Isaiah 3 and jewelry...

[rdp]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

It seems that Timothy was having some issues in his churches in terms of what was going on during the worship service...He had already talked of the need for prayer for other leaders, and then he seems to get specific. Apparently the men were fighting, and the woman were trying to draw inappropriate attention to themselves.

A modern-time Epistle:

"Women, I've heard there are some problems with some of you flaunting yourselves around at worship. You have forgotten what true godliness should be -- not with fancy prom dresses, shopping sprees and elaborate hairstyles, but appropriateness, gentleness and all things in love as well as good conduct."

All of Paul's comments are in a one-two-three punch, in the flow of appropriateness at worship. He gives a few words to the men, and then says "likewise," transitioning the subject to the women.

Paul states it positively first, and then negatively. He then says, “not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire.” The question comes up here, Is it a sin to braid your hair or to wear jewelry? I don’t think that’s the point of Paul’s statement. And the reason I think that is the similar passage in 1 Peter 3:3-4, which says, “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the
imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’ sight is very precious.” Notice what Peter speaks against: the braiding of hair, the putting on of gold jewelry, and the wearing of clothes. If we read that passage in a wooden way, it would
prohibit wearing clothes. But, of course, that is not the point. The point is that the clothes shouldn’t be the main thing. And, likewise, the braided hair shouldn’t be the main thing (or whatever way you fix your hair). And the gold jewelry shouldn’t be the
main thing (or whatever other kind of jewelry you might wear). Do you see the point? It’s not to strictly prohibit a certain kind of hair-do or specific kinds of jewelry. The point is that your outward appearance should not be the focus of your life. That’s not the
most important thing. That’s not what you should be known for. Instead, what you should be known for is your Christexalting life. In the passage I just read from 1 Peter, it says, “let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’ sight is very precious.” And in our passage for this morning, Paul says that women should adorn themselves “with what is proper for
women who profess godliness—with good works.”

The above was from a friend. I've often considered... IF Paul was prohibiting something to the Church of Ephesus, I don't believe he was, but IF he was, what does that mean? We STILL would need to know what the situation was, why it needed addressing, what the specific prohibition was (and meant) and then determine it's contemporary application (actually about 20 other steps before that). In other words... If the conehead veil was a modern piece of art in Paul's day, the symbolized one's affiliation with the cult, and Paul said "women, do not wear a conehead veil" (I have no clue what a 'conehead veil' is by the way, serves the illustration) we could take it centuries later to mean that women should never wear a "conehead veil." The reality is the "conehead veil" was a specific time in a specific location and because it had a specific meaning. In Ephesus, it has been discovered time and again the issues of the poor and rich. We do a disservice to the Text to forget the historical context (or not even bother with it) of what was going on and what this broided hair, pearls and gold were referring to. Anyone who insists to read these documents as "clear and plain" has shown nothing but contempt and irresponsibility with approaching documents of antiquity.

All of that to render the text ineffective? Why not just believe the Bible Jeffrey? Does your cultural hypothesis also go for I Tim. 3:16? Was that just something for Ephesus to consider also? What about Paul's teachings on faith/repentance? Just for Ephesus...right? The context of chp. 2:9 has to do w/ the decorative ornamentation...which has a "not" inextricably tied to it. See the HCSB, NLT, etc....could not be plainer. Honestly, it's beyond me how in the world you cannot understand this. You seem to possess some educational skills...but apparently not enough !