are christian wives respected?

I thought the reasoning behind the leadership role came about as a result of the excuses made by both Adam and Eve when they ate the fruit they were forbidden not to. Eve said, well the devil tricked me and made me do it, and Adam said, this woman you gave me tricked me and made me do it.Therefore, according to my perhaps limited understanding, God decided that instead of them making excuses and accusing each other He would make Adam ultimately responsible. So since Eve was so easily influenced by sin and Adam wanted to make excuses and blame his own mistake on Eve, that now Adam would bear the burden of seeing that he and his wife were not lead astray and would take the fall ultimately for both of them. And for Eves part in their demise she would have a difficult childbirth, or simply put it would hurt like the dickens but she would always by design from that day forward want a husband and children.It seems to me that Adam could have easily avoided this burden had he just owned up to eating the fruit and said oops my bad instead of blaming it on Eve. As for Eve, well obviously she liked red shiny things and she did after all get lead astray and then tried to trick Adamaccording to the bible. If you think about it, Adam got a pretty heavy burden, whereas Eve, although still accountable, has her husband to lean on.Whether or not anyone agrees with the arrangement is irrelevant, but it’s my simplistic understanding of why it is as it is in marriages that are faith based. It is your own individual choice whether or not you want to enter into a marriage that is equally yoked, however it is highly advisable according to the biblical teachings, and most certainly for these reasons alone.If you don’t see eye to eye going into it, then your relationship won’t work. The bible teachings are a design or how to book for a Judeo or Christian way of life, but its still your decision and free will to abide by it or not. Lots of people pick and choose what they want to live by and what they don’t in the bible, I think most people would agree you cant do that and call yourself a true Christian or Jew. I live by the Old Testament alone, (that and some critical thinking).Some would label me a Jew and not a Christian, either way I don’t really care, but I would never marry someone who thought differently, more specifically live by the New Testament, it would just never work. So it must be a choice to play the game by all the rules or not, as long as everyone knows exactly what they are and that they are in agreement whom is it hurting?I am not married but I liken it to the following example. I could work for a guy that sees me as his lesser partner, I choose not to, I work for someone who values my opinion, however I certainly can appreciate the fact that ultimately it will be him that takes the fall for bad decisions and not me! LolhehehehAlthough I am certain there will be some repercussion for my participation, but it is he that will take the brunt of the heat for it. However I would never intentionally entice him to make a bad decision because I respect him and we are on the same team, I depend on him and trust his ability to make sound decisions, otherwise I wouldn’t be here, and vice versa.Thus we see eye to eye and that is why he hired me and why I continue to choose to work for him, because we are equally yoked so to speak on how we view a working business relationship. There are certainly many people in my company that doesn’t see our standard mode of business the same way we do, who cares? It works for us.[This message has been edited by Harmonization, 03-07-2003]

[quote]"Now, about the Adam and Eve stuff...Do you believe that they really existed and the story as it is told really happened, or is it a story told by a male-dominated culture to try to explain why it is OK for women to be subjugated by men for all of time?"subjugated? Hey we are not fighting a war here.we are talking about a marriage with Christ as the focus. Subjugated? Who is subjugated? Where does it say anything at all about women or more specifically wives (which is the topic) are supposed to be domineered, conquered of subjected to anything? subjugated? As in under enemy control? That’s an extreme if I ever heard one.Ok Ill go with the Merriam Webster definition of subjugated: 1. to bring under control and governance as a subject : CONQUER 2. to make submissive : SUBDUEOr how about the same thesaurus version of subjugated: CONQUER 1, bear down, beat down, crush, defeat, overpower, reduce, subdue, vanquish Related Word compel, coerce, force 2 Synonyms ENSLAVE, enthrall.AnyhowWell if you are going to choose to live by the biblical scriptures than yes one would have to assume that part is just as true as any other part. From what I hear to be able to call yourself a true Christian living a Christian way of life you cant pick and choose what you want to believe in and throw out the rest. To each his own, whether or not I believe it is irrelevant. I dont ever foresee myself getting married, I just gave my limited understanding of why it was set up that way in the Christian bible.I still dont think however it is as severe or demeaning as some make it out to be tho. I think there is some sort of common sense clause that if your husband asks you to do something against biblical laws or that is just down right mean or stupid then no, or course you are not supposed to submit.The husband is supposed to love his wife as he loves himself, (and as Christ loves the church) he is supposed to be Christ-like in his approach to her and by that definition he is obviously not supposed to abuse her in anyway or be overpowering, domineering or demeaning. So if he is holding up his end of the bargain and is treating her as Christ treats His church, then her part of the deal is to trust him and submit to his will as his will is supposed to be the same as the will of God (as so should hers).I still believe the general idea is to submit to one another as you submit unto Christ, but the husband will be the one held most accountable for his family unit when it comes down to it just as the church will held accountable to Christ and so on. Its like God is just saying, hey Eve dont make it hard on Adam, talk to hubby before you eat the next apple, and listen to him if he has got it right because its him that is going to take the whole blame next time. (ok maybe that is not what He is saying but that in IMO is how I interpreted it)I have certainly met men that seem to take that notion (of being the boss) to an extreme and are possessive and mean because they think the bible says its their right, but that is not what it says. It does not say Husbands, force your wives to submit, conquer them and beat them down if they don’t submit (as a matter of fact it says just the opposite), it simply says that the wife should willingly submit to her husband. It doesn’t say anything anywhere about forcing the wife to submit or to be subjugated, if it does please show me where.I think people too often times take things out of context, they see a line or two they like or dont like so they try capitalize on it and set it in stone or invalidate the whole thing. Like I said, to each his own.Anyhow, sorry for buttin in...toodles...[This message has been edited by Harmonization, 03-07-2003]

I am unable to debate that way of life because its not mine. I follow the Torah not the modern Christian bible and in particular not the New Testament. So I cant really argue the point. I just gave my limited understanding.Jewish traditions are different than that of Christian. We also have the rabbinical teachings to help us make sense of the Torah and we are almost always in struggle with the written word. Buts thats our way, thats how we learn, and how we adapt.And no, I dont know anything about unicorns, or bats other than I have to rescue the neonates (bats) every year from our company parking lot, and no I dont wear mixed fiber only all cotton or silk clothing, no comment on the homosexual issue, to each his/her own.There were many stories of strong and godly women who were well respected in the bible and the Torah, please dont negate their greatness by only focusing on what you perceive negative. And no there is no definitive proof of anything, that’s why its called faith. I cant even prove that I am sitting here typing, maybe this is just my perceived altered reality? Or someone else’sha ha.And yes I believe for the most part the bible is almost like folklore, a little fact and a little fiction. Not to be taken absolutely literal word for word.Well I think I must have made a mistake coming here thinking I might learn something. I dont see the point in attacking someone’s faith, its a bit like trying to make someone prove they have a particular emotion, or that they have happy marriage, its too abstract, it too open to interpretation. How can anyone provide definitive proof of his or her perception of a concept?Have a nice day.

Not the Christian based concept of hell. And this is where it gets a bit complicated, the concepts of heaven and hell are vastly different between the two religions.To us, (and I cant speak for every sect since I fall into the reformed category) hell means death, physical and spiritual death, period. No fiery pit, no scary red man with horns and a tail, none of that. Just death. We dont follow the laws to get a reward or avoid punishment, we follow them because we are commanded to by God in the Torah and further instructed in the rabbinical teachings of the Talmud.If we dont live the laws or choose not to believe, to our own detriment, we loose our spiritual inner self, we cut ourselves off, from God and our own people. I cant explain every aspect of my belief here so I will just leave it at that.Not everyone agrees with believing in God, higher power, Creator, whatever, thats ok. To each his/her own. But there is nothing that can ever dissuade me from believing in God, however that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to learn about the world I live in. I still believe that the two (evolution and creation) can support each other, not just rip each other apart.And since this is now off topic, have a nice day.