CadyandZoe
Well-Known Member
The key to understanding Paul's first letter to the Corinthians is to get properly oriented to the structure of his letter. In the latter half of his letter, he is answering direct questions raised by the Corinthians. To this end, he repeats the question as a positives statement, It's as if he is saying, "You guys believe this . . . bla bla bla" and here is what I say about that. For instance, take a look at chapter 7, which begins:No but in the day most woman had a covering on their head like something that could be considered a hood like extension of their robe. And given the faqct Paul uses aner and gune in the passage for man and woman it is referring to married woman in context. I understand the passage well.
I do not understand teh opinions of many hear of what they think Paul is trying to say. I would like to see your biblical defense of your position.
"Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman." The part in bold is what the Corinthians wrote. Paul doesn't believe this but some of the Corinthians do believe it. Why? Because the Corinthians are living in a Greek culture which affirms Plato's dichotomy, one of which is the following assumption: the flesh is evil, the spirit is good. The new believers in Corinth want to know how to live a holy life, which they assume is necessarily free of sexual intimacy, given their assumptions. A holy man, for instance, would not get married or have intimate relations with a woman. The Corinthians want to know if Christianity requires that married men and women avoid intimacy or at the least, abstain from intimacy for long stretches of time.
Anyway, the point is, in order to understand his letter, we need to pay attention to the times when his statements are cultural "givens." It's as if the Corinthians were asking, "Given that it is good for a man not to touch a woman, how shall a Christian man live?" Paul doesn't agree with the original premise but he does agree with their desire to live in a holy manner. He doesn't attack their assumptions directly, he presents other reasons to support his position. For instance, he tells believers that a married man doesn't have the right to withhold his body from his wife (for spiritual reasons, say) because, he says, his wife owns his body. Likewise, a wife can not withhold her body from her husband for spiritual reasons because her husband owns her body. If a husband needs to abstain from intimacy for the sake of prayer, then it is acceptable for him to abstain for that reason BUT only for a very limited time.
Okay, lets look at our passage.
2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. 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. 4 Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.
In the paragraph above, Paul draws a distinction between two sets of ideas: 1) the traditions that Paul delivered to Corinth, and 2) his clarification.
The Traditions:
a. Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.
b. 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.
Clarification:
a. Christ is the head of every man,
b. and the man is the head of a woman,
c. and God is the head of Christ.
In order to understand the "tradition" that Paul delivered. one needs to keep track of who is the "head" in any given social structure. Paul's former instruction concerning husbands is predicated on the fact that Christ is the head of the husband. Therefore, if a husband pays with his head covered, according to the tradition that Paul passed down to them, then the husband disgraces Christ BECAUSE Christ is the head of the husband.
But if a wife prays with her head uncovered, whom does she dishonor? To answer that question, all we need to do is remember Paul's assertion that the woman's head is the husband. Therefore, if she prays with her head uncovered, she will dishonor her husband. The husband removes his covering in order to honor God. And logically speaking, the wife would do the same thing. She would also remove her covering in order to honor God. But, at the very same time she is honoring God with her head covering removed, he is bringing dishonor to her husband.
When a wife prays in public, this situation places her in a double bind in which she is confronted with two irreconcilable demands: remove the covering to honor God, or leave the covering on her head to honor her husband. What is she supposed to do? How can this double bind be resolved? Paul answers that question.
Now, to answer you point directly, let's go back to verse 2, where Paul praises them for following the traditions that he delivered to them. Bear in mind that traditions are not the same thing as commandments or ordinances. Traditions are cultural practices which reflect the mores of the people involved. The Traditions Paul delivered were probably Jewish traditions he felt were helpful to the Gentiles in their walk with the Lord. I don't know.
One more thing, which is important. The following verse is always misunderstood (in my humble opinion) but has a bearing on this question.
Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
When this verse is taught in church, many pastors mistakenly believe that Paul is talking about angelic beings. According to this view, a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because angelic beings might be tempted by her beauty, (or some such thing as this.) But that is not Paul's point here. In this context, "angels" means "messages." A woman ought to wear a head covering for the sake of the message it conveys. A faithful Christ women needs to project and convey holiness, righteousness, and dedication with the way she dresses. If tradition says that a faithful wife always wears a head covering then a Christian woman conveys that message when she wears her covering. The covering is a sign of her loving devotion and faithful loyalties, which is both holy and righteous. A woman should wear the covering because of the message it sends.