Paul and Wives Submission - Essay Example

Religion and Theology March 4, Topic: Paul and Wives The of marriage has a beautiful explanation. Marriage means to flow together harmoniously. To noble individuals, two separate personalities, who lived in different environments, try to come close from the day of marriage, to find a common identity, a new goal and to achieve in life all that is mutually beneficial. It is a union of the souls and the question of superior or inferior status doesn’t arise in such relationships. The solemnising of marriage is often equated with divine intervention, as the wise saying goes, ‘marriages are made in heaven.’ In this paper I am making efforts to comment on extreme views about the role and status in society wrongly attributed to St. Paul. Will a realised soul like him compromise the revelations of the gospel? The real problem with all revelations, including the present issue under discussion related to the inferior status of women, is elsewhere. These revelations are not made at the mind level, but transcending the mind. At that level what is revealed is perfect and no one can imagine duality there. All realised souls reveal the same truth from their levels. Just as the sun and the moon are one and the same for all individuals practicing different faiths, the ultimate truth is the same for all men and women and for the entire humankind. But the mind-level preachers, mullah, pundits and the so-called intellectuals interpret it from the level of their spiritual progression and hence the differences crop up. Interpretations about the truth vary, but truth in in itself is Immutable. A common individual who thinks from the mind-level is unable to comprehend the profound and deep meaning of a particular word or a phrase uttered by the realised soul. Various interpretations crop which result in arguments and counter arguments. In the heat of such arguments the real issue is lost sight off. The context in which the revelation is made has some bearing, but truth is beyond all limitations of time as well. Go through the arguments of John Temple Bristow on Paul and Wives submission. He writes, “Perhaps Paul was torn between the ideal and realities of his time. Perhaps he compromised the gospel in order not to upset the social structures of his age. Perhaps Paul could not escape his own background and culture or perhaps Paul gave a good line in public, but in private revealed his own disdain regarding women.”(Preface, x) Bristow make the careful and repeated use of the word ‘perhaps’ and I give full credit to him for treading carefully while trying to comment on the revelations of Paul on this sensitive subject. This viewpoint is one that of an intellectual and has been elucidated here just to restate the position of mind-level interpretations and the pitfalls involved in such procedure. Mr. Bristow has erred in his judgment about the stand of St. Paul, relating to the status of women. Whatever are the realities of time, a Realized Soul will not employ shortcuts to gain followers for his viewpoints. He will stand by truth on his assertions on any topic, irrespective of the consequences. I believe that women are equal to men and yet I’m wrong. Let’s assume for a while, from the secular point of view that men and women are equal. From the spiritual standpoint, women are more equal as compared to men. How can one treat women as equal to men? God has created her, given her the status of more equal. Nobody can take that right away. It is the woman who gives protection for the initial nine months to the divine creative force of the future of humanity, male or female. St. Paul is aware of this position and one cannot expect a divine personality to make mistakes in divine interpretations about man-woman status. Expressing his dilemma about the stand of St. Paul on this issue, Bristow admits his confusion and writes, “We were also taught that women, according to Paul, are to obey their husbands and to be subject to male leadership. On the other hand, we were taught that women, according to the double standard, have the ultimate position of leadership. After all, “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” One may wonder, if women are less fit leaders than men, how mothers can teach their sons to be good leaders.”(Preface, ix) This is but one example about the confusion caused in the minds of the believers by such mind-level texts. Think of a bar of gold. If one has to test it whether it is pure gold or any other metal, the goldsmith has his own method of examining the same, which is quite scientific; besides he has faith on the procedure adopted by him for inspection of the same. He has the experience of examining the gold. He will not cut the bar into several pieces. The doubt arises, and an ordinary follower will question, why revelations are made in a slang that is difficult for a commoner to understand. Divine revelations are not the topics for discussion, arguments and counter arguments; their place is in the realm of faith. What did St. Paul mean when he said ‘the husband is head if the wife’ and ‘wives, be subject to your husbands?’ “The husband is head of the wife," Paul explained, "as Christ is head of the church." In English, the word "head" means literally the physical head of one's body and figuratively the leader of a body of people. “The two meanings are intertwined. Not so in Greek, where two different and distinct words are translated "head." One of these is arche (pronounced ar-KAY). It means "head" in terms of leadership and point of origin. It was used to denote "beginning" in the sense of the first or point of inception (and we use this Greek word as a prefix in such words as archaeology, archetype, and archives, all relating to old or first things). Just as it was used to denote point of origin, so we use head that way in the word headwaters (of a river). Arche was also used to denote "first" in terms of importance and power (and we use it as a prefix in such words as archangel, archbishop, archenemy, archduke, and so on, all relating to the head of a group in terms of leadership). Forms of arche are used throughout the New Testament, including the writings of Paul, to designate the head or leader of a group of people. These forms are translated "magistrate," "chief," "prince," "ruler," "head," and so forth. However, Paul did not choose to use the word arche when he wrote of how the husband is head of his wife. He was well aware of that word, but he deliberately chose a different term.”(www.beliefnet.) Instead, Paul used the word kephale (pronounced kef-ah-LAY). This word does mean "head," the part of one's body. It was also used to mean "foremost" in terms of position (as a capstone over a door, or a cornerstone in a foundation). It was never used to mean "leader" or "boss" or "chief" or "ruler." Unfortunately, an English-speaking person who reads that "the husband is head of his wife" will normally conclude that this means the husband is to rule over his wife. Paul deliberately chose the other word. (www.beliefnet.) ‘A common individual who thinks from the mind-level is unable to comprehend the profound meaning of a particular word or a phrase uttered by the realized soul, various interpretations crop up, resulting in arguments and counter arguments. The context in which the revelation is made has some bearing, but truth is beyond all limitations of time.’ (See concluding part of paragraph one above)Faith is the protective shield for a believer, whenever doubts creep in about the veracity of the revelations. If you believe St. Paul about his assertions on one topic, you cannot doubt him his revelations on another topic. Why should a Realized Soul tell a lie to his followers? He is not issuing a press statement with a purpose. He is not a literary agent who has the motivated desire to promote a book of his choice. He doesn’t own any hidden agenda. The correct approach is to experience the real identity of the revelations through meditation and seek the grace of the Saint. This may be considered as an unscientific option, but those who comprehend the merit of the divine principles, know the importance of grace. Translation of scriptures from one language to another often results in many complications. Sometimes the translator randomly selects some passages and translates them with some pre-conceived objectives. St. Paul is all for elevating the status of women and not downgrades it. He equates the relationship between men and women, like between Christ and the Church, one of mutual love and regard. Languages evolve and classical languages like Greek and Hebrew are the tough ones to translate. Correct translation and interpretations is possible only for the one who possesses rare spiritual insight and mastery of the vocabulary of both the languages. Above all, that individual needs to be a man of faith. This observation from Jon Zens comes in solid defense of the revelations of St. Paul. He writes as to how The New Testament views women: “Paul entrusted his letter to the Romans to Phoebe who delivered it for him. She was a deacon in the assembly at Cenchrea and Paul held her in the highest regard. (cf. Rom.16:1-2). Paul recognized her as a prostatis, a Greek word which carries with it the idea of leadership (cf. 1 Thes.5:12). (p.29) Conclusion: We need to reach out to the original St. Paul, and not rely on the translated scripts of the so-called intellectuals. Intellectuals have the limitations of the mind-barrier, and the Apostles (the realized souls) transcend that barrier. They preach for the benefit of humankind, both men and women and not to divide the society. St. Paul is more liberal than the advanced activists of the modern feminist movement. To impute distortions in their revelations is a meaningless, sinful exercise. Men and women are not born to tolerate each as one would find in the secular writings of the rationalists. They are there to accept each other with mutual love and respect. Mutual submission to each other is the pointer to the warmth in the relationship of wife and husband. St. Paul is for emancipation of the women, wherever he finds their conditions not up to the spiritual standards and there is no room to doubt his spiritual credentials. The actual issue, is after reading unsubstantiated translations and on the basis of hearsay by inexperienced advisers who have no idea about the real meaning of spiritual truths, men and woman get trapped in to beliefs—man thinks that he is the final authority to govern women, and women submit to such viewpoints that have been transmitted to them through hereditary and social environment in which they grow. Church, through the apostles like St. Paul, offers true redemption to both men and women. Men with half-knowledge and no knowledge about the true meanings of spiritual revelations cause the greatest damage to the society and men-women relationships. They say a lie repeated from thousand platforms turns out to be the truth. Same is the case of those individuals who still believe that St. Paul discriminates against women, by conferring on them the inferior status. The books on Bible and on the teachings of Apostles like St. Paul, run into thousands. The seeming inconsistencies heard from several half-baked sources over a period become beliefs and once such beliefs leave their strong imprint, it is difficult to remove them. Therefore, men and women need to tread carefully on the spiritual path, mindful about the divisive forces that are out to foil harmony in the society, by casting aspersions on the revelations of Apostles like St. Paul. Works Cited Bristow, John Temple. Article: What Paul Really Said About Women? Retrieved on March 4, 2012. Bristow, John Temple. What Paul Really Said About Women? HarperOne, 1991.English, Print. Zens Jon (Author) Wade Burleson (Forward). What’s With Paul and Women? Ekklesia Press, 2010. English, Print. Read More