Is it a must that a woman must cover her head in church?
Q: I come from an African Christian denomination where church leaders frown at women not covering their heads while praying. I have read something about head covering. But the way it is, churches have not agreed on what is the right interpretation of the verses. Is it a must that women must cover her head in church? [First published on 25 January 2009]
Head covering is one of the most controversial and misunderstood subjects in the Scripture. The most often quoted scripture by those who insist on women must have their heads covered is 1Corinthians 11:3-16. After years of careful study, I concluded that it was an attempt by the Corinthians to foster on the church a cultural practice. If you are interested in my study notes, below is my outline.
Every major doctrine must be backed by two or three witnesses (Matthew 18:16, 2Cor. 13:1, Deut. 19:15). One witness is not enough to accuse a person of a crime or sin. The subject of Prohibition of women praying/prophesying with their heads uncovered and insistence of men praying/prophesying with their heads uncovered is only addressed in 1Corinthians 11:3-16. It is therefore important to compare it with other revelation elsewhere in God’s word.
Examples abound of men praying with their heads covered: Ezekiel prophesied with his head covered (Ezekiel 24:15-21); Elijah wrapped his face with mantle when God was talking to him (1 Kings 19:13-15); David prayed with covered head when he fled from Absalom (2Samuel 15:30-32). In fact, the high priest in the Old Testament was properly attired without a head covering. (Ex 28:1-4, 36-41; Exodus 29:1-6; Zech. 3:1-5)
No other place in the bible does it say that a woman who prays without a veil dishonours her head. The few places where women and veils are mentioned, nothing is said of prayer and prophecies. In those places where women and prayers are mentioned, veils are not mentioned.
The church in Corinth had several issues to contend with. These included immorality, frequent deaths, eating of food sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 3:3) and they wrote Paul to address these concerns (1 Cor 7:1). I believe that verses 4-10 are the arguments marshalled by the Corinthians for their position and Paul counters them from verse 11. Secondly a few points were lost in the translation. Remember there was no punctuation in the original Greek.
Conversationally the argument goes like this:
Corinthians: (verse 8) For man is not from woman, but woman from man.
Paul: (verse 12) For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.
Corinthians: (verse 9) Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.
Paul: (verse 11) Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord.
Corinthians: (verse 7) For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.
Paul: (verse 3) But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
Corinthians: (verse 10) For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
Paul: (verse 16) But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.
Nature teaches that anyone’s hair will grow if not cut. Absalom’s hair was very long and weighed about 2.3 kilograms (2 Sam 14:25-26). Guinness book of records shows that in 1949 an Indian monk’s hair was 26ft long. The record of the longest hair belongs to a man. The vow of the Nazarite involved “no razor shall touch his hair” Eg Samuel & Samson. Samson’s hair (Judges 16:13-14) was so long that it was weaved on a loom. A loom was a machine for making cloth from thread. Paul (Acts 18:18) while in CORINTH made a vow of the Nazarite and allowed his hair to grow.