Lydia

“So why are we warned about not lording it over- this would seem irrelevant if authority was not an expectation for church leaders. We are warned because of the corrupting nature of authority, not to show it doesn’t exist.”

Mark, This is a good one. I have heard it before. and it still sounds quite silly coming from a Believers perspective whether in marriage or in the Body of Christ. Jesus Christ is the authority in both places.

But others here point out the obvious flaws in your view. Oh, authority exists alright and it is a huge sin problem for the person who wants it and thinks it is his divine right to stand in place of the Holy Spirit and the authority of Jesus Christ. Civil authority exists to deal with human evil. Some of those evil folks are married men, too. Some even claim to follow Christ :o)

Would you agree it would be wrong for a woman to submit to evil? If so, then tell us what human in her life gets to decide what is evil and she should not submit to it?