Numen, Old Men: Contemporary Masculine Spiritualities and the Problem of Patriarchy (Gender, Theology and Spirituality) [Paperback]

Joseph Gelfer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2009 | Series: Gender, Theology and Spirituality

Since the early 1990s, there have been various waves of interest in what is often described as "masculine spirituality". While diverse, a commonality among these interests has been a concern that spirituality has become too feminine, and that men's experiences of the spiritual are being marginalized. Masculine spirituality is therefore about promoting what it perceives to be authentic masculine characteristics within a spiritual context. By examining the nature of these characteristics, Numen, Old Men argues that masculine spirituality is little more than a thinly veiled patriarchal spirituality. The mythopoetic, evangelical, and to a lesser extent Catholic men's movements all promote a heteropatriarchal spirituality by appealing to neo-Jungian archetypes of a combative and oppressive nature, or understanding men's role as biblically ordained leader of the family. Numen, Old Men then examines Ken Wilber's integral spirituality, which aims to honour and transcend both the masculine and feminine, but which privileges the former to the extent where it becomes another masculine spirituality, with all its inherent patriarchal problems. Gay spirituality is then offered as a form of masculine spirituality, which to a large degree resists patriarchal tendencies, suggesting a queering of spirituality could be useful for all men, both gay and straight.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An insightful and useful work ... eminently readable, well-structured and will provide food for thought to theologians, social scientists, therapists and counselors alike" --British Association for the Study of Religions Bulletin

Given its bibliographic depth and clear exposition, the book will be useful to students and researchers interested in the relation between masculinity and Christianity in the US. Summing Up: Recommended. --CHOICE

"The overall result is a fascinating, insightful and constantly stimulating text that has embraced a number of key movements and influential literature in this area" -- Reviews in Religion & Theology --Reviews in Religion & Theology

"Numen, Old Men is (mostly) a very readable book which presents a lot of sharp insights, creative thinking (never mind a few exaggerations), different perspectives and deserves a RECOMMENDED!" -- Religion and Gender

About the Author

Joseph Gelfer is an Adjunct Research Associate at the School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University, Australia. More information at: gelfer.net. Joseph is also founding and current editor of Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality: jmmsweb.org

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Equinox Publishing (May 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845534190
• ISBN-13: 978-1845534196
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,085,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My main area of research is masculinity and religion. I am founding and current editor of Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality [www.jmmsweb.org], and author of Numen, Old Men: Contemporary Masculine Spiritualities and the Problem of Patriarchy (London: Equinox Publishers, 2009). For more information visit www.gelfer.net

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Another Perspective, July 16, 2009

By 

Gary L. Stamper (Whittier, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Numen, Old Men: Contemporary Masculine Spiritualities and the Problem of Patriarchy (Gender, Theology and Spirituality) (Paperback)

This is a valuable, ambitious book, but Joseph Gelfer makes huge leaps of assumptions around a lot of it. For example, Gelfer reaches a conclusion that because [Integral Spirituality] author Ken Wilber talks about seeing perspectives from the 50,000 foot level, he must be guilty of the "up and out" directionality transcendence attributed to the masculine qualities Gelfer then rejects. Gelfer goes on to say that the 50,000 foot view equates with the "thrust of jet engines, again technology (masculine) dominating nature (feminine)," dampening the good parts of his message by often trekking into fantastic conclusions.

Gelfner also applies a very limited use of archetypes, choosing to put emphasis on only one interpretation of those archetypes through the evangelical, mythopoetical, and integral use of them, only finally touching on a solution at the end. Granted, that's the way they are represented in most men's work, but not all (disclosure: I facilitate men's groups using archetypes and shadow). He also only illustrates one example of feminine archetypes: Talk about favoring the masculine!

It's too bad, because Gelfer has a lot to say that's important that gets lost in the exaggeration, loose connection, and stretched assumptions. I'm admittedly a big Wilber fan, although I don't agree with everything he says. His assessment of Wilber as the masculine gunslinger is dead on, but his conclusions, again, are off. Wilber's tirade about his critics seem more about shadow than dominating Hierarchy. Using Integral Theory and Spiral Dynamics, it's easy to imagine Gelfner directly in the middle of Relativistic Pluralism. Worth reading? Yes, but only to gain some insights on other perspectives and to sharpen critical thinking.