TL

”The hupotasso verb in Eph 5:21 is the only one of the whole series of participles describing “be filled with the spirit” which is in the PASSIVE voice! I don’t think that is accidental.”

Charis, 579

I get what you are saying but I think you are missing the meaning of a passive VERB. Hupotasso is a verb, which means it involves taking an action. To exercise a verb in the passive means that it is something we do to ourselves, not something that is done to us or something over which we have no choice. And what Paul is admonishing all to do (including women) is to choose to submit ourselves to other Christians. He is not saying that we are subjected unwillingly to each other. Rather we are to willingly (with volition) arrange ourselves under. This carries implications of support, respect, honor, nurturing, etc.

I understand what you are speaking of otherwise, that because of a woman’s weaker vessel she is more vulnerable to harm from the stronger vessel. It’s an excellent point and illustrates why it is important for men to use their strengths for good and not selfishly or for harm.

I will not go further than that to say that women are emotionally weaker or have a weaker internal constitution because I’ve had enough men point out to me (and have observed it myself) that men suffer internally and emotionally as well and as deeply. They just have a tendency to express themselves differently or not express anything and “stuff” everything. After a life time of internal stuffing individuals who do that become disconnected with their emotions. And there are a lot of other elements involved as well. Because women nurture and produce life from their own bodies, women are much more sensitive to damage to living things than men are. It affects us more intimately. And so forth. There are plenty of differences, some cultural, some physical, some learned…. These differences do not make men superior and women inferior. Men and women are just different. But we are still equally human.

”And the tendency among egals to try to level the genders bothers me because I think there is a backlash to it. “pro-choice” for example: the desire to get rid of that part of me which makes me distinctively female.

I don’t believe that Christians who believe in Biblical equality do this. We do not seek to “level the genders”. We rather seek to accurately observe the equality of humans among humans regardless of gender. Pro-choice is not a standard of Biblical equality.