Re-Reading Household Relationships Christologically: Ephesians, Empire and Egalitarianism

Why has the biblical passage, Eph. 5:21-33 traditionally been used to reiterate the subordinate position of wives and women in general? This book attempts to analyze the Jewish, Greco-Roman and Christian elements of household relationships in the letter to the Ephesians as a site for postcolonial feminist theological formulations. While there are negotiations with the colonial and patriarchal environment, one may also find how the author struggles to retain the egalitarianism of early Christian church. The imagery of Christ-church union and mutuality in "one flesh" marital relationship provide pointers to re-read the text towards de-colonizing and de-patriarchalizing the Ephesian household codes.