Head Covering
I've noticed that men, if they are wearing a hat, usually take it off when praying. In some cases they will enforce this rule on other men if they don't follow suit.
At this point in time, it appears to be a tradition that has been passed down over the years, but I wonder if the original reason was theological. 1 Corinthians 11 has a possible explanation:
The flip side, for women is:
Men seem to enforce their side of this instruction, but I can't recall any American man or woman asking another woman to cover her head. This makes me think that the men who remove their hats, do so for cultural reasons rather than theological.
At this point in time, it appears to be a tradition that has been passed down over the years, but I wonder if the original reason was theological. 1 Corinthians 11 has a possible explanation:
4Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.
The flip side, for women is:
5And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved.
Men seem to enforce their side of this instruction, but I can't recall any American man or woman asking another woman to cover her head. This makes me think that the men who remove their hats, do so for cultural reasons rather than theological.
posted by Vijay Swamidass at
11:33 PM
3 Comments:
Hello Vijay,
My name is Tony Christian. If I am wearing a hat and occasion to pray arises, as it does sometimes at our church's men's breakfast, I will remove my hat. I do this because the Lord, by the mouth of St.Paul, says to.
By
TonyC, At
1:26 PM
Hi Tony,
I know my understanding of this passage is weak, so thank you for the comment.
Perhaps, I am really wondering why women don't seem to follow their side of this command (But I know there are arguments on both sides of this).
Vijay
By
Vijay Swamidass, At
1:44 PM
Hi, Vijay,
In our parish, all the women cover during worship. 1 Cor 11 is pretty straight forward. it's the folks who want to make Paul say something else (or, to dismiss what he says as irrelevant to our time) that create the exotic expositions of that passage.
What's interesting to me is that the younger the women (i.e. the teenage girls) the more enthusiastic they are with the practice. Their mothers usually cover with a hat, or with a small, often near-to-invisible lace cover, sometimes the same color as the hair. But, the teenage girls go for big ol' honkin' WHITE shawls that wrap around their heads and flow down over their shoulders.
bq
By
Fr. Bill, At
1:43 PM
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