I actually think Huckabee is right in his explanation of the text. Christ submitted his whole life to the church, and it is by virtue of that submission that Christ is said to love the church. Husbands, so the verses say, are to love their wives (i.e., to, in love, submit their lives to them) as Christ loved the church.

This isn't a liberal reading of the verses, which are clearly a poetic (though truthful) way of describing the Christian idea of marriage. If anything, Huckabee's response shows that he's well-thought-out on some of these interesting theological issues.

Gov. Huckabee sometimes comes across as a huckster, but I believe he is sincere both in his beliefs and in his "testimony" as a candidate. That Paul's letter to the Ephesians is the subject of this post both confirms his evangelical background and the great divide in the Christian community. We are perplexed that Muslims are divided between Shia and Sunni, but ignore the division in the Christian faith, between those who follow the word of Jesus (Thomas Jefferson most prominent among them) and those who follow the word of Paul (Gov. Huckabee and so many evangelicals). For Jefferson, the New Testament begins and ends with the four Gospels. For Gov. Huckabee and so many evangelicals, it begins with Acts and ends with Revelation. That new members of Congress were for years given a copy of the "Jefferson Bible" seems quaint today when Christianity is defined, not by Jesus, but by Paul.

The bible does indeed call for the submission of a wife to her husband, as is called for in many of the current marriage ceremonies. Whether one is or is not a religious person, I think that it is obvious that the whole concept of the bible-basd religions are sexist. Ancient men were the only ones allowed to have any authority, the only ones who were allowed to write or allowed to express an opinion. They were so certain that the male was all-powerful that, in the utmost act of their certainty, they even designated that God should be "He". Strange, indeed, as if God needed to be male, having no apparent need for male reproductive activities, etc. What would one expect from a book which was written by men. Any other conclusion would be as if the "Chosen People" were shown as the Eqyptians.

I would add: "with all due respect," I think it is perfectly valid to investigate the religious beliefs of each candidate when they make it a platform, vote-seeking device, and proclaim that their "faith" drives their every decision.

I've read "Thumpin' It" and agree with your assessments, and enjoyed the reading greatly.

We must remember that this was the guy who, during a republican convention, stopped to take a "phone call" from God on his cell phone, to the cheers of a delighted crowd who marched along with each "America is great and God's country, and we're doing the right things for the world" implication.

He made his bed, he should lie down in it. With all due respect...it has everything to do with his presidential bid, and perhaps his presidency.

Huckabee's remarks show that he has read the Ephesians text in context, since the prior verse reads, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." The grammatical structure of the text shows that this prior statement is foundational to all that is said regarding the roles of husbands and wives in subsequent verses.