Christianity Today

The Masculine Mandate: God's Calling to Men Richard D. Phillips (Reformation Trust)

This book is a practical and straightforward treatment of the role that men are to have in their families. Grounded in Scripture, Phillips shows us that we do in fact have an owner's manual.

The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity Leon J. Podles (Richard Vigilante Books)

Podles traces the feminization of faith in the West to a move taken by Bernard of Clairvaux. Fathers must function within the church—although the church has made this difficult.

The Feminization of American Culture Ann Douglas (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

Douglas describes how our culture was feminized long before 20th-century feminism. Douglas taught me how a lot of gender "traditionalism" in the American church is little more than an early variant of feminism.

Brave New Family: G. K. Chesterton on Men & Women, Children, Sex, Divorce, Marriage & the Family G. K. Chesterton, ED. by Alvaro de Silva (Ignatius Press)

This volume reminds me that it is impossible to read Chesterton without learning something important—even when disagreeing with him.

Men and Marriage George Gilder (Pelican Publishing)

Gilder taught me the invaluable lesson that the dominance of men is inescapable. The only choice is whether our institutions, chiefly marriage, will channel their aggressive natures in constructive directions.

Related Elsewhere:

Douglas Wilson is the author of Father Hunger: Why God Calls Men to Love and Lead Their Families.

The Masculine Mandate, The Church Impotent, The Feminization of American Culture, Brave New Family, and Men and Marriage are available from Christianbook.com, Amazon.com, and other retailers.

Previous Christianity Today articles on fatherhood include:

Where Are the Dads? Treating Richmond's Fatherless Epidemic | How local Christians are building human capital through public health—one man at a time. (April 17, 2012)

Courageous | In Sherwood's best film yet, fathers are challenged to step up. (September 30, 2011)

Reconciliation | This drama, new on DVD, tactfully handles subjects of fatherhood and homosexual relationships. (April 29, 2011)

Filling the Dad Gap | John Sowers addresses the root of many social ills. (January 20, 2011)

CT also has more books, film, and music reviews.