<P> Wayne Grudem criticizes commonly rendering kephalē in those same passages only to mean "source", and argues that it denotes "authoritative head" in such texts as 1 Corinthians 11: 3 . They interpret that verse to mean that God the father is the authoritative head over the Son, and in turn Jesus is the authoritative head over the church, not simply its source . By extension, they then conclude that in marriage and in the church, the man is the authoritative head over the woman . </P> <P> Another potential way to define the word "head", and hence the relationship between husband and wife as found in Bible, is through the example given in the surrounding context in which the word is found . In that context the husband and wife are compared to Christ and his church . The context seems to imply an authority structure based on a man sacrificing himself for his wife, as Christ did for the church; a love - based authority structure, where submission is not required but freely given based on the care given to the wife . </P> <P> Some biblical references on this subject are debated depending on one's school of theology . The historical grammatical method is a hermeneutic technique that strives to uncover the meaning of the text by taking into account not just the grammatical words, but also the syntactical aspects, the cultural and historical background, and the literary genre . Thus references to a patriarchal Biblical culture may or may not be relevant to other societies . What is believed to be a timeless truth to one person or denomination may be considered a cultural norm or minor opinion to another . </P> <P> Christian Egalitarians (from the French word "égal" meaning "equal") believe that Christian marriage is intended to be a marriage without any hierarchy--a full and equal partnership between the wife and husband . They emphasize that nowhere in the New Testament is there a requirement for a wife to obey her husband . While "obey" was introduced into marriage vows for much of the church during the Middle Ages, its only New Testament support is found in 1 Peter 3: 6, with that only being by implication from Sarah's obedience to Abraham . Scriptures such as Galatians 3: 28 state that in Christ, right relationships are restored and in him, "there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female ." </P>

What are the four characteristics of the christian view of marriage