handy
Member
One part of this section of Scripture that I haven't seen discussed yet is this:
verse 6 "For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head."
That "if" in the text shows that this is a cultural thing...mainly because in our culture it isn't disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off. Most women don't go around bald, per se, but most adult women, especially once babies show up, do cut their hair quite short. That is our culture, for grown women to have short hair. Most women have hair that is no longer than most men, and no matter what the length of hair, it certainly isn't considered disgraceful or shameful for a woman to have extremely short hair.
The deeper context of this passage isn't the length of a woman's hair or whether or not she covers it, but rather whether or not she submits to and honors her "head" that is, her husband, and recognizes the godly roles of men and woman and our relationship in Christ.
When my dad was dying, I stayed with them and, up until the time he simply couldn't do it anymore, dad went to church. Their church, the OPC, is a pretty conservative church and many of the women would wear hats to church, including my mom and the pastor's wife.
Here's the thing...I don't know what was going on between the Pastor and his wife, nor do I care to, but one Sunday when my sister's family was visiting, I took my great nephew and sat at the back because he was a bit fussy. While I was sitting back there rocking the baby, I was astounded to see the pastor's wife, hat firmly planted on her head, doing games on her iPad during church. She then got up and laid down on her back on the floor, holding the hat in place, and closed her eyes, apparently napping.
It was so bizarre that I brought it up to my dad, who was an elder in the church and therefore in a position of authority...and he said that she did that every Sunday and the elders were "dealing with it"...end of my part in the situation. (And, yes, as I continued to go to church with dad and mom, it was noticeable that she did indeed do that every week.
I bring it up here as an example of how this text can be misunderstood and misconstrued. The pastor's wife was following the letter of the context here, head was covered, but was nonetheless dishonoring both her husband as well as Christ, (not to mention the entire congregation) to play games and lay down and take a nap, during the worship service.
Paul uses a cultural norm for back then, when it was a shame and dishonor for a woman to cut her hair, to give an example of the importance of a woman submitting to her husband's authority ( verse 3 "But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ." and verses 7-9 "For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.") The head covering was a recognized symbol of this truth...back then. But, not today.
As I shared in the Ladies forum, in our culture of today, a head covering would be almost counter productive to the gospel of Christ, for it is seen as a symbol of oppression of women...think of the hijab for Muslim women and how Muslim's treat their women. I think most Americans would associate a head-covering with such spiritual negativity, it would serve to distract from the Gospel rather than promote it.
Having said that, I also agree wholeheartedly with Jethro, that if a woman feels the conviction to cover her head, or if her husband would prefer that she keep her head covered, then by all means she should do so.
verse 6 "For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head."
That "if" in the text shows that this is a cultural thing...mainly because in our culture it isn't disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off. Most women don't go around bald, per se, but most adult women, especially once babies show up, do cut their hair quite short. That is our culture, for grown women to have short hair. Most women have hair that is no longer than most men, and no matter what the length of hair, it certainly isn't considered disgraceful or shameful for a woman to have extremely short hair.
The deeper context of this passage isn't the length of a woman's hair or whether or not she covers it, but rather whether or not she submits to and honors her "head" that is, her husband, and recognizes the godly roles of men and woman and our relationship in Christ.
When my dad was dying, I stayed with them and, up until the time he simply couldn't do it anymore, dad went to church. Their church, the OPC, is a pretty conservative church and many of the women would wear hats to church, including my mom and the pastor's wife.
Here's the thing...I don't know what was going on between the Pastor and his wife, nor do I care to, but one Sunday when my sister's family was visiting, I took my great nephew and sat at the back because he was a bit fussy. While I was sitting back there rocking the baby, I was astounded to see the pastor's wife, hat firmly planted on her head, doing games on her iPad during church. She then got up and laid down on her back on the floor, holding the hat in place, and closed her eyes, apparently napping.
It was so bizarre that I brought it up to my dad, who was an elder in the church and therefore in a position of authority...and he said that she did that every Sunday and the elders were "dealing with it"...end of my part in the situation. (And, yes, as I continued to go to church with dad and mom, it was noticeable that she did indeed do that every week.
I bring it up here as an example of how this text can be misunderstood and misconstrued. The pastor's wife was following the letter of the context here, head was covered, but was nonetheless dishonoring both her husband as well as Christ, (not to mention the entire congregation) to play games and lay down and take a nap, during the worship service.
Paul uses a cultural norm for back then, when it was a shame and dishonor for a woman to cut her hair, to give an example of the importance of a woman submitting to her husband's authority ( verse 3 "But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ." and verses 7-9 "For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.") The head covering was a recognized symbol of this truth...back then. But, not today.
As I shared in the Ladies forum, in our culture of today, a head covering would be almost counter productive to the gospel of Christ, for it is seen as a symbol of oppression of women...think of the hijab for Muslim women and how Muslim's treat their women. I think most Americans would associate a head-covering with such spiritual negativity, it would serve to distract from the Gospel rather than promote it.
Having said that, I also agree wholeheartedly with Jethro, that if a woman feels the conviction to cover her head, or if her husband would prefer that she keep her head covered, then by all means she should do so.