A Bible Lesson For Huckabee

Last night I wrote 3 comments to the NY Times shortly after the end of the Republican debate. In the last one I directly challenged Huckabee's comment on the Ephesians quote directed his way. It is exactly the response he gave why I am completely against even the mention of religion in the run for president of a constitutional government. In any event on the comments board someone attempted to justify Huckabee's "husband is asked to submit" comment by quoting the verse prior to "Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands." Huckabee if he could have actually said it would have said that the Bible asks husbands to submit to his wife, but he knows full well that he cannot say so because he has no Biblical reference for such a statement. So let's get the point out of the way once and for all.

If we look at the Book of Ephesians we will understand what we are reading by reading carefully. I use the KJV. I do not support the use of any of the "international English, Common English, or other translations because first and foremost they, in my opinion distort the KJV text in order to fulfill some particular angle. Secondly the language and syntax of the KJV is contemporary with the translations of other ancient texts so that when we find particular words and phrases we can cross reference those with other ancient texts. This is nearly impossible with the newer "modern" translations. Anyway. Back to Ephesians.

Ephesians is not the words of Jesus and it says so:

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Now understand that with the above, we understand Paul to be speaking to "the saints. " So when we are reading Ephesians 5 it is Paul's opinions and it is directed at the aforementioned "saints". Ephesians 5 states:

¹Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

²And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

³But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

⁴Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

⁵For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

⁶Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

⁷Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

⁸For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

⁹(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

¹⁰Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

¹¹And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

¹²For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

¹³But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

¹⁴Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

¹⁵See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

¹⁶Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁷Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

¹⁸And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

¹⁹Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

²⁰Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

²¹Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

²²Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

²³For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

²⁴Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

²⁵Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

²⁶That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

²⁷That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

²⁸So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

²⁹For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

³⁰For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

You'll note that these are general statements given to the collective known as "the saints" it is general instruction on how to live and applies across the board. You will notice that everything up through verse 21 is directed at the saints. Once we hit verse 22, we find that Paul makes a specific reference to wives and specific references to husbands. In other words, the commentary prior to verse 22 are general. and is punctuated with a full stop. End of thought. Verse 22 indicates a brand new line of thought for Paul. It is clear that Paul is telling his "saints" that they owe each other a general, non-specified, type of submission but that wives owe their husbands a degree of submission above and beyond that which is required by the general population of "saints."

[update 12:10 PM]
Some "scholars" attempt to read verses 21 and 22 as an ongoing thought. The grammar used does not indicate that at all. Rather the semicolons used prior to verse 21 clearly show that those thoughts and the final submit ye to one another are connected in the same thought and that verse 22 starts a new, if related thought. What those "scholars" are proposing is that they knew better how to translate the original greek transcript better than the scribe(s) authorized by James. However; we cannot trust that assertion since those scribes are not here to defend their particular translation and why they put the specific punctuation where they did. therefore; it becomes the current scholars words against dead scribes, a wholly unfair proposition. It is better to take a wide view of all of Paul's writing to understand what Paul's position is in regards to women and he does so elsewhere as I note next.

[/update]

Now for anyone confused about what kind of submission Paul is referring to we need look no further than 1 Timothy 2:12:

¹²

But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

Paul is writing to his "spiritual son" Timothy and the chapter in the New Testament is, like ephesians, a list of things to do and not to do.
it is clear that Paul feels that men are the head just as Christ his the head of the Church. It is also clear that Paul feels that women are to be under the authority of men, be it a husband or other authority figure. To suggest that these passages state or imply otherwise is wrong or at the least dishonest.