Paul specifically uses the order of creation as the basis for his argument which is universal in scope; void of any local cultural context which is contrary to your claim.
Yes, Paul does reference Genesis 1 and 2 but there's no mention of "the order of creation." No mention whatsoever. You made that up (I understand that you personally didn't make it up; I understand this is a common way of viewing the passage). You've added something nowhere stated to the text. What Paul does write is, "
For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God." This can be simplified to say, "
the first female came from a male and all subsequent males come from women." That's an observable fact of both scripture and biology and as long as you stick to the facts of scripture I'm in complete agreement with you.
The problem with you "
order of creation" is the fact Eve was made from the rib, not the head or the two. The only reason her husband rules over her and her desire is contrary to his (Gen. 3:16) is because of Genesis 3:7.
Sin is the cause of that condition, not the order in which God made the sexes! Surely you're not suggesting Paul is asserting a sinful order. You should have checked the order of creation before appealing to it because you got that wrong, too.
Paul then appeals to nature: "
Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him...?" Whole scripture causes us to as whether Samson's hair was a dishonor to God. It prompts us to ask why God had the Nazirites live unshorn.
Numbers 6:1-8
"Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the LORD, 3he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. 4‘All the days of his separation he shall not eat anything that is produced by the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin. 5‘All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long. 6‘All the days of his separation to the LORD he shall not go near to a dead person. 7‘He shall not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. 8‘All the days of his separation he is holy to the LORD."
For the Nazirite his long hair is part of what made him
holy!
Just like women?
Paul cannot be construed to be contradicting God. He cannot be interpreted to say all long hair is dishonorable. In the hands of legalists this leads to crew cuts and shaved heads because who is to decide how long is long? How long is dishonorable? Is it two inches? Three inches? Five? Six? Where is the exact standard of hair length found in the Bible, Oldmantook?
I challenge you to show me a Bible passage asserting long hair on a woman as the basis of her glory. I challenge you to show us a verse or a passage (preferably) that states a woman hair is "
given to her for a covering," and explains why that is from God's pov. I challenge you to show me and the rest of the readers here
any commentary on 1 Cor. 11 that does not appeal to culture. If you do surf the commentaries (both theological tomes and websites you're going to find a a lot of appeals to culture, some of it correct and some of it just plain wrong.
The
fact is Paul was likely referencing rabbinical writing, not Tanakh and not something Jesus ever taught.
Lastly, take a look at the word, "
glory." The Greek word used in 1 Cor. 11 is "
doxa," and it simply means honor or renown. In the religious sense it carries with it the special meaning of divine quality, the unspoken manifestation of God, splendor. It's at the basis of our English word
doxology. You'll note that nowhere does Paul say hair has anything to do with God's glory. He says "
man is the glory of God;" he does NOT say, "
man's short hair is the glory of God." He writes the hair is the respective glory of the men and women, not God. There's a marked, undeniable distinction being made between the glory of God and the glory of the male and female humans.
That is what is actually written.
Let us not forget the two specified conditions for wearing head coverings: prayer and prophesy. It should not be neglected that in a very short time Paul will tell this exact same congregation, "
But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation." (1 Cor. 14:3). In other words, these
women who were prophesying in Corinth were speaking edification, exhortation, and consolation to
men.
Gotta wear a hat.
There are many female prophesiers in the Bible. Do you read mention of any of them wearing a head covering?
This isn't rocket science. A proper examination of God's word - God whole word - will get us a long way to understanding what Paul was writing about in 1 Corinthians 11 and it was not to say all females must always wear head coverings whenever they are in worship meetings because they are all subordinate creatures in comparison to males. That's just wrong.
