10 Objections to Wives Submitting
And why they all miss
I knew that was coming. I posted a few notes about gender roles and the duties of husbands and wives, and within hours the objections were stacking: Ephesians 5:21, Galatians 3, “What about Deborah?”, “This enables abuse.”
Real objections from real people - let’s go through every single one.
Objections
“Did you miss Ephesians 5:21?”
“This isn’t applicable anymore”
“We don’t stop being believers when we get married”
“This was just a letter to one church in one culture”
“Being one flesh means no one is under anyone”
“These teachings have allowed rampant abuse”
“Jesus never treated his disciples as if they were under him”
“1 Peter 3:7 contradicts you”
“What about Deborah, Huldah, Priscilla, Phoebe, and Junia?”
“Galatians 3:28 cancels all role distinctions”
“Did you miss Ephesians 5:21?”
Ian thinks Ephesians 5:21 flattens everything that follows it. “Submitting to one another,” in his reading, means everyone submits to everyone in the same way, so my claim that Paul never tells husbands to submit is just wrong.
Here’s the problem with that reading:
