do it in any sense.” As such it is often distinguished from obedience, as if obedience were obligatory and submission optional. The implication then is that Paul’s exhortations are not to be taken as commands but merely as advice. This is exactly how Giles puts it: in view of Christ’s example, “the apostle’s exhortations to women to be subordinate are to be understood simply as practical advice to women living in a patriarchal culture. These directives are temporal in nature, and the response is