Daily Telegraph (UK): The Church of England does lack testosterone

The February 9, Daily Telegraph, had an interesting bit of social commentary by columnist Ed West. You should read the whole thing to get the context, but the critical paragraphs are these:

But it’s only in recent years that the mainstream churches – and the Catholics have this problem to a lesser extent – have become virtual male-free zones. And the fact is that Christianity has been feminised. All the things that used to inspire young men – the sense of honour, camaraderie, sacrifice and patriotism, the rugged Victorian Christianity – have been sucked out of the Anglican Church. What man in his rightful mind wants to get up on a Sunday morning to be lectured to about climate change and social justice by Harriet Harman’s sister? My father, a lifelong Anglican, went to his last service a couple of years ago when the lady vicar started her sermon with: “I read an interesting piece in the Guardian yesterday…”

Where’s the leadership and inspiration that young men crave? Can you imagine many of the C of E’s leaders today as Gene Hackman’s character from The Poseidon Adventure, leading his flock to safety at the cost of his own life, and looking damned cool at the same time, rather than mouthing platitudes about inter-faith dialogue while the ship goes down?

Read it all.

The comments that follow are rich, too. Such as this one from "DominicJ" who is obviously disillusioned with what he sees in current Church of England clergy:

"Can't argue, I haven't been to church ages.
I’m allowed to have a decade long crisis of faith, my bloody priest isnt!"

That's a good one, Dominic!

Is is possible to say, "Ouch!" and "Amen!" at the same time?