Both men and women have the ability to think. Why does the husband have to lead the wife to heaven? She is not a child. In a marriage, both should should lean on and help each other spiritually too and guide their children about and to God. If either husband or wife fails, the other partner needs to bolster him/her up, push him/her and take up the slack for the sake of the children.
This.
If, as you suggest, Eve did not have any power, then why would the Devil need to convince her that she has no power?Perhaps a theologian could explain to us why God asked Adam to rend an account of what happened first and not Eve. Clearly Adam was charged with “protecting the garden” and in not doing so things didn’t turn out well. Eve ate and nothing happened. Adam ate and all went haywire. Clearly God put something more critical on Adam’s shoulders because it was his transgression that brought the house down. He followed his wife instead of God.
The devil knew tempting Eve with power was effective because her position was one of a support role and not a leading one. It’s the same way women are tempted with power in the form of “abortion rights” and contraception today. The main justification I hear from feminists is “equality means a woman can go sleep around without having to worry about getting pregnant just like men.” Convince any mass group of people they have no power and then promise you will give it to them. Great way to start revolutions and destroy paradise. Same old effective tune on a different measure.
She didn’t have the same responsibility Adam had. That does not mean she lacked power rather. Men have the responsibility of authority and women have the responsibility of influence. Both are equally powerful but serve in different ways. The devil tempted Eve to want more than what was given to her by using her influence to sway Adam. Once the devil had Eve, he had a route directly to the heart of man (Adam) who gave into the feeling of vulnerability and asserted his authority contrary to God’s design.
So women are easily duped, power hungry, weak things? Keep women under the authority of men and there will be no abortion or contraception use? JPII said he was a feminist and I am sure he did not suggest anyone sleeping around.Perhaps a theologian could explain to us why God asked Adam to rend an account of what happened first and not Eve. Clearly Adam was charged with “protecting the garden” and in not doing so things didn’t turn out well. Eve ate and nothing happened. Adam ate and all went haywire. Clearly God put something more critical on Adam’s shoulders because it was his transgression that brought the house down. He followed his wife instead of God.
The devil knew tempting Eve with power was effective because her position was one of a support role and not a leading one. It’s the same way women are tempted with power in the form of “abortion rights” and contraception today. The main justification I hear from feminists is “equality means a woman can go sleep around without having to worry about getting pregnant just like men.” Convince any mass group of people they have no power and then promise you will give it to them. Great way to start revolutions and destroy paradise. Same old effective tune on a different measure.
I don’t mean to give you a hard time but I find it very difficult squaring any of this with the idea that women are equally respected and valued by the Church.
I think you have a very extreme idea of what submission is. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-7
If you are defining ones value and respect by the power they hold then that is a poor metric. We respect and value the unborn equally yet they have no power at all, not even a voice. Studies have show that women are more influenced by advertising for example (herbalwater.typepad.com/ayalas_herbal_water/2011/04/are_women_more_susceptible_to_food_ads_than_men.html). I have seen other studies that look at things other than food and the results were the same.
Moreover if Eve didn’t have any power why Adam listened to her and why he denied his own responsibility.
Absolutely!
I never said Eve didn’t have power. I said she misused the power she had and desired more. Adam on the other hand didn’t want his and the responsibility that came with it. He was like a child that threw his dinner in the garbage because he didn’t like it. Eve, like a child, wanted more desert than was given to her and she got a stomach ate from eating what wasn’t hers.
Well, if a person can entrust themselves fully to God then there is no reason to marry at all and we could all “be as the angels who are neither given in marriage nor marry.” I think this answer is like trying to pray away cancer. Sure, it might work for some but probably not most. Faith and reason go hand in hand and reason shows 2 presidents do not get the job done.