TL

“The use of the head/body metaphor seems, IMO, to be quite intentionally an effort to avoid worldly ideas, about husbands and wives. Paul’s frequent and exclusive use of this and other “mutually benefiting relationship” metaphors when speaking of marriage, whether Adam and Eve’s marriage, yours and my marriage, or Christ and the Church’s marriage, is, I believe, his direct attempt to undo the hierarchialist, patriarchal, ruler/husband-property/wife paradigm wrought by the fall and propegated by the world.”

Very well said, gengwall.

God’s idea/concept of marriage was always superior to what the world has come up with. Paul is attempting to steer us back toward the perfection God had in mind in the beginning. The world’s example’s are far from perfect.