Wednesday, March 26, 2008

No end of nonsense on the internet

I read this tonight on the internet,
    A head sacrifices his wants and needs to please and build up his partner (Ephesians 5:2ff.) Well, since this is also true of the wife (Ephesians 5:21 -"submit to one another," then what is the difference? A head only exercises authority to over-rule when he believes his spouse is doing something destructive to her or the family. In a marriage, where there are only two "votes", how will the stalemate be broken in cases where there is not just a difference in taste or preference, but in cases where both parties believe the other is seriously mistaken? There can be no unity unless one person has the right to cast the deciding "vote". That person knows that, along with this "right' comes the greatest accountability and responsibility.
Clearly a woman ought not to over-rule her husband when she feels that he is doing something destructive to himself or to the family. Does whoever who wrote this actually believe it? Ladies if you believe your husband is seriously mistaken, you don't get a vote. If you like peas instead of corn, no problem, you get a vote.

Who wrote this? Apparently Tim and Kathy Keller. Saints preserve us. Are these poor people entirely lacking in imagination? It seems so.

If I loved someone I would try to stop them from doing something destructive. I would want to protect that person.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was unaware that Paul viewed marriage as a democracy...

how will the stalemate be broken in cases where there is not just a difference in taste or preference, but in cases where both parties believe the other is seriously mistaken?

If this is actually an issue in marriage, what the couple needs is not a "head." but marital counseling. If a marriage is in such bad shape that decisions cannot be made in any other way...? Oh dear...

Dorcas (aka SingingOwl) said...

I cannot even imagine a healthy situation in which both believe the other is seriously mistaken, the husband overrules, and...everything is peaceful and harmonious just because he made the decision? Talk about a recipe for simmering bitterness. Where can we find any of that nonsense in scripture? I know a woman, who has allowed this to happen for years. Her husband always says what they will do, and she always acquieses because that is what a submissive wife does, in her view. After years of this, he is a tyrant, and she is constantly battling depression, is very quiet, and has no confidence whatsoever. It is a tragedy playing out before my eyes.