By Faith Linton, ContributorDR. MYLES Munroe, the renowned author and television preacher is well-known for his emphasis on the dignity and potential of the human being as well as the importance of human relationships. I believe he is making a great contribution to our understanding of ourselves as men and women made in God's image.
I therefore read with interest the article by Mark Dawes about Dr. Munroe's views, published in The Gleaner of Tuesday, March 18. According to Dr. Munroe, when a woman marries, she "simply changes fathers...she is leaving one father going to another father - the groom." A novel idea, to say the least, but one that has disturbing implications from a biblical, psychological and linguistic point of view. Let me begin with the linguistics of it.
Words are important. They enable us to make a clear distinction between one object or idea and another, for example between father and husband. Where the distinction is blurred or confused, there can be serious consequences. We already know that in our society, some fathers fail to understand or respect the distinction between father and sexual partner, between daughter and wife, with tragic results for the daughter, especially. Words, therefore, can have psychological and moral significance.
I believe that Dr. Munroe's statement blurs the distinction between father and husband and risks creating confusion in the minds of men and women.
Dr. Munroe bases his argument on the silence of Scripture, which incidentally carries no weight. He says: "...nowhere in Scripture does the Bible ever command a woman to leave her father. It commands the man to leave his father and his mother but not the woman." However, since in marriage the two become one, the meaning of marriage and the basic principles of marriage must be the same for both husband and wife. The command to leave one's parents must therefore refer to both the man and the woman. If not, there could be endless conflict and miscommunication between them as a couple.
Perhaps the reason why the Bible does not specifically command the woman to leave her parents is that this was unnecessary - In Hebrew culture, it was the norm for the woman to leave her home and family when she married and to become part of her husband's family. So it was the sons who needed to be reminded that though they may be living and working closely with father and mother, their priority should be their wife and the new family they were creating together.
Dr. Munroe produces a slightly more weighty argument when he claims that since the woman was taken out of the man (Genesis 2:21-23) that "automatically makes the male the source and the sustainer of the female." However, a careful reading of both Genesis 2 and 1 Corinthians 11:11&12 shows that the source of both man and woman is God. Whether married or single, both look to God for sustenance and support. If that were not the case, Heaven help the single woman!
I believe that woman's creation from Adam's rib is one part of a three-fold revelation in Genesis 1 & 2 concerning man and woman, the image of God. The man and woman were designed for unity, equality and complementarity.
The design for unity is highlighted by the fact that male and female were originally one. "Mankind was made in the first place in a personal unity, not as a pair," writes Dr. Ernest Kevan, commenting on Genesis 2:21. That is the significance of the rib episode. As Kevan further states: "In (man and woman's) present separated existence each needs the other for self- completion." Unity and complementarity are the issue here, not the question as to who is the source of the woman.
According to Dr. Munroe, because the male is the source of the female, "That's why women want to be, desired to be, loved by a man who will support...sustain...and...take care of them." As a woman myself, I am not at all sure that this applies to all women. After more than 44 years of marriage I understand my relationship with my husband more and more in terms of mutual support and nurture, mutual respect and affirmation of the call that God has placed on each of our lives.
Faith Linton is a board member of Family Life Ministries and a Bible teacher.t nyu
