Steeples. The Didache. Fourth Man in the Fire. Submission in Marriage.
by Pastor Walter Snyder

Q: What do you know about the origin of church steeples?

A: The use of steeples seemingly developed in medieval times. They caused churches and
cathedrals to stand out among the other buildings in the cities or among the trees and fields in the
country. They are part of the strongly vertical architecture that was common in the Gothic period
and beyond. Eyes (and thoughts and emotions) were lifted above ground level and our petty
concerns by these soaring structures.

As bells became more common, steeples were also used to hold them. The sound would travel
much greater distances when starting high above the ground and would thus reach more members
of the community with the call to worship. Thus, there are practical, aesthetic, and spiritual
reasons for the development and use of steeples.

Q: What is the origin of the writing known as the Didache?

A: The ~Didache~, or ~Teaching of the Apostles~, a Syrian Christian document, was written
around A.D. 100. Thus, by date and location, we assume that its authors probably personally
knew one or more of the Lord's apostles. It combines being a manual of rites and usages with
theological interpretation and application. From it, we have a window on the very early Church's
understanding of various Scriptures and can see such things as communion practices and
instruction of converts in the Christian Faith.

Q: Who was the fourth man walking around in the fire in Daniel 3:25?

A: We are not told for certain, but it appears that it was either an angel or else God Himself---
specifically, the preincarnate Christ---taking human form as He came to save His faithful servants.
Even the pagan Nebuchadnezzar recognized the fourth person as "like a son of the gods." Some
compare this appearance with visitors to Abraham before the destruction of Sodom (Genesis 18),
the "Angel of the Lord" who meets Hagar in the wilderness (Genesis 16:13), and with the One
who wrestled with Jacob at Bethel (Genesis 28).

Q: What is submission in today's terms regarding husband and wife? Does this have
anything to do with today's life with Christians?

A: When we read Ephesians 5, we see what true submission is all about. Note that Paul first calls
upon husbands and wives to "*submit to one another* out of love for the Lord" and only then
says, "Wives, submit to your husbands." True submission is not the abandonment of self as much
as it is the realization of self in the person and life of another. The wife, as parallel to the Church,
submits in obedience---not *blindly*, but with *eyes-wide-open*. The Church knows that
heeding and obeying her Savior's words is the greatest love she can return to Him. So also the
Christian wife knows that her greatest gift of love to her husband is to allow him to occupy the
divinely ordained headship of the family. In her submission, she models the relationship that the
Church has with Jesus.

The husband also has a form of submission: He is to love as Christ loved His Church and "gave
Himself up for her." His very life is secondary to the good of his beloved. Note that this is not
romantic love, although that may be part of the relationship. Rather, this is divine love, even when
(imperfectly) practiced by humans. This love gives without counting the cost and always places
the good of the other above good for self.

Wives would, even in these latter and "liberated" days, more likely and more gladly "submit" in
obedience if their husbands were practicing truly Christlike love in all they said and did.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of
the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."

Ask the Pastor, © 2002 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this
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