Saying Yes, Saying No

I read this today in a blog comment:  A yes is only a yes if a no is possible.

The quote was in a comment to blog post concerning a book written by an author who believes that a hierarchical marriage structure is Biblical.  Can a wife really say yes to a husband if he is in absolute authority?  If her no is not possible then her yes is not really a yes at all.

Think about that.  And think about its implications and how it can lead to situations in which the wife is abused or assaulted. 

In a related thought, think about David and Bathsheba.  Did she really commit adultery?  Could she have said no to King David?  If she could not have said no, then would her yes had been real?  The New Interpreter's Bible goes so far as to call the intercourse between David and Bathsheba rape.

Stretching the point even more (to a point completely unrelated to the other two ideas), it follows that if God desires us to say yes to him, then he had to grant us the ability to say no.  A loving response from us to God is only possible because he has given us free will.  We can say yes only because we can say no.