Wowsers. xD I’ll make a few comments, but if I can begin with one humble piece of advice, it would be that getting fired up and becoming gratuitously passionate online is never, and I mean never a wise thing. It doesn’t change anyone’s minds, and biting back at somone who bit you doesn’t help anything. But that’s just my advice. 🙂
Guys want to be tough.
I should have commented on this right away. I don’t mean to come up too hard, Brian, but that comment served no purpose and is easily taken in a plethora of bad ways. It can be taken in an okay way, but when I read it, I immediately saw it as an innapropriate, facile generalization, that, even if it was true in every way, still has no impact on this conversation. The bible says nothing about men wanting to be tough, nor does it encourage it. Toughness has nothing to do with biblical manhood, or biblical womanhood.
However, I think there are gender roles that are hurtful. I don’t think that husbands are automatically the heads of their house and that wives must always defer to them because those are their set roles.
So, Lona and Al Zapor, let me elucidate on what I meant so as to avoid confusion: when I say male and female roles, I am not talking about stereotypes, toughness, strength, or emotions, I am strictly talking about the roles explicity taught in the bible. The man is told to be the head, leader, defender, and main provided for the home. The woman, whose role is just as important (my human mind even wants to say more importat, but they are equal), is to care for the home and be a help meet to the husband, yes, but it is far more than that. The strong, industrias, shrewd, virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 is beautiful. Yes, the husband is the head (I can provide many verses for that), but as Cathy was saying, fulfilling a role in which one has a head is not a bad or servantile thing what so ever.
I understand your sentiments in regard to abuse, but one has to understand that their will always be sinful men, and thus always abuse. The man who is the head of the family in the bible is not abusive, and does not treat his wife as a servant. He treats her as an equal and one to talk all decisions over, even if he does make the final choice. I hope that made sense. xD
What I mean is…does being freely subordinate to someone in any way take from your dignity as a human being? This is very status-oriented, and is status really important to equality?
I highly agreed with your implied point, Cathy, though, personally, I wouldn’t use the word subordinate due to bad connotations.
Keep it friendly y’all!
