Today's New Testament reading from my Bible happened to be
I Cor. 11. As I read I noticed a word I had not paid attention to before. Verse 6 (NIV) says "If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and
IF it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head."
The "if" jumped out at me. The "if" implies condition. To me, it underscores interpreting this section of the Bible with a cultural understanding, applying the underlying principle that applies to all generations and cultures.
The condition in this case was that veils for women were the accepted practice among Corinthian women as an act of modesty in deference to their husbands. Reading through Corinthians one can see that women in the church were causing problems from divorcing unbelieving husbands to abusing spiritual gifts and in this case removing their veils in public worship settings, an offensive and immodest act. Men of that culture were drawn and attracted to the exposed hair/head of a woman. Women were expected to be covered in public. The only women in Corinth with exposed heads were the temple prostitutes. They numbered in the thousands. Corinth was a cultural, economic, geographic and religious hub in Greco/Roman society. "To do as a Corinthian" was a cliche that connotated that one was living loosely or indulging in an immoral lifestyle. Corinth was the "Sin City" of its day.
This cultural reality impacted and influenced the church at Corinth. The city was full of women, harlots, who shaved their heads periodically and offered their hair as sacrifices to Aphrodite, the goddess of fertility. Obviously these harlots were known just by their appearance: uncovered, shaved or with short hair, openly making themselves available to those who would go to Aphrodite's temple to worship with acts of immorality. A harlot does not respect marriage nor are they submitted in any form to a husband.
Paul preached a message of equality among the sexes (see Galatians). Perhaps this message reached Corinth. Regardless, the women of Corinth were exercising a liberty that was offensive and disrespectful of their husbands, possibly influenced by the spirit within the community that was rife with immorality. Immodesty in a woman is disrespectful to God's authority and to her husband. The timeless principles are submission in the marital relationship and modesty in a woman's appearance. Application would be that wives should honor their husbands publically amd privately, should dress and conduct themselves modestly and should not excuse improper actions simply b/c in the church we are neither male nor female. And certainly we should not embrace attitudes or conduct that would undermine God's authority in our lives.
"If" it is a disgrace indicates a condition. If they considered a woman a harlot if she cut her hair or shaved her head, then it was improper to do so. Paul was saying that the removal of the veil, even for exercising prayer or worship and prophecy was displaying an attitude not unlike the harlots of the city. They might as well be shaved, because they are just like them.
If Paul was trying to set a standard for the church for all the ages he would have said "...since it is a disgrace..." Instead he says "if". That's a big if, if you you are trying to accurately interpret this passage.
A woman is not considered immodest or immoral if she has her hair cut or styled or exposed in the western civilization of the 21st century. So in this culture the literal application does not apply. The principles of modesty and submission do.
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