Baptists on the Proper Role of Wives

Re “A Wife’s Role Is ‘to Submit,’ Baptists Declare,” June 10: This morning, as I took a break from tending our flock of sheep to weave a new robe for my husband on the hand loom, he kindly read to me the comforting words from the convention of Southern Baptists, meeting in Salt Lake City.

It was a joy to learn that the Baptists believe the Lord to be so involved in our day-to-day activities as to confer specific duties on each of us in the administration of our households. I’m just surprised that he took on these issues before tackling the war and pestilence stuff we thought was generally more destructive to the human race. Will that be covered in next year’s pronouncements? As a dutiful wife, I will be avidly “following” developments.

LISALEE ANNE WELLS

Long Beach

*

Seems odd for The Times to publish a report on low-blood-pressure benefits next to the jump of an article on how we wives should submit graciously to the servant lead- ership of our husbands. Is The Times revealing a previously hidden agenda to imperil the well-being of some (but not all) of its readers?

STEPHENIE J. FREDERICK

Altadena

*

I was heartened to read about the Southern Baptist Convention declaring that wives must “submit graciously” to the leadership of their husbands. I am seriously considering becoming a Baptist because of this forward-thinking attitude. That is if my wife will let me.

JERRY W. PARSONS

Long Beach

*

And so when God heard the “statement” by the Southern Baptists that women must be submissive, she became so angry that she is considering banishing the Southern Baptists to Utah.

ERIS FORTUNATO

San Diego

*

Your article on the proper role of a wife caught our attention. Now that I’ve finished the dishes and put them away, I thought I’d take a few minutes to express our support for the Baptist position that wives should play a graciously submissive role in the family. By the way, it seemed like the decent thing for me to fix dinner tonight. I even uncorked a bottle of her favorite Merlot just to make her submissive existence a little more palatable.

However it may appear, I take the position of undisputed head of the family, though my wife makes the important decisions. We acknowledge that most women just don’t have a head for today’s complex world and computerized everything. (Please excuse the handwritten letter, my wife has the computer tied up right now downloading some investment analysis software she discovered while surfing the Net this evening.) In these few words, I hope I’ve made it clear that we’re 100% with the Baptists and come down solidly on the side of male dominance in the family. Now, please excuse me, I have some laundry to fold.

DAVID OGILVIE

Wrightwood