So, in clearing out a drawer full of religious junk that my mother-in-law had accumulated over the decades, my wife and her sister came across a series of little booklets put out in the 50's and 60's by the "Back to the Bible" organization. Most of it just got tossed, but one title which caught my eye was this little gem: How to Win your Husband to Christ. As noted on the title page:

(An exposition of I Peter 3:1-6, given over the Network of the "Back to the Bible Broadcast" - September, 1943)

Oh baby! That's that whole "wives, be in subjection to your husbands" bit! I figured that it would be good for a laugh. I'd hoped for something that seemed really antiquated, at odds with modern thoughts on equality and marriage.

I was wrong. I was disappointed. It's really just sad: It's exactly the sort of thing you'll find in any number of fundie churches these days, or on websites where 'good Christian women' tell how they obey their husbands because God tells 'em to. This kind of stuff:

The application to the home is that if a woman finds herself married to an ungodly or even cruel husband, she is to bear her suffering just as Christ did, trusting God to take care of the injustice suffered. Her obligation before God, who originated the marriage institution, is to be obedient.

Yeah. That crap. Put up with the bastard you're married to, because that's what God wants. If you're having problems, then it's probably your own fault, not your husband's:

Incidentally, if he has ceased to be "your own dear husband" to you, the chances are that it is just about as much your fault as it is his. God is certainly not to blame. He tells you that if you will follow His instructions, you can win your husband back to your heart and also to the Lord.

The only escape clause is that you have to obey God over your husband:

If a conflict should arise between obedience to God and obedience to your husband, you should obey God rather than your husband. Do it with a meek spirit, not in a spirit of defiance."

And lastly, it is the wife's responsibility to convert her hubby to Christianity. How? Easy:

How can you win your husband to Christ? In the first place, by loving, reverential subjection. He is your own husband, the man whom you married. Perhaps by your insubordination you have literally broken your marriage vows. You will never get anywhere that way. Be meek, sweet, kind, gentle, patient, submissive, and loving.
. . .

Perhaps you have been patient and humble in dealing with your husband, but you have been neglecting the very things which God can use to touch his heart. Your modest, meek, submissive behavior in the home will come nearer to leading him to Christ than will all the sermons that he might hear.

What a responsibility is your! May God bless you and help you to practice His instructions in your home.

And that, my friends, is how a patriarchy is maintained. And the advice is still followed to this day. Just Google some variation of 'how to win your husband to Christ' if you don't believe me.

Jim Downey