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For a long time, I forced myself to go along with what is termed the "biblical model" of husband-wife relationship, though it really didn't fit in with all that I instinctively thought right. I thought as a Christian, I had to acept the husband authority-wife-subordinate helper, but equal! model....till I realised that that model is just some people's interpretation of Scripture...
... and really, it goes against all other Scriptural paradigms...such as the basic creation of all humans in God's image, God's own basic nature of perfect, unquestionable justice and righteousness, Jesus' unconcern for authority structures, God's own self-giving and submissive nature as shown in the Son, the Trinity where harmony and love are the normative, not authority!
Jesus gave up the authority He had as God to submit Himself to the will of the Father to sacrifice Himself for us. If He can serve the Father and others, why should we not follow that example. The scripture on roles in marriage are pretty clear.
Is the church equal to Jesus, or is His bride (the church) to be under His Authority
I cannot tell you how FREE I felt when i realised that an egalitarian relationship between men and women was possible in the church, and indeed, is what i believe is THE Christian pattern.
It fits in so much better with the God of love and justice. It fits in so much better with the God who came down to die for all. It fits in so much better with the One who accepts all on the same terms, but has special concern for the poor, the downtrodden, the outcasts, and brings them on par with others. This God, want new authority structures, and hierarchies? No....never.
There are no new authority structures. God set up marriage with Adam and Eve. The Christian life is all about submission and service.
We must re-examine, with open minds, our pre-conceptions about those few..so few!... passages that make us hold these, even to our own mind, strange views. Lets not be afraid to question them if they don't seem right. We have, after all, the mind of Christ.
Sorry for going on a bit!
I keep hearing this propaganda over and over again, like it actually happens.
But it doesn't.
Most husbands don't "lead" their wives, like one leads sheep or lambs. They might talk like that,but most men actually have a very egalitarian relationship with the wives, because if it were any other way, the wives would kick their butts or leave.
The ones that try to "lead" their wives end up with very subservient, cowed women, or with women who are unhappy, or with women who eventually tell them to take a hike.
In the Christian faith as I know it, He is the Son of God. He must be obeyed. If obedience is required the phrasing of a command is unimportant. Christ isn't abusing His authority, but that doesn't make Him any less the boss.
If Jesus appeared and told you to "jump", would not failing to jump be disobedience to God?
If the husband loves his wife - truly loves her - there is no need for either of them to be submissive or dominant. It's thoroughly unimportant who's in charge and who's following if both people love each other equally.
Being in charge is only important if you're worried about dissention.
If something doesn't happen often, does that make it any less true?
Answer me this: why does the Bible say that the wife is to be subservient to the husband? Until you understand that, you understand nothing of the Biblical model for marriage.
You're still ignoring the part about what the husband is said to do. The Bible doesn't play with "ifs" on marriage, it's direct.
Yeah, because I'm definitely encouraging wife beating, right?
People don't care to follow the model - that doesn't make it any less than it is.
It's stupid and pointless.
If something is statistically more likely to end in failure, does that make it more or less intelligent to do?
See, once again you're making the mistake of automatically assuming that anyone who doesn't see things your way is wrong. Ask yourself this: if a great many people disagree with you on why the Bible says that a wife must be subservient, why do you dismiss their opinion without a second thought? What makes you sure that your Christian view is automatically superior to another Christian's view?
I'm not ignoring it. You're just stuck on it.
Never said that, but it's interesting that you automatically jumped to that conclusion. I wonder why that keeps springing up in your mind...
But strangely enough, the people least likely to follow that model (agnostics and atheists) are also the people least likely to have a marriage ending in divorce.
Why do you think that is?
I agree, but we're talking about a different "it", I'll wager.
More Christian marriages end in divorce than any other religion. Now why would that be?
As I'm reading this thread I'm just fascinated by how people can interpret the Bible in so many different ways based on where they live and what are the social and cultural norms of their time.
It's like there is no right or wrong, it can pretty much be read in whatever way you want it!
MB.
That would be because so many claim to be "christians", and clearly are not. Christianity is kind of the default religion in this country to many people.
Yay for anecdotal evidence!
Sorry Missus, your supposed 'fact' wasn't supported by any evidence....... So, when the statistics don't go in your favor, question their spirituality and honesty?
Sorry Missus, your supposed 'fact' wasn't supported by any evidence.
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