Michael Pearl: All right. Here we are. Mike Pearl with his old black book and hairy face. And Jared behind the camera. Going to answer some questions I've not seen. And Jared, what is the first question?
Jared: According to one Corinthians 11:3, man is head of woman. I've heard you teach that means only her husband. Then, who is the head of a widow, divorcee, or older‑unmarried woman who lives outside of her father's house?
Michael: Mm‑hm. I get some undercurrent behind that there. I suspect somebody's been messin' with your mind.... There is the prevailing belief that Christians teach‑some do‑that women are secondary to men. That women were created to be ruled over by men. That's false. Entirely and altogether false.
You engage my wife in a controversial subject, and see if she submits to you simply because you're a man. She will not. And she should not. She's an individual and a human being with her own mind and her own thoughts. And she's totally autonomous. And she does not submit to the men in the church, and she does not submit to pastors and leaders. And she doesn't submit to men on the outside beyond their role or authority.
For instance, she submits to policemen, and she submits to judges and lawyers. And she submits to banking people that she deals with. And she submits to pastors in their role as a pastor. But as a female, she does not submit any more than I would submit to someone in authority. But, when it comes to me, my wife submits to me. The role of submission is not a role for women, it's a role for wives.
I'll say that again. The role of submission in the Bible is not a role for women‑as the Muslims teach‑it's a role for wives toward their husbands. There's only man that God requires a woman to submit to. And that man is her husband.
So the question is, what about the unmarried girls? Well, obviously a young girl who's still at home is under her father as a child until she is grown, mature, and maybe leaves and becomes independent. Working, living in her own house, making her own living. She's no longer under her father then. Obviously. She's only under her father if he's clothing her, feeding her, turning the lights out at night, protecting her, guarding her, and disciplining her. And still training her and bringing her up.
Then she's under him. When she's not under him, she's not under him.
Some Christians teach that a 34 year old unmarried woman living away from home still should be under the authority of her father. If she wants to stay at home and do that, that's fine. But once she moves away, she's out from under his authority. That's just a fact of the circumstances. So you say, "Who does she submit to?" She submits to God.
She has no submission to a man, as such. She's not married. And...same thing for a widow, or a divorcee. She is on her own. And until she marries, until the widow marries again, or a virgin marries, she has no head beyond God. That's the answer to your question.
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My question is, what about unmarried women who are pastors? I know the Bible teaches that women should not speak in church and that if they do have a question, they should ask their husbands at home. Does this mean that only married women cannot pastor or have leadership in the church or does this command apply to all women, whether single or married?