Is the Men’s Warrior Group Recommended or Biblical?

Is the Men’s Warrior Group from the Mankind Project something Christian men should be involved with?

Men’s Warrior Group

Is the Men’s Warrior Group from the Mankind Project something Christian men should be involved with? They claim to be “Sharpening men to become the husbands, fathers, and leaders God designed us to be,” but is that true? Their creed seems harmless enough as you can read below:

I AM A COMMON MAN WITH AN UNCOMMON DESIRE TO SUCCEED.
I WILL KEEP MYSELF PHYSICALLY STRONG, SPIRITUALLY AWAKE, AND MORALLY STRAIGHT.
I EXPECT TO LEAD AND BE LED, AND IN THE ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP I WILL TAKE CHARGE AND LEAD BY EXAMPLE.
I AM NOT TOO PROUD TO ASK FOR HELP.
I BELONG TO A TRIBE AND DO NOT STRUGGLE ALONE.
MY PAST FAILURES DO NOT DEFINE ME.
WHEN THE WORLD KNOCKS ME DOWN, I WILL GET BACK UP EVERY TIME.
FAITHFULNESS TO FAMILY AND DEVOTION TO GOD WILL BE MY LEGACY.
I WILL FINISH STRONG!

Sounds harmless enough and some of it even sounded good, but there’s more to this group than a creed. In practice, it seems to be a whole other story.

The Mankind Project

The ManKind Project (MKP) claims to be non-religious but they accept men of no faith and all faith’s. This project is for the men’s community for the 21st Century, they believe. They boast that MKP is a nonprofit training and education organization with three decades of proven success hosting life-changing experiential personal development programs for men. And that MKP supports a global network of free peer-facilitated men’s groups and supports men in leading lives of integrity, authenticity, and service, so what do people say, particularly, Christian men? They have a lot to say and many reported some very interesting experiences.

Men’s Experiences

As I began reading other men’s experiences, I sensed the Men’s Warrior Group was not a good idea. One man said that he began going through the “on-boarding” exercises, which included receiving a spirit animal (which becomes your name for the event). He said he found himself faced with a growing sense of unease. To him, it all felt so silly…so contrived or a bit like live-action role-playing or an old war re-enactment. He said it did not feel like he was growing as a man or learning anything new at all. As the long day continued, he found himself lodging in a cramped dorm room with a dozen uncomfortable cots and outdoor bathrooms.

Anger/Rage Therapy?

One man’s big issue was the childish encouragement men were given to express destructive emotions, applauding and cheering hateful and harsh tirades against their father’s. Such vulgar and hateful comments like “____ you dad! ____ you for not letting me live the life I wanted and making me play sports!” The man screamed while jumping up and down and jamming a middle finger into the sky, allegedly at his dad. Several men had issues when they were actively encouraged to strip down during many of the events (which at one man’s event was often led by homosexual instructors), but stripping down was uncomfortable, to say the least. There was one man in particular who was totally frustrated by the condescension he received for “not being fully engaged” when he kept his briefs on.

Release the Wild Man

One man reportedly had joined this group due to the recommendation of his mentor and counselor who trusted this group, but one immediate problem was the man and his wife got frustrated at the coordinator for his very unprofessional attitude towards those who did not want to bond via their mandatory carpooling requirement. Later, all the men were reminded via myth and allegory that we needed to “release the wild man within to fully realize our masculinity,” but the man thought, “What about the hungry man?” He was starving by this time and had no clue as to the time since all of the windows were covered and the clock on the wall was stuck. For him, it was not a beneficial time.

New Names

During their separation, the men were then told they needed to invent new names for themselves and to think of an animal spirit that would somehow represent strength in them. One of the ugliest parts of this Men’s Warrior Group was where you “kill” someone in proxy. Most of the time, it’s the father, but it might be a brother, mother, uncle or even an employer. Some even “killed” God. When one man was actually instructed to “kill God,” he refused. We will be given new names someday by God (Rev 2:17), so I will wait on choosing an animal spirit for now.

The God Split

One of the most evil parts to me in the MKP process is the so-called “God split.” This is where a man will “kill” God and then give himself his own god; one of his own imagination or making. Clearly this is idolatry (Ex 20:4-5), however, this is said to be a required step in the MKP ladder for a man to become an “inner King.” If he does not kill God first, he cannot be the “inner king.”

Killing as Therapy?

There are reports that these “killing” processes can be very violent. For example, one man will stand in proxy for the person who is being killed. They place cushions and pillows before him and the man who is to kill has a baseball bat, tennis racket, or just about anything to be used as a weapon. Next, he hits the pillows and cushions over and over again right in front of the man standing in proxy. One man continued hitting it over and over while screaming at his “daddy.” The “daddy” gives insults and calls the man with the bat names, so it’s played out. Sadly, “daddy” slowly begins to “die” and to sink slowly to the floor pretending that he is being hit and hurt. He eventually pretends to die right on the spot. This can take many minutes. One man said that this process looks like gestalt psychotherapy and The reason that they stated it needed to be done over and over was because they didn’t kill their whole dad, only a part of him that hurt them. They needed to kill every part that had “bad energy” and not stop until it was all out.

A Spiritual Rebirth?

I cannot remember where I found Mark Hamilton’s comment, but he wrote, “…This is only the tip of the iceberg however. The walking around naked while blindfolded symbolized your death to former self and old way of life. You probably snaked around some property and then were slapped on the rear to symbolize your spiritual rebirth. All these things had a definite spiritual purpose which were not at all Christian. The snaking around had to do with regeneration as the snake is a symbol of this. It may have also had to with catabasis or a symbolic journey to the underworld (sheol/hades) because before you can be spiritually reborn you first have to spiritually die. Think of a counterfeit baptism. It’s softening Christians up to seek out this kind of Initiation to heal their supposed father wounds.”

A Counterfeit Christ

They are creating a counterfeit and unbiblical Jesus or God that is a supposed “warrior” and “wild at heart”, but clearly it’s a clever lie and deception. Jesus always modeled and taught peace, and being under authority. Jesus was never rebellious but a truth teller and taught that the meek shall inherit the earth (Matt 5: 5). The men’s warrior groups are anything but meek…and anything but biblical. This is not recommended for Christian men, and I would say, even unbelievers should be aware of what they do.

Conclusion

I pray you have put you yourself have trusted in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, but if not, you are in real mortal danger of hell fire. You are one breath, one heartbeat…one accident away from eternity when it will be too late to repent. Today is the best day to believe and the acceptable time (2 Cor 6:2) because tomorrow is no guarantee. This is all the more reason that I plead with you to repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ now. If not, you will face God’s judgment after death (Heb 9:27) or at the Lord’s second coming (Rev 20:12-15), which could happen in the blink of an eye.

Here is some related reading for you: What Are Signs of Being in a Cult?

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: Cult, Cults, Satanic