The Manual by Al Stewart seeks to recover a healthy, biblical masculinity. Rather than following the cultural tides of labeling masculinity as toxic, Stewart asserts that men need to exhibit a healthy masculinity and to man up towards difficult situations. Masculinity is not currently valued in modern culture but it is not something that we should shun. Stewart argues that men need to take responsibility and use their power (see definition below) to care and nurture others.
“Power is the ability or opportunity to care for those around you… After all, power shows what a person’s heart is like. It is the opportunity to serve, protect, provide, nurture, train, encourage, protect the truth, invest in the future, and above all to love and care for those around us.”
The second half focuses on specific ways that men can man up in relation to others, son, friend, workmate, husband, and father. Breaking up the end of the book this way makes it a great resource to return to during different phases of life. The section on son was a little too focused on end of life issues where a son cares for their aging parents. This is a needed and important, but I would have liked to see more written towards early adulthood in relation to their parents. Steward does cover this in partly in the chapter on from boys to men. Each of these last chapters can be a book in themselves to properly cover the various aspects of each and to be as practical as possible.
“To genuinely man up in the way that I’m talking about will cost you. To put it another way , a healthy masculinity will always have a self-sacrificial element to it.”
Al Stewart lives in Sydney and serves as National Director of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC). Since Stewart lives in Sydney, there is much of the book is focused on Australia culture. I found it interesting the parallels and commonality to American culture. I really enjoy reading from other cultures, especially in their idiom and colloquialisms that are used. I loved how Stewart firmly but politely engaged with those he disagreed with. This is an area that Americans could learn much from.
“When men behave badly, it isn’t their masculinity that’s toxic; it’s their humanity… We need men who are not less masculine, but who are properly masculine; the sort of men who will step up to protect the vulnerable… True masculinity is not toxic; instead it’s about stepping up to protect of help those who need it.”
Much of the book uses quotes and statistics from secular or quasi-Christian sources, then this is either rebutted or reinforced through Scripture. There are more than just a few quotes from Jordan Peterson and his book 12 Rules for Life. While its interesting to engage culture and to set apart biblical masculinity, I would have liked to see more Scripture used to define masculinity. It was sometimes difficult to understand if Steward was agreeing to the quote or seeking to distinguish a difference between it and Scripture.
Overall, The Manual as a biblically faith book on masculinity and manhood. It seeks to develop boys into strong men to live sacrificial lives; to use their power to better their relationships and society. Manhood and masculinity are difficult topics to define and provide practical examples. This book does a great job of pointing out areas where we are falling short as men and encourages us to man up. The Manual is a great book to understand biblical masculinity and how to man up in a complex and confusing society.
I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review. The opinions I express are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.