2008 Woodie Awards
People must be careful when quoting Bible
Issue date: 3/10/06 Section: Rocket Letters
To the Editor:
With interest I read Mr. Bryan Patton's essay supporting his view that "men should be the head of the family," based on his reading of sections of the New Testament. It is good that he took great pains to clarify that being a 'head' is not the same as being a dictator, and that to 'serve' is not the same as being a slave. There is no doubt a positive insight in the statements that Paul wrote to the Ephesians, particularly in his insistence that the 'head' role is to be compared with the loving care that Christ gave to his church, an unselfish love that seeks the good of the beloved, not of oneself.
However, a thoughtful reading of Paul's whole letter raises some very serious questions in regards to several of Mr. Patton's assertions. One is the claim that "God says" these things. In fact, there is nowhere in that letter any basis for such a claim. Historically, scholars have some (not universal) agreement that these were Paul's words, but few would be so rash as to say without qualification they are "God's words." If one accepts the four canonical Gospels (of course, we know that there were at least six others that were excluded in early Christian political/theological conflicts) as the actual teachings of Jesus and believes, as most Christians do, that Jesus was God, one finds nothing in the only words attributed to him that in any way supports this Pauline opinion on women's subjection. Indeed, one could argue that Paul, being a man, was giving a man's opinion regarding the marriage relationship. Of course, the church, being as it was for almost 2,000 years in the nearly exclusive control of men, might well be expected to issue teachings that elevate the Pauline view to divine truth. But perhaps, Paul, who himself never claimed his view was God's view, was simply offering advice on a relationship very important to many followers. Thus, it would be interesting to know on what basis Mr. Patton claims that all the he finds in that letter (or indeed the whole Bible) is actually "God's words."
With interest I read Mr. Bryan Patton's essay supporting his view that "men should be the head of the family," based on his reading of sections of the New Testament. It is good that he took great pains to clarify that being a 'head' is not the same as being a dictator, and that to 'serve' is not the same as being a slave. There is no doubt a positive insight in the statements that Paul wrote to the Ephesians, particularly in his insistence that the 'head' role is to be compared with the loving care that Christ gave to his church, an unselfish love that seeks the good of the beloved, not of oneself.
However, a thoughtful reading of Paul's whole letter raises some very serious questions in regards to several of Mr. Patton's assertions. One is the claim that "God says" these things. In fact, there is nowhere in that letter any basis for such a claim. Historically, scholars have some (not universal) agreement that these were Paul's words, but few would be so rash as to say without qualification they are "God's words." If one accepts the four canonical Gospels (of course, we know that there were at least six others that were excluded in early Christian political/theological conflicts) as the actual teachings of Jesus and believes, as most Christians do, that Jesus was God, one finds nothing in the only words attributed to him that in any way supports this Pauline opinion on women's subjection. Indeed, one could argue that Paul, being a man, was giving a man's opinion regarding the marriage relationship. Of course, the church, being as it was for almost 2,000 years in the nearly exclusive control of men, might well be expected to issue teachings that elevate the Pauline view to divine truth. But perhaps, Paul, who himself never claimed his view was God's view, was simply offering advice on a relationship very important to many followers. Thus, it would be interesting to know on what basis Mr. Patton claims that all the he finds in that letter (or indeed the whole Bible) is actually "God's words."
