Do wedding vows from a much older time have a place in today’s world? Most modern women wouldn’t think so.
Recently, at my niece’s wedding, which was beautiful and attended by friends and family, the preacher really went Old Testament – talking about the woman needing to submit to and obey her husband. It wasn’t a nod to the past, he really was into it and went on and on, stopping short of insisting that she wear a burka.
What happened to the trend (for centuries) that God keeps getting nicer?
The wedding was in Baton Rouge, which isn’t a hotbed of progressive thought. So during the ceremony, I thought maybe I was the only one who was taken aback by all the ancient biblical recommendations for the bride and groom in their new life together. At the reception I was pleasantly surprised by how many people shared my surprise about the old-fashioned vows.
Even setting aside the blatant sexism for a minute, why would someone (the bride) want to submit to another person, especially someone who’s less educated and makes less money among other things. I assume the bride was probably physically weaker than the groom, but that’s not what determines status in a marriage these days, it’s supposed to be an equal partnership.
I didn’t mention anything to the couple on their big day of course. But some people who know them well said that they probably didn’t realize that the Baptist preacher was going to go in that direction, The preacher is apparently a friend of the groom’s family, not their spiritual leader, I hope.
My niece and her husband went to Disney World for their honeymoon, and I’m sure they didn’t give any thought to the old time talk from the preacher.