Subject: Must a woman have long hair |
Bible Note: Apostolic, In attempting to understand Paul's meaning when he writes concerning the headcovering in 1Cor. 11, it is imperative to know what cultural issues were prevalent at that time. Greek women rarely appeared in public, they lived in strict seclusion. Unmarried women only left the house on special occasions, while married women were mostly confined to "women only" areas. Under these circumstances it would not be very good for women to flaunt their freedom in Christ by discarding the headcovering (worn by the Greeks as a symbol of submission to authority.) Apparently, the Corinthian women did not see a need to continue this practice (of wearing the headcovering) since they had come to know that in Christ "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28) Paul however, seemed concerned that this would convey the wrong message to the Greek community, so he appeals to the custom, even though in the Jewish community of ancient times, both men and women went around unveiled. Gen 24:64-65.(Later Jewish authorities however, did insist on the veil.) Where, if not the Grecian culture, did Paul get the idea that women should pray with their head covered? Did the OT scriptures teach this? He makes his argument *to the Greeks* by appealing to the created order and angels, but even these things don't teach that a woman must have her head covered. He only lends confirmation to societal norms that the Greek culture had erected. (Similar, is the way he dealt with the issue of slavery; requiring the slaves to be obedient and not revolt.) Paul says "Does not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame to him?" Where does nature teach this? How could nature teach this? Is he not referring to their own customs with this statement? In fact, in the Hebrew culture, the male *and* female were required to shave their heads to become a Nazarite, and then, afterwards, they were commanded not to cut their hair! Why would God want someone to do something that was against nature? The Nazarite vow was anything but a shame. To take the vows of a Nazarite was considered very honorable in *Israel's society*. (Num 6) Let's face it, there were many situations in the Church at Corinth that do not prevail today, (such as the problem of eating meat sacrificed to an idol) therefore it is not wise to attempt to use a verse out of it's cultural context to deal with a situation in a modern-day Church. I say, that we should be a little lenient in the application of certain verses, unless we are faced with the same conditions that prevailed in the Greek/Roman society of Paul's time. God bless |