MARIE - According to 1 Cor.11:5-6, a woman should cover her
head while praying. As women do not cover their heads
while in our chapels are we not disobeying this requirement?
JOEL - Here are the scriptures you refered to:
"But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her
head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even
all one as if she were shaven.
For if the woman be not covered, let her also be
shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or
shaven, let her be covered." (1 Cor.11:5-6)
Actually Paul is not speaking of items of doctrine or
ordinances here, he is merely talking about an old Jewish
custom that he believed should continue in the church.
At that time, a veil or head-covering served as a sign
upon all women of the shame of Eve for bringing sin
into the world, and an outward expression of their subjection to man who is subject to God.
It also protected women from the influence of evil angels and kept their presence from distracting the
men from their worship. Another reason is because without covering they would be considered as
resembling Roman dancing women or harlots or Greek slaves whose heads were usually shaved,
as mentioned in verses 5 and 6.
Men left their heads uncovered as they worshipped in church because it was believed at that time, that they
represented the image and glory of God which should not be hidden. Also, they would not want to emulate
Grecian slaves, who covered their heads before their masters, or to resemble other pagans who worshipped
their idols with their heads covered.
(Paul's Life and Letters, Sidney B. Sperry,)
These reasons may have been important in Paul's time, but don't have much meaning to us now
since we don't see many slaves or harlots with shaved heads in our church today(well not very many at least).
There is in fact an ongoing argument in the Christian world that the covering talked about by Paul in these scriptures, is simply a woman's hair, rather than any additional manmade covering(See verse 15).
The bottom line is that the head covering requirement was from an old Jewish custom that continues in many other Christian churches today, but was not part of the restoration of the church in these latter-days; at least not for normal church worship. It is however used in the temple ordinances for other reasons.
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