Head coverings
In many ways this is an article we would rather not write.
Firstly, we have no wish to be dubbed right wing cranks and this is undoubtedly how those who spill ink writing on such an apparently inconsequential subject are viewed, especially, if, as in this paper, they write in defence of the traditional view: the view that God expects women to cover their head and men to leave theirs uncovered in church meetings, today, as in the first century.
Secondly, to attempt to persuade that a head covering should be worn is to attempt like Canute to hold back the sea. It seems ludicrously impossible and for many calls our sanity into question. Certainly the tide of evangelical feeling today is strongly opposed to head coverings in church.
Which brings us to our third reason for reluctance: We can understand those who object to head coverings. The whole idea seems so anachronistic. More than that, it seems too close to the Muslim veil for comfort: a veil that is used to make women virtually non-persons in the Moslem world, at least to Western eyes. In fact, if truth were told, it seems out of step with the gospel even in the first century. How can Paul argue that a covering (an external shawl covering the head) is in some sense required by creation, as he seems to do? It seems as if a ritual is being imposed when the whole point of the gospel is to free people from enslaving rituals, be they Judaistic or pagan. As one writer confesses, the traditional view is: ‘the easiest view to defend exegetically and the hardest to swallow practically’.
A head covering seems to sit uneasily with the gospel. It feels wrong. Whatever the Bible may say about a covering it seems implausible to our modern minds. And the trouble is plausibility is a powerful opinion shaper to C21 people, including C21 evangelical people. What the Bible says is right so easily takes second place to what feels or seems right.
Our excuse for writing it is twofold. Firstly, the elders of my church have been considering the role of women in church recently and clearly the issue of head covering comes under that rubric. Secondly, whatever we may think, Paul clearly considered coverings an issue significant enough to spill ink upon and he, let us remember, was not writing under his own steam but under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if it merits including in Scripture and the Spirit of God felt it significant then it certainly merits our study and obedience to whatever it teaches.
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About John
Hi there - I am a member of Greenview and have been for over 20 years. For a number of these years I functioned as an elder, however, indifferent health forced me to take more of a back seat. I see this as an opportunity to do a little writing, often focussing on issues that are a matter of evangelical debate today. Naturally the views expressed are my own and may not reflect the views of the elders or church at large, though differences are likely to be in the detail and not the substance.
These articles and sermons were written partly to clarify my own thoughts and partly with the intention of provoking thought in others who may read them. If you read one I hope you find it stimulating. Please feel free to give me feedback or discuss my articles in the forums.
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