The Head

A few staunch biblical supporters have recently been bringing up various topics on another blog. One that interested me was the gender debate.

"It doesn’t mean that we are less the men, but men are the head. The Bible says in Ephesians 5:23, For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, so it’s not about ruling over or being controlling, God gives men the job of being the head. Then it also tell the men to love your wives as Christ loves the church. A God fearing man will not try to control or rule over but he will rule over in a Godly, loving, respectful manner. I really hope this helped you, and may God bless you." R_Tada_Endo

Let's go a little further into what the bible says (Bible.Com, NLT):

Are women equal to men? Not according to the bible. The bible says that women are a man's possesion, have less value, and have fewer rights.

Exodus 21:7: “When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are"

Leviticus 27:2-4 "The Lord said to Moses, ² “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate someone to the Lord by paying the value of that person, ³ here is the scale of values to be used. A man between the ages of twenty and sixty is valued at fifty shekels of silver, as measured by the sanctuary shekel. ⁴ A woman of that age is valued at thirty shekels of silver."

Ecclesiastes 7:28:"Though I have searched repeatedly, I have not found what I was looking for. Only one out of a thousand men is virtuous, but not one woman!"

1 Corinthians 11:9: "And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man. "

It is biblically sound to say that a woman is a man's slave. Note, a woman's own admission that her husband is her "master."

Genesis 3:16: "Then he said to the woman,“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,and in pain you will give birth.And you will desire to control your husband,but he will rule over you."

Genesis 18:12: '"So she laughed silently to herself and said, 'How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?' "

Ruth 2:5: "Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”

1 Corinthians 7:34: "His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband."

More on the difference between the rights of men and women. Do men and women have equal divorce rights in the bible? No. A man may send a woman away for the broad spectrum of things that do "not please him." A woman cannot divorce a man and remarry, but a man is allowed to.

Deuteronomy 24: “Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes her a letter of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house.

Mark 10:12: "And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery"

Women are even considered unclean. After natural menstration, a woman is required, biblically, to make a sacifice of atonement. Having sex with a woman during that time is considered an offense.

Leviticus 20:18: “If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual period, both of them must be cut off from the community, for together they have exposed the source of her blood flow."

In the bible, the most used expression of torment and pain is "a woman in labor" and labor pains are attributed to the "sin of Eve." Basically, all of a woman's pain is her own fault and she is unclean because of it. (Childbirth also makes women unlean, and sex makes both men and women unclean)

Now, R_Tada said "he will rule over in a Godly, loving, respectful manner." I cannot understand the concept of being ruled, in a situation where someone else will have the final say of everything in my life, in a "Godly, loving and respectful manner." It would be like telling a black person that white people will rule them in a "Godly, loving and respectful manner" if they just do what they are told by white people. Of couse, the bible gives plenty of directives as to how your slaves should be treated. The bible says it is ok to beat your slaves. So beating your wife is an acceptable biblical practice, since she is your slave.

I have my own head. It is quite attached to my own shoulders and functions rather well. If other women choose to relieve themselves of the burden of personal responsibility that comes making their own choices, they can have their "masters" make those choices for them. I will not participate in propagating human slavery.

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