Apologies are in order to all men for the ways in which Western Empire thinking found in both the culture and the Western Christian Church is damaging. It is time for men to push back against the ways in which they are limited to a narrow range of emotions and constrained into power roles. This societal narrative of how to be a man not only denies the full humanity to men but it is ultimately harmful to a full sense of self.
However, the model of Jesus shows a more well-rounded gender that is not partial to power nor gender games. This is the one we are told to follow, to walk in his footsteps. And this is the model that leads to deeper relationships and wisdom that can heal the planet.
Here is a partial listing of some of his emotions in the gospel stories:
Empathy: John 19:25-27 - Openness to children: Matthew 19:14 - Grieving with tears: Luke 10:41- Frustration: Matthew 17:14-20 - Exhaustion: Mathew 14:13 - Anger when hungry: Mark 11:12-14 - Compassion for the sick: Matthew 9:20-22 - Agony and dread: Luke 22:42 - Empathy: John 19:25-27
For Carol Gilligan’s works see Why Does Patriarchy Persist? by Carol Gilligan and Naomi Snider (2018 Polity)
Besides reading the stories of a compassionate, empathic, and very human Jesus from the gospels, you can learn about the human biological propensity for empathy in The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society by biologist Frans De Waal (Crown 2009). For a public philosopher’s perspective check out Empathy, Why it Matters and How to Get It ( TarcherPerigee 2014) by Roman Krznaric.
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