Biblical submission and authority in marriage with special interest in the New Testament: implications for the Iteso evangelical Christians of Uganda. Biblical

Abstract

Correct practice can only flow out of correct theory. It is upon this premise that I set out to investigate the meaning of submission and authority in marriage in the relevant New Testament texts. Chapter one is introductory. Chapter 2 includes an exegetical study of Genesis 1-3 and the social backgrounds of Peter and Paul - how women and marriage were perceived in the Roman, Greek, and Jewish settings. The views and teachings of Jesus concerning Women and marriage are also included in this chapter. In chapter 3, I have exegetically discussed what one would call the "primary marriage texts", namely, Ephesians 5:21-33; Colossians 3: 18-20; and I Peter 3: 1-7. Here, the Apostles Paul and Peter clearly spell out imperatives for husbands and wives in marriage. I have also included other related Pauline texts in this chapter, because they, too, have to with man/woman and/or husband and wife relationship. These are: 1 Corinthians] 1:2-16; 14:33b-35; 1 Timothy 2:8-] 5; and Galatians 3:28. To seek to apply theological principles to the African context is in keeping with the declared purpose of the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (N.E.G.S.T.) namely, "To develop an authentic African understanding and expression of the universal gospel of Jesus Christ, and an effective cross-cultural communication of the same." This is the content of chapter 4, where I discuss marital practices of the Teso, a Nilo-hamitic people of North-eastern Uganda. In a closing chapter, I discuss a restatement of the issue, a summary, and recommendations for further research. Please note that all biblical quotations are from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, 1988 edition, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.