Early Christian Power Struggle
The passage in Ephesians prescribing the structure of the Christian Household seeks to order the home in a strongly patriarchal manner, attempting to model such a plan on the theological structure of Christ and his followers. The implications of such a prescription lead us to believe that there were at least a few, and most likely more than a few, varied types or denominations of believers and churches, and that in at least some of them women were major contributors, even to the roles and positions of authority.
The passage seems very intent on the placing of women within the structure of the home and church beneath men, saying, in fact, “wives ought to be [subject], in everything, to their husbands.” (Ephesians 5:24) This order is seemed to be divinely ordained as the author makes the comparison of why the woman should, “be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:22) Wives should accept this because, “the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church.” (Ephesians 5:23) This intentionally places Christian women in a role where to disobey or disrespect their male authoritarians is equal to doing likewise to God.
Joanna Dewey helps illuminate some of the things this passage can reveal concerning how women were involved in the early Christian Church, in her writing on the pastoral epistles. She helps us to see that what is written, “suggests that congregational behavior may well not be conforming to the recommended behavior.” (Dewey 596) The simple existence of the instruction presupposes that there is a counter behavior to instruct. As Dewey puts perfectly, “It is not necessary to instruct women and slaves to be submissive if that is their normal behavior.” (Dewey 596) What these seemingly fearful instructions do show, among many things, as Dewey has pointed out, is that there were differing behaviors and beliefs among the Christian churches, and that women must have been very active in at least some of these churches.
I did like your essay, you did a good job of focusing on the link between the household relationships and the church relationships. You did use the quotes well to support your point. I do however think that there were some verses that gave more respect to women and did not make them seem so subordinate to their husbands. I think that it might have been nice to see this contrast with what you are saying in your essay with the power struggle.
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