Original Sin and the Head of the Family

The Fall of Man by Titian

Msgr. Charles Pope has an excellent post, The Anatomy of Original Sin. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on one's philosophical worldview, it's a two-part post, where Msgr. Pope admits in the second part he has gone into politically incorrect territory. He thinks there are differences between men and women (I do too). Based on that, he talks about how Adam and Eve sinned differently in How Is Adam’s Sin Different from Eve’s?

While I've not done any serious pondering today, I remembered another politically incorrect essay about the head of the family. So today, I'm putting together two politically incorrect topics that are related. A long time ago, I read an in depth treatment on headship, Fr. Paul N. Check's "Wives, Be Subject to Your Husbands": The Authority of the Husband According to the Magisterium. How long ago? Well, I can only find it on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

A lot of people steer clear of both topics out of fear, but that is not helpful. As Christians, we should labor to understand Church teachings. That cannot be done if the topic is never discussed.

Also, I think reading St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body would be a good addition to the recommended reading list. But Msgr. Pope and Fr. Check have provided enough reading for this day.

As a final word, remember that Ephesians 5 talks about both the crown and the Crucifixion. C.S. Lewis writes in The Four Loves: "The sternest feminist need not grudge my sex the crown offered to it either in the Pagan or in the Christian mystery. For the one is of paper and the other of thorns. The real danger is not that husbands may grasp the latter too eagerly; but that they will allow or compel their wives to usurp it."