When it comes to confronting the modern dating scene, decline in marriage, and the Red-Pill and Manosphere content, the church has been quite lacking. Despite being thrusted to the mainstream for a few years, Christian thought is either devoid or subversive in addressing these subjects. The recent emphasis of Christians attacking Andrew Tate is not because he is a degenerate pornographer, but because he says mean things about women, which ultimately feeds into the appeal of Andrew Tate’s brand. It is the equivalent of an anti-smoking campaign that has the reverse effect of making cigarettes appear cool. They only make Tate’s words ring true while playing into “red-pill” narratives.
Feminism has damaged society, along with whole generations of men and women. Unfortunately, the church failed to be a patriarchal holdover in a gynocentric world. Often, the church reflects the world rather than Christ. Even those who would build up men often define masculinity using traits that are not unique to men. Others, like Doug Wilson or James White, treat young men with contempt, with the former practicing Bulverism. But there are those who buck the trend, who, despite theological disagreements, do care about the plight of young men and building up masculinity in a way that is truly edifying.
Enter Father Moses McPherson, an Eastern Orthodox priest whose YouTube channel has 137K subscribers. He speaks to issues to help predominantly men, both in marriage and other lifestyle issues. His content is very much “red-pill” adjacent, but designed to encourage men, and he does so without feminist presuppositions. Contrary to popular perception, most of the content in Red-pill type spaces teaches self-improvement, with McPherson being no exception.
One of his useful tools he created was the “Hot Holy Matrix” which juxtaposes the “Hot-Crazy Matrix” that is a comically insightful way to analyze women in the dating market that is widely known as it originates from How I Met Your Mother and became the basis for a popular YouTube video which produced the circulated graphic. Because the Eastern Orthodox church is more gynocratic behind the scenes, his original video from January was pulled, but nonetheless, the graphic lives on, and this useful tool is worthy of further examination.
But first, the Hot-Crazy Matrix for comparison.
The basic explanation of the Hot-Crazy Matrix goes as follows: all women are a minimum of 4 on the crazy scale, but if they are below a 5 in looks, they are in the “No-Go Zone. The Hot-Crazy Line too is the implied “grief-to-profit ratio” of craziness that a man is willing to tolerated when correlated with looks. The women in the “Fun Zone” should be sought to convert into the “Wife Zone” with the hottest women being datable, ideal wife, and Unicorns, which is to suggest that there are no sub-5 crazy women that are above an 8.
The graphic is a comical description of basic dating market truths, but it is premised in a worldly understanding. While it is useful in explaining behavioral patterns, it does not point to the ideal. Most “Christian dating advice” often ignores or rejects the truths presented in the Hot-Crazy Matrix, but where Father Moses stands out is that he appropriated a “Christian version” called the “Hot-Holy Matrix.”
The brief explanation is as follows: a man should only pursue a woman of a minimum of 6 on the Holiness scale and a 5 in hotness. Because he is an Eastern Orthodox priest, a 9-10 in holiness is reserved for nuns, but nevertheless, it is not a realistic expectation to have for a wife, similar to the Unicorn in the Hot-Crazy Matrix. Someone who is 5-7 on attraction but a 6 in holiness is considered a “gamble” because they do not excel in either holiness or attraction while an 8-10 in looks at a 6 in holiness are the types of women that will ruin a man’s life—financially, emotionally, etc. A Unicorn on this scale is an 8-10 in looks who is a 7-8 in holiness, as they, like the non-crazy smoke-show, do not exist. A 7 in holiness is considered a stable zone wherein one would want her to advance into an 8 in holiness. The Saints’ Choice is defined as a woman who is modest in appearance but an 8 in holiness, which is juxtaposed to Man’s Choice, which is that same woman, only hotter.
The graphic is a fun way to examine what to identify in a potential wife, one that can appeal to both Christian men and non-Christian men as a means of evangelizing the most fertile soil. It teaches men to pursue holiness but not necessarily at the expense of attraction, which is contrary to most “Christian” dating advice that, while it might acknowledge attraction, makes it subordinate to whether the woman is Christian. This is a bad way to approach dating and leads to bad counsel for singles. For example, if a woman were super devout but also super obese, which takes priority over the single Christian guy? Obviously, attraction comes before faith because the question of faith only matters if the attraction is present. The Hot Holy Matrix acknowledges the notion that looks are a prerequisite for analyzing holiness in a prospective wife.
Other Channels
There are a variety of protestant channels that attempt to examine dating market issues but ultimately fall short or otherwise play into feminist narratives. They also tend to have shaky theological backgrounds at best. Effective Purpose is very much “pop-psychology” and is theologically adjacent to John Mark Comer, which is neither masculine nor traditional. He also rationalizes bad behavior in women under the guise of hypergamy or other “biological instincts.” Channels like Daily Disciple (Isaac David) are rather “over-produced” clickbait, which for 377K subscribers, is not an effective strategy for as few views as his videos get. Pound for pound, his side channel, Men on Mission, performs better at 71K subs but is still the same milquetoast presentation. Many of the “Christian” alternatives come from more charismatic backgrounds and have a squishiness about them, so it is hardly a mystery why men would seek secular sources on these topics.
Comparatively, Moses McPherson presents himself as a man. There are certain aesthetic qualities he has, from physiognomy, the weight of his EO tradition, and the less stylized videos that contrast with many of the charismatic squishes that produce similar content. His use of whiteboard illustrations is a successful strategy that is entertaining, poignant, and not as dependent on clickbait. Perhaps that is a reason his channel has grown by over 30K subscribers YTD.
Conclusion
Rather than deny the truths of the Hot-Crazy Matrix, McPherson sublimates it with the Hot-Holy Matrix, which is both useful and appeals to his primarily male audience, making it an effective appropriation of pop culture. If Christians want to speak to the cultural issues surrounding dating and marriage, the Hot-Holy Matrix is a valuable tool towards that end.
There is a more tragic critique that Protestants often fail to speak towards these issues in a profound manner, which plays into the perception that Protestantism is effeminate compared to the Greeks or Romanists when there is a robust tradition to draw from. While McPherson’s original video was taken down, protestants should champion the Hot-Holy Matrix in his stead.
One Response
Pseudo-bro-science. But its all the Mary Worship Cult has to try to attract young men into its Mommy Worship genocentric saint foot water drinking female cult of begging Celestial Mommy to save them.