Alphas & Incels

Help Lord 

The Psalmist once said this, “Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men (Ps. 12:1).”

Masculinity is feared by our modern world. Virtues like assertiveness, decisiveness, and determination are not allowed to be expressed, unless it is by a Marvel She-ro. The last few decades has given rise to two deviant forms of masculinity. You’ve got the Alphas, who are a reactionary movement to feminist indoctrination. This form of masculinity is like a body builder full of ‘roids whose physique a bizarre exaggeration of maleness, but it is entirely without function. It’s like the evil step-brother of the trans-woman.

The other deviant form of masculinity, is that of the incel. Where the alpha has embraced the life of reactionary irritation of the hoes, the incel has resigned himself to his fate of being unlucky with the ladies. But taking the path of resignation or reaction will only bring a man to inverted or subverted masculinity.

The evolutionary software that runs modern mindsets doesn’t have any concern whether male or female first emerged out of the primordial ooze. In fact, in that framework we’re all just interchangeable ooze. But Scripture reveals our true origins; man was fashioned from the dust, inspired by the very breathe of His Creator God, and then given a task to tend and defend a garden; God then graciously put a woman by Adam’s side, which came from Adam’s side. This order of our origin is not an insignificant detail. God made man. God made the man first. God gave man a specific task. God gave a woman as a precious aid in that project. Every king needs his queen, after all.

Alphas

I’d define Alphas as men who think that masculinity is asserting themselves in the procurement of their desires. If there’s something they want, they take it. This has been championed by popular figures. Men instinctively know their meant for danger, risk, assertiveness, bravery, and initiative. The appeal of the alpha-lifestyle is that is marked by instant gratification.

There are shades of virtue here, but they’ve been hijacked by the desires. Diligence in working out, assertiveness in relationships, and emotional stability are disciplines which men should cultivate. But the alpha takes the tool of these virtues as a weapon to procure his desires. Usually women & wealth.

The problem is that the alpha-lifestyle inevitably leads to an ego-centric self-preservation & self-gratification. It becomes the brat in the candy aisle, throwing a tantrum for not getting the treat he wanted.

Incels

Involuntary Celibates, or Incels, are a real problem. But I think the problem isn’t as straightforward as some might paint it. The caricature is that an Incel is a sloppy, greasy, overweight nerd who can’t get lucky with the ladies, while still living in his mom’s basement, playing Minecraft, with cheeto-dusted fingers. While personal hygiene, strength of character, and economic accomplishment might contribute to his problem attaining success in courtship, it is not the lone explanation. 

There are young men who are well-off financially, physically fit, and are, on the whole, respectable men. But modern feminist thought has made it so that women believe they deserve to date a man who is a ten across the board. Chris Hemsworth’s body. Elon Musk’s wealth. Ryan Gosling’s personality. Harry Styles’ musical ability.

But the temptation of the incel is to be like Adam in Eden and blame the women. It’s everybody else’s fault. It’s the economy. It’s the slutty girls. It’s the controlling mom. It’s the school system. The incel needs to refuse to be a victim.

There is no glory in victimhood. A young man’s glory is his strength. Too many young men have contented themselves with being NPCs. They’re ok with being a background character in the story. The first thing an incel must begin to cultivate is to not give a rip about what script the world handed you. You must take the script God gives you in the Bible. That requires you to a life of diligence, truth, purity, rigor, blood, sweat, tears, and righteous conquest.

Quit Ye Like Men

You live in a day when worship of the strong gods has returned. Christ-less men have sought these gods out, erecting them in the high places. The Alphas think that in bowing before Baal they shall procure power over their enemies. The Incels grovel at the throne of Aphrodite’s porn, content to watch with glazed eyes the prowess of other men. 

But Christian men are not to be so. Peter commands this: Add to your faith virtue (2 Pt. 1:3). Virtue is the fuse which detonates the force of virtues. Virtue is the greenhouse in which virtues can be cultivated. Christian men look in faith to Christ, and then are to add or furnish their bodies to be vessels for the virtue of the Spirit of God. Wicked men, whether alphas or incels, cannot conceive of how excellent moral virtue is when it is combined with faith.

The Spirit enables great exploits. By the Spirit a man is able to pull down towers of error. To break lions jaws. To tend the garden of his family. To win a maiden without force or fraud. To defy the gods of the age. To disobey the godless in order to obey his god.

True manhood is not found in grasping after your life, or bemoaning that you are the victim. You want life? Then die. Die in Christ.

Manhood doesn’t mope about its circumstances. It sprints towards the danger. It doesn’t speculate that there’s a lion outside, and so justify lack of assertive action. Manhood doesn’t perform self-aggrandizing touchdown dances. It steadily pursues to add to faith virtue. Young men, you must heed Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthian church: “Quit ye like men, be strong.” Not with the strength of horses and chariots. But with the strength that arises from faith in the name of your God. The God who sent His Son to live and die in our stead, that we might live and then die only to live forevermore in the joy of His righteous life.