What many people and critics of the apostle Paul fail to realize is that they are reading the bible through the eyes of a modern 21st century perspective, rather than the through the eyes of the 1st century world to which Paul was writing.
Not buying it Betty. That's the liberal church's way of looking at things and also of distorting and changing God's laws when they don't suit their purposes. I don't know about you but I believe that God is the author of the Bible. That means it wasn't Paul who was giving his own personal opinions concerning instructions for men and women, it was God. If we don't believe God authored the words of the Bible, then we can't really believe anything in the bible.
Contrary to what you are saying, what many people and critics of the apostle Paul fail to realize is that they are reading the divinely inspired words of God and not the bible through the eyes of a 1st century misogynist. I think it's very disturbing that modern Christians don't understand that because it's basic to sound theology. When you read Exodus, you're not reading Moses' biases, you're reading the word of God. When you read the Psalms, you're not reading David's words of intolerance, you're reading the word of God. And so also when you're reading the New Testament writings, you're not reading the private thoughts of Paul, Peter or John that are not authoritative, you're reading God's word. The liberal church is astonishing to me in their lack of understanding of this fact that all Christians should know.
At the time Paul wrote women were mistreated by men and were pretty much considered cattle or at beast their husband's property.
A Man in the creation order being ordained by God to be the head of the family is not misogyny. Misogyny is defined as dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women. Do you see any evidence
in scripture of any of the apostles mistreating women or treating women as cattle? You've fallen into the same trap as the secular world in thinking man's God given headship equals misogyny. What those who are not Christian do regarding women is of no consequence to what Christians do.
Eph 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Col 3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
That's Paul teaching us to love our wives as Christ loves the church and gave his life for it. Does that sound like him thinking they should be oppressed, victimized or treated as cattle? Paul teaches respect and honor to women. Just because God has placed an order of things between a man and a woman, the modern church wants to say it is bigotry against women. Well, if that's bigotry, then God is a bigot. Because it's not bigotry or misogynism or any other sex-baiting name people want to call it. Women are not to rule over men in the church, and that's not debatable as far as God's word is concerned. It has to do with the creation order and the will of God, not Paul's personal opinions about women.