Yeah... Male Supremacy was the act of the church. 

GREAT post! And so very true!

@fugita@xanga - Actually, it's the act of humans, church-related or not. Because there are many in the church who DO follow the proper context of what God says on this matter. So to lump those together who do not live as God would want us to regarding marriage is an unfair generlization when others DO abide by God's wishes in marriage.
I've known many couples where they don't go to church at all yet the husband still misuses that particular Scripture. So really, it's not so much the church as it is imperfect humans, some of whom happen to be within the body of Christ (believers).

@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - no one is superior to anyone ever not in marriage or life. 

@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - Just because we are equals doesn't mean we shouldn't be grateful when we're treated as such.  I'm grateful when cars follow the law and allow me to cross at a cross walk.
Why should I be grateful when they're just doing what they're supposed to?  Because so many don't do what they're supposed to.
We should be grateful for all good things in life, regardless of how worthy we are of them.

everyone is equal to everyone...God would never discriminate, no matter what the Bible says.

sage  

@leadworshipper82

I do not believe in male supremacy

When the man goes bad he gets kicked out of the house. When the woman goes bad, all hell breaks loose.  

Therefore, woman must be chaste and strong at all times.  As the woman goes, so goes Eden.

@too_pretty_to_die@xanga - You're not alone.

"Ephesians 5:22-24 -- Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything."

Sure, people can get all fluffy and say that, "Ohhhh, we're all equals, we just have different roles!"
Yeah, okay. MAYBE you could say that about a few other verses that put men and women on equal ground ...

But there's no dodging the fact that the above verses are insinuating that women should submit to their husbands in some form or fashion, which is just another archaic example of sexism. Go ahead and say it's all benevolent, that it's simply about respecting one another. But the fact is, it's putting men above women. The quote doesn't remotely address how a man should submit to his wife.

Both husband and wife will have different roles depending on their personal strengths/abilities, but nobody should have to submit to anyone else.

@princess1505angel@xanga - 

"Why should I be grateful when they're just doing what they're supposed to?  Because so many don't do what they're supposed to."

i'll save my gratitude for men who go above and beyond, and i've met plenty of them (i'm dating one as well). 

@leadworshipper82 -

"ok then... if something fails... you need to
hold up your end of the deal and be responsible for whatever it is that
fails when you make the choices you do... i take it if you were in the
Garden... you would have wanted God to also place the responsibility on
you as well right?"

i'll humor your question, even though i'm not Christian and do not believe Eden ever existed.

in this hypothetical situation, did Adam happen to grow a pair and realize that nobody forced him to take a bite, either?

@scrambledmegzntoast@hardestlevel - Absolutly correct...if only society understood this too.

@mini_mayfield@xanga - "but nobody should have to submit to anyone else."

Scripture instructs us to submit to one another out of love. (Ephesians 5) Submission is about about role, value, or supremacy, it's about love.  Just as Jesus did not demand the honor due Him (Philippians 2), we are to do the same.  This is not just for women-men, but for all believers.  We are to submit to one another because the one we modeled did that for us.

@leadworshipper82 - I recently wrote a paper on the topic of the role of women in scripture.  You brought up the issue of primogeniture (that which is first has a greater position/honor)  Three points.

1) God often overturns primogeniture in scripture.  He often honors the younger over the older (Jacob-Esau, David, the 12 tribes, etc.)  

2) The name Adam gives Eve pre-fall is "woman."  It literally means 'this one is like me!'  The name given post-fall is "Eve."  It could very well be argued that a man's authority over woman is a result of the fall, and that as Christians our job is not to perpetuate the curse, but to reverse it.

3) we don't follow primogeniture in other areas of our culture.  We don't give our firstborn a double inheritance, as instructed by scripture.  Our oldest child is not expected to be the sole provider for their parents in their old age.  They are not expected to avenge the wrongs done to their family.  If we do not follow primogeniture in every other area of our culture, why do we cling to primogeniture beliefs in other areas, such as the "Adam was created first and is therefore 'greater' " argument?

I'm not saying that men and women are exactly the same.  As noted by others, they are generally different.  However, I don't think primogeniture is necessarily a strong argument in favor of male headship. 

I believe that in every country where Christianity has been introduced, it has led to greater freedom and longer life spans for women. I believe I heard this said on the radio recently. Look at ancient Rome... women used to be considered the property of men. Christians believed women ought to have a say in who they marry, and so that meant Christian women married later (not when they were too young to have kids) and didn't die in childbirth as often. The coming of the feminazis in the modern era is what is responsible for the modern insane drivel which tries to make Christianity oppressive of the rights of women. Examine history... and look beyond the limits of the western world as well.

totaly agree. my uncle is like this and he has one daughter and 2 sons and his sons are already bossing their older sister around and she does EVERYTHING for them bc its the "womans role as stated in the Bible" and like my cousin is trying to be more like right...and she was like "oh what if i dressed like erica?" (which i was wearing shorts and shes only allowed to wear skirts) and my uncle said "well i would tell you to go put some clothes on" and she said "what if i was married and in my own house?" and he said "i would tell you to go put some clothes on...then yell at your husband for letting you dress that way"...and she doesnt understand why im going to nursing school because she thinks that all women are supposed to be stay at home moms that are at their husbands every beck and call...its so horrible and heartbreaking to me to see her at the age of 13 already in this mindset that all women are men's slaves.

im so happy my momma got us out of that kind of church and taught us right.