Maximized Manhood: A Guide to Family Survival

This is my second reading of Maximized Manhood, and although it is over twenty years old, it still speaks with a clarion voice to men that manhood and Christlikeness are synonymous. Subtitle A Guide Top Family Survival, Cole rightly discerns that the role of the man, which is under attack from political and cultural left, must conform to his biblical antecedents if the family is going to survive in the future. This book is really apolitical, as Cole does not specially identify the leftist institutions that seek to destroy or redefine the American family and the biblical role of the male, outside of commenting on and condemning the rising tide of feminism and pornography.Speaking as a man to men, Cole rejects the insipidism of much evangelical thought and practice. He rightly discerns that nowhere in the Scripture are men invited to repent of their sins and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior; rather, the Bible commands men to repent. The idea of giving an invitation for men to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior is foreign to the New Testament. Cole also attacks the psychologicalization of the Christian faith. The idea of sin has been supplanted by of having problems. Cole points out that if you only have a problem you can get sympathy for it or understating for it, or professional help. Sins, on the other hand, have to be repented, confessed and forsaken. Yes, the book is somewhat dated. Illustrations often refer to a culture that is over twenty years old. Even the revised version still reflects that old culture. But do not let this get in your way. Cole is a master of setting forth biblical truth in succinct phrases or coleisms such as: You can pitch personality, but you must build character; The greatest thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother; Some things in life are more important than life itself; The Kingdom of God is built on truth, not human sentiment. The list goes on and on.Is this a great book? Probably not. Will this book change your life? Yes, if you read it and apply its principles. It may not be a great book but Dr. Cole was a great man. Read it and learn what it means to be a man after God's own heart.

Edwin Louis Cole hits hard, but it's out of love that he does. he encourages men to be men and with a great deal of integrity and love, and he challenges to lay down the idols and images which our culture presents as their perceptions of manhood. Coming directly from a biblical point of view, he shows what it is to be man to the max. And I would encourage every man to get a copy of this book and be challenged!! I was.

This is one of the most important books a man can read, other than the Bible. This book will change your life as a man, father, husband, brother and son. This is the only book I have ever read that literally challenges you to be the man God meant for you to be. If applied to your life you will never be the same.

Society has exalted a view of man that is not only destroying only men but their wives, their children and their communities as well. Mr. Cole hits the very center of the issue and he does not fear in doing so. Being a real man is being like Jesus Christ. I was surprised to see that the book was first published in 1982 and that I only got to read a copy only now after 18 years. Yet I have never been so impacted by a book so much that it moves me to change. I am a Bible believing Christian and yet I would place this book immediately after the Bible as a practical manual on how to live daily as a real God-fearing man. It sets Biblical principles against the current ideas and lifestyles of men and addresses each issue clearly to allow the reader to have a better if not the best option to be renewed and revitalized. It's not a new book, but the truths explained in it are timeless and powerful.

After watching the "Maximized Manhood" video series, I purchased the book. The insight Ed Cole shares about the five sins that keep us from entering into our own Canaan-land experience was right on target. This book has really helped me to recognize where I am...and where I want to be. Finally! Someone has found the key to stepping out of the valleys of indecision and complacency and into the Promise Land.