gracEmail
Edward Fudge
'VEILS' IN 1 CORINTHIANS 11:2-16
Someone asks, "I am currently studying 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 and its command that women remain veiled at public worship but that men appear unveiled. Do you have any thoughts on that?"
* * *
When I was growing up in North Alabama in the 1950's, many preachers in Churches of Christ taught that this text required the sisters to wear a "covering" on their head whenever they went to "church." If asked why, they would explain that it was a symbol of their submission to men, or at least to their husband (if they had one). Considerable study through the years since has led me to conclude that Paul's intended message was almost exactly opposite this view on which I was raised.
Rather than laying down a (1) universal rule that (2) silent women are to manifest a symbol of (3) submission in the assembly, I believe that Paul is telling (1) these particular Greek females who (2) pray or prophesy aloud in church meetings to wear a visible "badge" of their (3) authority to do so. If anyone should query, "Why are you women speaking aloud in this way?" these women's veil would say, in effect, "I am acting under divine guidance, not presumptuously, and so I wear this symbol of authority to do what I am doing."
Ezekiel 13:17-21 also discusses prophetesses who wore "veils" as part of their "uniform," although in that case they were false prophetesses. It is likely that some Jewish or other ancient near-eastern custom lay behind this passage and 1 Corinthians 11, which was known to the original readers but not to us.
Paul's underlying concern seems to be that Christians exercise freedom and equality in Christ in a manner considerate of local customs, so as not to hinder the gospel's spread among the general population. Given that concern, one wonders what Paul would say if he wrote a letter to an American church today, where the public is accustomed to women mayors, judges, governors and heads of business -- and where church is often the only exception to that rule.
gracEmail
Edward Fudge
'AUTHORITY' ON HER HEAD
A Christian sister asks, "Please explain the passage which says, a woman should have 'authority on her head because of the angels'" (1 Cor. 11:9).
* * *
This passage in 1 Corinthians 11 has always held a special fascination for me because I grew up among churches whose women wore hats or veils of some sort whenever they "went to church," based on this text. What is Paul saying here? Numerous interpretations have been offered, but the following one makes the most sense to me.
1. Paul writes to a largely messianic-Jewish audience which assumes that women are subordinate to men (at least each wife to her own husband), in a place and time where men (but not women) spoke during public meetings. He is concerned to maintain proper order and decorum so as not to cause scandal or offense (1 Cor. 14:27-33).
2. His audience also knew a rabbinical tradition which said that certain angels once left their proper station and became insubordinate, leading to their "fall."
3. Paul believes that the Holy Spirit now gifts men and women alike with spiritual grace-gifts (charismata). Among these are the occasional gifts of speaking a word directly given by God (prophecy) and the gift of praying in a spiritual language (which he later says in 14:12-16 should be interpreted if done in public assembly).
4. When Christian women at Corinth are moved by the Holy Spirit to speak out during public assemblies ("pray or prophesy"), Paul expects them to do so and not to quench the Spirit. However, when they do speak out in first-century Corinth, they will appear to be out of place if observers do not know what they are doing.
5. To avoid this embarrassment and confusion, Paul tells the Corinthian women to wear a "veil" as a badge of their authority when they exercise their spiritual gifts in public assembly. It is similar to someone knocking on your door in the middle of the night and saying, "Open the door!" You crack the door a bit, safety chain still securely fastened, and ask, "Who is there?" The person on the other side holds up an FBI badge as a "symbol of authority" for doing what one ordinarily has no right to do -- demanding entrance to your house in the middle of the night.
6. The woman speaking out during church in the exercise of her spiritual gifts is doing what she has authority to do -- but she wears a "badge" to indicate that special authority (see also Ezek. 13:17-21 for such a "uniform" among false prophetesses). In short, she is careful to wear a sign of "authority" on her head when she speaks out authoritatively in church, "because of" the example of "the angels" who left their realm of authority with dire results.
This said, one is now ready to consider the larger question of what part of Paul's teaching here is limited by the specific historical circumstances which he addresses, and the extent to which it encapsulates permanent Christian truth of universal application.
For more on the gender issue, click here.