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Summary
- The New Testament asks all Christians to submit to God, to church leaders, to governing authorities and “to one another out of reverence for Christ” (James 4:7; Hebrews 13:17; Romans 13:1; Ephesians 5:21).
- The verses telling wives to submit address wives about their husbands and are paired with commands for husbands to love their wives (Ephesians 5:22–33; Colossians 3:18–19; 1 Peter 3:1–7).
- Complementarian statements, such as the Danvers Statement (1987–88) and the Baptist Faith and Message (2000), teach a wife’s submission to her husband’s leadership; Christians for Biblical Equality teaches mutual submission in marriage.
- John Paul II wrote that between husband and wife the “subjection” is “not one-sided but mutual.”
- The Catholic Catechism teaches that obedience to parents ends when children are grown, but respect is always owed to them (2217).
- The U.S. Catholic bishops reject the use of Ephesians 5:22 to excuse abuse; the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version (James 4:7; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 3:1, 7; 5:5; Romans 13:1; Ephesians 5:18–33; 6:1–2; Acts 5:28–29; Philippians 2:5–8; Luke 1:27, 38; 2:42–51; Colossians 3:18–19; Titus 2:3–5; 1 Corinthians 11:3; Galatians 3:28; 1 Timothy 2:11–15) and the King James Version (1 Corinthians 11:3).
- Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, “The Danvers Statement” (1987, final form 1988). https://cbmw.org/about/the-danvers-statement/
- Christians for Biblical Equality, “Men, Women, and Biblical Equality.” https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/men-women-and-biblical-equality/
- Southern Baptist Convention, The Baptist Faith and Message (2000), Article XVIII, “The Family.” https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/
- Piper, John, “For Single Men and Women (and the Rest of Us),” and editor’s note 6 to George W. Knight III, “Husbands and Wives as Analogues of Christ and the Church: Ephesians 5:21–33 and Colossians 3:18–19,” in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, ed. John Piper and Wayne Grudem (Crossway, 1991). https://cdn.desiringgod.org/website_uploads/documents/books/recovering-biblical-manhood-and-womanhood.pdf
- John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem (1988), 24. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1988/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_19880815_mulieris-dignitatem.html
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2217 and 2230. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7U.HTM
- Orthodox Church in America, The Orthodox Faith, vol. 4, “Marriage.” https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/spirituality/sexuality-marriage-and-family/marriage1
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women (2002). https://www.usccb.org/topics/marriage-and-family-life-ministries/when-i-call-help-pastoral-response-domestic-violence
- National Domestic Violence Hotline. https://www.thehotline.org/
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