Are husbands/men the HEAD of the wife and/ or women. my research indicates a different take on this. While I am A Traditional complimentatian the Egalitarian view speaks to the problem of some men's religious abuse of the woman.
The term headship has erroneously been used to mean leadership or authority of men over women. The term "headship" is not found in the bible but that does not prevent people from making up meanings for words to promote other views. They might be false teachings. Or maybe they are fully persuaded in the view that men are to rule like that. The most common false teaching is that man is the head of the home. It says head of the woman not the home. Anyone with half a brain knows a woman runs the house. But then that depends on your definition of head.
"1 Corinthians 11:3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
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The following quote is from a Christian equality site, (Egalitarian).
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"Both Complementarians and Christian s agree that the Apostle Paul wrote that the "husband is head" and "wives, submit," and that he was divinely inspired to write what he wrote. The difference is where they each end up by way of interpretation of pertinent Scriptures.
Complementarians understand "head" to mean "leader" and "authority figure," as the head of an organization like its president or chief executive officer. Christian Egalitarians consider this understanding to be contrary to the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, they believe more attention needs to be given to discerning (1) what Paul actually meant when he penned those instructions, (2) to what extent his gender-based guidance was intended for an abusive first century culture in which women were considered disposable entities, chattel (property of husband) and permanently minors legally and to what extent he was prescribing a hierarchical relationship in which wives must be under husband authority for all people in all times.
Much has been written concerning the meaning of "head" in the New Testament. The word used for "head," transliterated from Greek, is kephalē � which means the anatomical head of a body. Today's English word "cephalic" (sə-făl'ĭk) means "Of or relating to the head; or located on, in, or near the head."
In the New Testament, a thorough concordance search shows that the second most frequent use of "head" (kephalē), after "the structure that connects to our neck and sits atop our bodies," is the metaphorical sense of "source."
In Hebrew thought, perhaps greatly because of the law of primogeniture, which gave the first-born considerable rights and privileges over later born siblings, it was very important to determine who came first in birth order.
Therefore, Paul and other rabbis pointed to the Genesis 2:22 record, "the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man," making it clear that the male was the first-created (first "born") and therefore perpetually entitled to special rights and privileges under primogeniture.
While it is benevolent to consider the husband's headship as meaning he is the source who works to ensure his wife's growth and development as a person, it still requires gender bias, implying that somehow he is uniquely (and better) qualified to provide growth and development to her, more than she would be to mutually provide those benefits to him. The wife's submission is seen in the context of Paul's injunction (in Ephesians 5:21) for all Christians to submit to one another.
A straightforward reading of Matthew 20:25�26a, Mark 10:42, and Luke 22:25 may lead one to conclude that Jesus even forbids any hierarchy of relationships in Christian relationships: "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you!" While "lord it over" implies abusive leadership, his words "exercise authority" have no connotation of abuse of authority.
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The meaning of head is easily translated the source that set in motion. It is closer to a river head rather than simple head knowledge.
Even though Christ was sent by God. Man came from Christ who created all things. But woman came out of man. The most prominent part is the head which cannot be overlooked. That is what head covering is about. A woman needs her head covered because of angles. A man needs his head uncovered because he is to let God's glory shine through him.The river head starts in motion the entire course of the river of life or death. Through Adam all have sinned. And the life of the head has influence on all that come after.
The term headship has erroneously been used to mean leadership or authority of men over women. But according to flesh she is a woman (needs covering). But spiritually she is also one of mankind and joint heirs with Christ.
According to the flesh men are stronger and women bear children. But According to the Spirit women must maintain their own personal relationship with God to help others, And yes, help lift up the husband. :yay:
