A previous post surveyed bible texts from the Old Testament writings dealing with marriage and family. I organized these texts around patriarchy, the concept that a father rules over his household through providing for and protecting members in return for their deference or obedience. Let’s take a look at similar texts from the New Testament writings dealing with marriage and family.

The historical context of the New Testament scriptures differs from that of the Old Testament scriptures. Some eight to twelve hundred years had passed. Conquest of Israel by Alexander brought in over three hundred years of Hellenistic culture. After a brief period of independence, conquest by Pompey made Israel a province of the Roman Empire. And writers of the New Testament scriptures obviously believed that through Jesus God had made a change in his dealings with his people. Nevertheless, one thing that had not changed was the belief fin the patriarchal family. Consequently, the concept of patriarchy will again serve as a good organizing principle around which these scriptures can be examined.

All New Testament scriptures assume the natural marriage between a man and a woman. Homosexual marriage seems beyond their comprehension. Jesus defined marriage as a union between man and woman. (Matt. 19:4-5). Moreover, Paul condemned. homosexuality itself in no uncertain terms (Rom. 1:24-32). Manifesting his ethical continuity with the Old Testament writings of Moses, he concluded they are worthy of death. Modern liberal theologians may not agree with Jesus and Paul. When they teach otherwise, however, they delude themselves and the congregations they allegedly serve.

Paul did not question that fathers should rule over their households. When providing guidelines about identifying potential leaders in the church, he asked the rhetorical question “if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?” (1Ti. 3:5).

Paul believed fathers should work to provide for their family. He exhorted Christians to work. (1 Th. 4:11). He instructed the church that a man who does not provide for his own family “has denied the faith” and is worse than an infidel” (1 Tim. 5:8). Moreover, he warned the church against giving financial assistance to those who refuse to work (2 The. 3:10). Provision probably included the Semitic tradition of multiple wives. Identifying the characteristics of church leaders, Paul confined church offices to husbands of one wife (1 Tim. 3.2; 1 Tim. 3:12; Ti. 1:6). This implies that general acceptance of polygamy. In contrast, Greeks had long before outlawed polygamy; Rome discouraged it.

Paul directed that men provide spiritual leadership in the church and at home. He reserved all church offices for men. ( 1 Tim. 2:12-14; 1Tim. 3:2, 3:12; Ti. 1:5-6; Christian women could not speak in church, but Paul admonished them to inquire about religious questions from their husbands at home ( I Tim. 2:11; 1 Co. 14:34). Fathers were obligated to rear their children in their religious faith (Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21).

Paul summed up the duty of a man to provide for his own and to direct their religious life in the commands for husbands to love their wives. (Eph. 5:25; Col. 3:19).This particular word for love is not erotic love, but more like divine love. It meant to love without regard to the worthiness of the object of one’s love or to any benefit that might come from the object of one’s love. It was to love for the good of the other.

New Testament scriptures all agree in the obedience of women. Peter pointed to the example of Abraham’s wife, Sarah, who called her husband “Lord” (1 Pet. 3:6). Paul, too, directed women to show obedience (Eph. 5:22-24; Col. 3:18; Ti. 2:4). Interesting, Paul never specifically commanded wives to love their husbands. Children, too, were expected to obey their fathers (Eph. 6:1; Col. 3:21).

New Testament scriptures seem more restrictive that those of the Old Testament on the question of divorce. Moses permitted a man to divorce a women who is “unclean.” A woman divorced on such grounds could remarry (Deut. 24:1-4). Jesus seemed to affirm Moses when he permitted divorce for “fornication,” or “sexual immorality,” in newer translations (Matt. 5:31-32; 19:8-9). No one is really sure what this term means). The question of remarriage is perplexing. On the one hand, Jesus seemed to say that if a man divorced his wife for something other than “sexual immorality” and a remarriage of either party took place, the new marriage constituted adultery. On the other hand, Jesus seemed to imply that if a man divorced his wife for the legal reason of “sexual immorality,” they both could remarry. It seems unfair that a woman justly divorced could remarry but a woman unjustly divorced could not.

Paul, too, condemned divorce. In an extensive passage in 1 Corinthians 7, he commanded Christians to stay with unbelieving partners if the unbelieving partners were willing to do so. (Like many of Paul’s ethical teachings, this one he based on the mistaken belief that Jesus was coming soon. He urged believers to stay in bad marriages, single believers to not marry at all, and believing slaves to remain content in their status because the end of the age neared.) But if the marriage dissolved, he directed the Christian to remain single. (Another clear teaching of scripture routinely ignored by churches of all theological persuasions). Paul condemned adultery; but under Roman law, it was not punishable by death.

So again what do we make of all this? These New Testament passages, like the Old Testament passages, seem rooted in the time and culture from which they came rather that revealed wisdom of the eternal deity. As such, they contain general common sense observations about marriage and family on which most people can agree. Marriage is a union between man and woman for the propagation of the species. Of course, along with that biological purpose comes companionship and the formation of kinship networks based on consanguinity. A father is obligated to provide for his household, even in this modern era when so many women work outside the home. Biological necessary requires a woman to carry a child for several months. This will interrupt her income capacity. Men live under a different kind of necessity--to work. Children being children, parents need to direct them and children need to obey.

But many scriptures seem hopelessly out of date for modern Western societies. They lend support to a patriarchal model in which women are subjects rather than partners. The acceptance of polygamy (which no scriptures specifically condemns), the command that women are to obey their husbands in every thing, and the outlawing of divorce and remarriage resemble the tenants of that other Semitic religion Islam more closely than they do our modern concept of marriage. As such, they offer little helpful for modern American marriages.