November 11th, 2009
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Ephesians 5 suggests that wives must obey their husbands as if they’re Jesus.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Apparently, the husband is in control of the house in the same way that Jesus is in charge of the church. Admittedly, the next verse does suggest that men should love their wives as Jesus loved the church, so much so that he died for it. While that is admirable, the suggestion here is that a wife who does not submit to her husband is a bad wife and a bad Christian.
The fact of the matter is, your husband is not a god, nor do you have to treat him like one. When he’s being an ass-hat, you should be able to tell him as much without fear of god-like fury, such as being dowsed in gasoline and lit on fire. That actually happens in some parts of the world, although I doubt the women use the term ass-hat.
A marriage is a partnership, and it cannot work in a healthy manner without mutual love and respect. Passages such as these were very obviously written by men with control issues, not by an all-loving god.