Does the Bible say that a woman should be submissive to her husband? – 05/30/2023 – Daily life

Does the Bible really say that women should allow themselves to be subjugated by their partners?

Yes, those words are there. But, like almost everything when it comes to interpreting the sacred books of Christianity, there is more than one interpretation for the verse that is often used to justify sexist views about the role of each gender in society.

The debate emerged once again after federal deputy Deltan Dallagnol (Podemos-PR) evoked in the program Roda Viva (TV Cultura) an excerpt from Efésios, one of the works of the New Testament. Bible verses there, he said, show that “within the home there is a headship of the man over the woman.”

“It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, if I agree or not, what matters is that it is in the Bible and that would violate that specific gender equality clause”, said the parliamentarian awaiting an impeachment already sealed by the Electoral Justice.

The faithful of a Baptist church touched on the theme after being asked about a prior statement against the Fake News PL. In April, he said that the bill gave scope to veto biblical passages on social networks. The post predates the maneuver by Orlando Silva (PCdoB-SP), rapporteur of the PL, to shield religious speeches from the proposed regulation, a nod to the evangelical bench.

One of the excerpts in danger, according to the former Lava Jato prosecutor, preaches that “women be submissive to their own husbands, as to the Lord”, since “the husband is the head of the woman, as also Christ is the head of the church”.

Presenter Vera Magalhães classified the deputy’s speech as an “interpretive triple twist”, and accusations rained down that he sought biblical legitimation for an odious social trait that, ultimately, can lead to femicide.

The idea that God wanted subordinate women is even used to deny them leadership roles in Christian temples — the case of Catholics prohibited from leading masses and Evangelicals excluded from shepherding.

This reading extends to other biblical corners. Just go back to Genesis, the very first of the biblical books, argue the heralds of male superiority. If God saw the two genders as equal, why did he create Adam first, and from his rib he formed Eve?

It was the seminal woman, moreover, who gave in to the serpent’s temptation and first nibbled on the forbidden fruit, to later offer it to her companion in Eden. As punishment, God gave her birth pains, misfortune extended to all mothers in the world. He also determined that Eve wanted her husband and was dominated by him.

Various religious groups embrace the biblical literalist view that a good wife is one who submits to the command of her male partner. A testimony given at Godllywood, a Universal Church project that says it wants to “rescue forgotten values ​​in our society”, is a good example of what we are talking about.

Published in 2019 on the church’s website, it was written by a faithful who says she is attentive to a lesson taught by Cristiane Cardoso, daughter of Bishop Edir Macedo at the head of Godllywood. “You said the devil has invested heavily in women to drive them to loneliness in this era of ’empowerment’.”

The author then tells that she was a feminist who fought for “equality rights, to have the same salary and the right to speak”. But she believed doing it “in the wrong way and on the wrong side”.

She then began to pray for the Lord to change her and give her “these characteristics, to be meeker, sweeter and even more fragile to be cared for”.

In 2016, Cristiane had already resorted to Efésios to convey her view on the role of married women: “Being a wife is taking care of your husband, because just as you want a man who protects you and gives you security, your husband wants a woman to take care of him. The man who is respected by the woman takes pleasure in taking care of her, but the man who is annulled by the woman does not take pleasure in taking care of her”.

For pastor Elizete Malafaia, the Bible “does not talk about blind and stupid submission”, but about following “a man who protects you and wants your good, not the one who mistreats you, does not respect”.

From the perspective of Elizete and Cristiane, subalternity, except for that which conditions a woman to an aggressive or careless man with her, is welcome. After all, God wanted them to be the natural leaders of the family.

Nilza Valéria Zacarias, one of the coordinators of the Front of Evangelicals for the Rule of Law, has problems with this conception. “An honest reading” of Ephesians, she says, would lead to a different interpretation that highlights gender equality.

“If I’m in a relationship, and the man loves me like Jesus loved the church and gave himself up for her, I will fear absolutely nothing that this man will do to me. Whoever loves unconditionally doesn’t make the other put himself in a position bottom.”

For her, it is necessary to advance to the second part of the biblical message, which says: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her”.

Theologian Valéria Vilhena also sees “intellectual dishonesty” when Christian groups omit this sequence, implying that God wants pure and simple submission.

Founder of EIG (Evangelicals for Gender Equality), she criticizes “a shallow, excluding interpretation without contextualization of biblical texts”, as Deltan accuses of having done. If we allow ourselves to be carried away by a “medievalist worldview”, she claims, we will fail to recognize that the Bible was written in a certain social environment. Apart from the translations produced over the centuries, influenced by patriarchal times.

The verses in question also provoke disquiet in conservative women. See a question received by the influential pastor Antonio Junior: “What does the Bible really mean about a woman being submissive to her husband? Sometimes I think my husband is using [Efésios] to abuse me and humiliate me”.

The evangelical leader disapproves of would-be Christians who use an isolated clipping to demand sexual demands from their partner. But he says everyone needs to understand his mission within a marriage. If it behooves a man to honor his wife, she cannot “be bossy and want to act like she’s single.”

“We Christians don’t think it’s bad to be submissive to Jesus, right? Because with Him we feel safe, loved.” For him, it’s the same thing in marriage.