For centuries "Christian manhood" was the ideal for men in Western Civilization. From the days of "knights in shining armor" in the Middle Ages until the 20th century, the rule of law based upon Scripture directed society's view of what men should be. "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion." For the most part, American men knew their role was to be humble before God, but strong against evil. They knew that success would follow: "By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life" (Prov. 28:1; 22:4) Christian men and their families led the way in early America. They fought valiantly for liberty in the War of Independence, and they risked all with their wives and children to open the frontiers. In the 20th century they sacrificed their lives by the hundreds of thousands, dying on foreign shores to save strangers from evil tyrants.

Successful Leadership

In the 19th century, Christian men gave leadership to all of America's institutions. Civil government was kept small, mostly local, and checked from abuse. Christian families were the prominent cultural force as procreation was encouraged, providing a generational foundation for all of culture. Women were cherished and valued as joint heirs and partners. Christian men willingly shouldered their God-ordained responsibility to protect and provide for their wives, children, parents and the poor without government assistance, leading to the explosion of Christian free enterprise.

Men were accountable, as joint-heirs with their wives, to train and educate their children. (All schools were parent-directed, and most were private and church related.) Men were trained early to protect and defend themselves and their families and to protect in local militias, as authorized by the Second Amendment. How did a nation of men who have fought so bravely for liberty, their families, and private property so passively give over these great blessings to the control and regulation of a seemingly all-powerful, out of control government?

[Read the rest of the article at World History Institute. Click here.]