I have never said a women could not be the spiritual head of a family.
Oh, well then we agree. The man is not, necessarily, the spiritual head of the family.
Rev Rick said:
Lead, follow, or get out of the way. Someone has to be in charge. Someone has to be responsible. Just as someone has to drive the car. Two people can't drive the car at the same time.
Sometimes someone has to be in charge, yes. But not always. In most 2 on 2 pickup basketball games, for example, it isn't necessary to designate someone as team captain. It's easier to allow the leadership role to be fluid, so either team mate can say "set a pick!" or "go to the hoop!" at any time. The same is true when we interact with a small group of close friends/family.
Rev Rick said:
Mr. Sprinkles, I believe you are looking for sexism where it does not exist.
I'm not saying you are sexist, Rev. Rick, but I have definitely found sexism in religion. Here are a few gems from the links in my previous post:
Paul says the same to everyone. God has placed the husband in the position of responsibility. It does not matter what kind of personality a man may have. Your wife may be resisting you, fighting you, and spurning your attempts to lead, but it makes no difference. I believe our wives want us and need us to lead. You are not demanding this position; on the contrary, God placed you there. You will not lead her perfectly, but you must care for you wife and family by serving them with perseverance.
and
Some men may feel they can't lead the home properly because they don't read the bible enough, or they think they are too passive and introverted to lead the household like it should be lead so they have the wife become the leader, bread winner, and major disciplinary of the children. This is a bit backwards. Um, I wonder if this has anything to do with the high rate of divorce and unhappy marriages floating around in this country.
If husbands aren't doing their jobs, then I guess I understand why the wife feels she needs to take over. Someone's got to do it, right? But this is not what God meant for marriage at all! ...
It is the responsibility of the husband to be the major breadwinner in the home.
and
Wives should submit to their husbands as they do to the
L-rd ...
Scripture instructs a wife to reverence her husband. This is difficult when she observes major character
weaknesses in him. How do you do it then? G-d wants every wife, however, to look beyond the human
deficiencies of her husband and see that G-d has given him a position through which G-d will direct
and bless. A wife is to respect the G-d-ordained office of her husband even when his human responses
do not measure up to it. If commanded to do evil, she would have to reject his command; but in so doing
she should never be disrespectful to his Scriptural authority.
...
At this point most women make a serious mistake. They do not come to their husband with their
spiritual questions and needs. If a wife has a question about a Scripture passage, she will usually ask her
pastor, a Bible teacher, or some other spiritual authority. Her reason for not going to her husband is obvious
to her. He probably will not know the answer, he is not interested in spiritual things, or he is not a
Believer. A wife who understands what motivates a husband will realize, however, that none of these
reasons are valid excuses for failing to bring a spiritual question to her husband.
...
It may also be that you do not realize that G-d delights in giving
your husband answers to your questions. Whatever the reason, it is important to remember that one of
the strongest motivations in a man is his desire to protect you. Therefore, when the L-rd provides the
right opportunities, it is important to form your own questions around the following well-documented
fears of a wife: (1) failing as a wife or a mother, (2) growing old, (3) ill health due to past sins, (4) special
awkwardness, (5) educational deficiency, (6) future of the children, (7) becoming unattractive, (8)
insecurity if the husband were to die, (9) loss of the husband’s job, (10) physical safety when alone, (11)
being displaced by another and (12) having a mental breakdown.
Rev Rick said:
Religion is not the sexist culprit your looking for. The fat slob who commands his wife to get him a beer and slaps her around is the culprit you seek, not the Christian who follows Christ.
When it comes to sexism, fascism, racism, and all the other nasty little "isms", the real-life problem is always subtler than the imagined one. The "Man is spiritual head" position does NOT condone blatant oppression of women, abuse, etc. Congratulations, but that's a rather low bar, isn't it? Even advocates of the divine right of kings would have argued that the king ought to look out for his peoples' interests.
Rev. Rick said:
Lets get down to brass tacks. What you are really saying is, the Bible is outdated and unnecessary in these modern days and times. To expand on this position, religion is a waste of time as well. If we continue down this road, this forum's only use then would be to bash religion.
Religion is not confined to the particular conservative interpretation of the Bible that I am criticizing.
Rev. Rick said:
Tradition and religion is not out dated. I challenge you and your girl friend to change roles for one year.
I couldn't tolerate the underwear....!
Rev. Rick said:
She has to pick up the check and open the door for you now. You must do what ever she did as before. Get back to me and tell me how equal things are in your life.
Oh....I see.
You're missing the point. As I said before:
I'm not making a judgment as to whether or not there can be, or ought to be, a dominant role for one partner over the other. I'm questioning the legitimacy of constraining those roles based on chromosomes, rather than relevant considerations such as actual leadership ability/interest.
The position I'm criticizing is different: it says that regardless of all the otherwise relevant considerations, the one with testicles MUST be the "leader" because that's what some ancient Palestinians believed....back when we didn't even know germs existed or why eclipses occur....
