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Ask The Pastor
January 30, 2002
Dear Friend,
Your questions:
> What is your interpretation of the discussion
about women's hair in 1
> Cor. 11? I haven't yet heard an explanation of this passage that I can
> understand and that doesn't sound convoluted at some point. This is a
> subject that has troubled me for some time and any insight you can
> share will be greatly appreciated.
The problem in understanding 1 Corinthians 11, is that we can miss
what Paul is actually teaching. Paul only uses long hair as an
example. His teaching has to do with women veiling themselves. It
was the custom of the middle east for women to wear a veil, and
especially in public.
Notice verse 5; "But every woman who has her head uncovered
while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one
and the same as the woman whose head is shaved."
The Corinthian women were beginning to remove their veils. In
Jewish tradition, the women were not allowed to go into the streets
or any public place, bare headed. But the Corinthian women were
following the ways of the heathen. Women priestess would stand
bareheaded before their idols. But for the culture at large, a women
unveiled was considered to disgrace her husband and her family.
Sometimes to understand one Scripture, you need to grasp the
scope of the book and its historical setting. This is the case of 1
Corinthians. Paul is responding to questions that had been sent to
him. In many ways the Corinthians were acting contrary the the
spirit of Christianity. You can hear Paul's aggravation in this. In
verse 17, he says, "But in giving this instruction, I do not praise
you, because you come together not for the better but for the
worse."
Now back to verse 6: "For if a woman does not cover her head, let
her also have her hair cut off..." If you will continue reading this
portion in line with what I have shared, it will make better sense.
Notice how Paul concludes this portion; "But if one is inclined to be
contentious we have no other practices, nor have the churches of
God." (Verse 16) I don't believe Paul even wanted to touch on this.
But this group of people had so much contention going on in their
midst, that he was forced to address them.
The point is that Christians should generally observe the cultural
traditions of peoples around them unless a tradition would be a
cause of sin. Missionaries that learn this have the greatest results in
their work.
Hope this helps a bit.
Buddy
Bro. Buddy Martin - Ask
the Pastor
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Lawrence "Buddy" Martin
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org
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