obviously don't intend to cover this whole subject in one blog post. But I aim to explore it in a long-term manner. Obviously at some point, something I say on these pages will raise someone's hackles. I'm cool with that as people can agree to disagree. Its why humans are special creations - we're all unique. To be honest, if you agree or disagree or couldn't care less, do say so. I really would appreciate your contributions to this discussion. I don't claim to be the authority on manhood. Rather, I'm going to explore the topic online (ie think out loud) and I'll try to look at it from different perspectives.

So where do I start?

"in the beginning"

The Bible's depiction of creation refers to God saying: "let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule [over the rest of creation]" (Genesis 1:26). There are no gender distinctions at this point, and so you could clearly argue that there is a mandate on humankind (whether male or female) to rule.

The first mention of gender comes the very next verse:
"So God created human beings in His own image,
in the image of God He created them;
male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27)

Something interesting here: via repetition, God emphasises the fact that we are created in His image - and men and women are a reflection of different aspects of His image.

What does "image" mean? Character. Thus, the way men are, and the way women are, reflect different aspects of the way God's character is. So far so good? Excellent - I'll end off for now...