I took part in a discussion about divorce, abusive relationships, and how female submission plays a misogynous role in evangelical, and more widely Christian, circles. The book Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians in the Bible naturally surfaces, specifically the passage in Chapter 5 dealing with wives and husbands. It occurred to me how different the discussion might be if we stepped back and really took a look at Ephesians itself and the context it provides for its contents.
Virtually all scholars judge that it was not written by Paul himself but rather a disciple of his writing under Paul’s name. Such forgery was a common and accepted practice in the ancient world with the rationale that the student was merely building on the master’s ideas. It’s why the book is considered one of the Deutero-Pauline books.
I wonder if it were common knowledge that Paul didn’t write that epistle, would the drumbeat be so fierce on female submission? What would the justifications be?