David Gooding Quote Image #3
Source: David Gooding – Symbols of Headship and of Glory
If Paul appeals to the Creation Order, why didn’t Eve wear a Head Covering?
The Objection: You say that Paul appeals to the creation order in 1 Corinthians 11 and I agree that it appears that way. The thing is, if that is the case, where was Eve’s head covering? Genesis 2 says she was naked, and not ashamed. And you can’t turn around and say that it only began after the Fall, because then it wouldn’t be a Creation mandate. How would you respond to such an argument?
In 1 Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul grounds his argument for head covering in the pre-fall creation order. This is one of the strongest arguments for why veiling is not a cultural practice but rather is something that is to be upheld by all Christians. In making a distinction between the principle (biblical manhood and womanhood) and the symbol (head covering), some hold that only the principle needs modern affirmation. The symbol is seen as a cultural practice that pointed to proper gender roles in the first century, but that has no meaning today. Many complementarian theologians arrive at this conclusion because of a wrong expectation of continuity in practice. Meaning if the veil was truly grounded in the creation order, then not only would Eve have worn it before the fall, but also every godly woman throughout biblical history.
Head covering is not a practice that was required under the Old Covenant (though many women did cover throughout this time). It is only a requirement for those under the New Covenant (like us). So let’s first state up front that I agree that head covering was not supposed to be practiced in continuity from Eve onward. But that does not deal a death blow to the creation order argument. My position is that God has taken something common (a covering) and has infused it with creation order meaning. So he has set up a brand new symbol which he designed and gave meaning to, and then had His apostles deliver it to the churches for them to practice. This is not an anomaly as God has always been about creating symbols to visually teach different truths. Many of these symbols (like head covering) were only to be practiced under one covenant. For example, the sacrifices and the feasts (Col 2:16-17) were only to be practiced under the Old Covenant whereas Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are only for the new covenant. Read more
Covering Testimony: Anna Brown
Name: Anna Brown | Age: 30 | Location: Marietta, Georgia (USA) | Starting Covering: 5 years ago
1) Introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Anna and I’m married to my wonderful husband Tyler. As soon as we got married I quit my job and became a stay at home wife. After a long time of trying and prayer the Lord finally blessed us with a baby girl in July 2016. I enjoy reading, mentoring younger women, and going for long walks with my dogs.
2) Where do you attend church? Tell us a little bit about it. Do others practice headcovering there?
We started attending a Plymouth Brethren assembly in November of 2016, those are known to be headcovering churches. However, for years I went to non-headcovering churches and was usually the only one that would use veil during worship. Read more
1 Corinthians 11:1-16 – Of Men, Women, and Head Coverings
Preacher: Robert Truelove | Sermon Length: 1 hr 5min | Preached: Feb 2017
Robert Truelove is the pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Lawrenceville, GA. Before being ordained into the ministry in 2002, Robert served five years as the Director of Software & Internet Development for Larry Burkett at Christian Financial Concepts. Robert moved into full-time pastoral ministry in January of 2007 as the pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church. A few years later he became persuaded of a baptistic understanding of the Scriptures and became a Reformed Baptist. Since that time, he continues laboring in the ministry to see God’s people grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. He and his wife Patricia have 4 children.
EDITORS NOTES: This pastor used to hold to the view that the “praying and prophesying” was speaking of spiritual gifts. Since he believes the sign gifts have ceased, the head covering wouldn’t have a relevant application in our modern churches. He no longer holds that position so he spends some time explaining why he doesn’t any longer.
Capítulo 1: A História da Cobertura Feminina Cristã
“Disto eu sei, que até cinquenta anos atrás, cada mulher em cada igreja cobriu sua cabeça… O que aconteceu nos últimos cinquenta anos? Tivemos um movimento feminista.” 1) R.C. Sproul Jr. “Should Christians only sing Psalms in local churches?” (Christianity.com video, 2012) http://bit.ly/sproulpsalms
R.C. Sproul Jr., fundador de Highlands Ministries; Presidente da área de Filosofia e Teologia na Reformation Bible College
A cobertura feminina não é uma nova doutrina. Desde a época dos apóstolos até o século XX, esta prática foi defendida pela maioria dos cristãos. Na verdade, ainda é a opinião da maioria em grande parte do mundo oriental. Entretanto, no Ocidente a prática caiu em desgraça e agora é mantida apenas por uma minoria. Mas nem sempre este foi o caso.
Alice Morse Earle (historiadora americana, 1851-1911) documentou em seu livro “Two Centuries of Costume in America”, escrito há mais de cem anos:
“Uma coisa singular pode ser notada nesta história, ─ que com todos os caprichos da moda, a mulher nunca violou a lei bíblica que manda cobrir sua cabeça. Ela nunca foi aos cultos da igreja com a cabeça descoberta.” 2) Alice Morse Earle, Two Centuries of Costume in America, vol. 2, 1620–1820. (New York: Macmillan, 1903), 582.
Então, uma historiadora americana nos diz que quando olhamos para duzentos anos de história que se passou, mesmo com as mudanças de moda, a única coisa que não mudou foi que todas as mulheres cristãs cobriam suas cabeças na igreja. Agora, antes de explorar o que aconteceu para que essa prática fosse radicalmente abandonada, precisamos de uma visão geral do que a igreja tem dito sobre este símbolo ao longo dos tempos. Vamos fazer um tour pela história, começando pela igreja primitiva, e veremos o que grandes pastores e teólogos influentes disseram sobre essa prática. Read more
References
1.
↑ R.C. Sproul Jr. “Should Christians only sing Psalms in local churches?” (Christianity.com video, 2012) http://bit.ly/sproulpsalms
2.
↑ Alice Morse Earle, Two Centuries of Costume in America, vol. 2, 1620–1820. (New York: Macmillan, 1903), 582.
Covering The Web: Mar 7/17
- About Those Pink Hats — A Christian Woman’s Reaction (Latayne.com)
“After I saw all those pink hats, and found out what they meant, I did what I never thought I’d do. I decided– and announced publicly– that I was going to start wearing a head covering while praying or speaking publicly at church.” - Should Christians practice head covering? (Youtube)
6min Youtube video: “What does the Bible teach about head coverings? Is this a practice we should still do today? “ - Should A Christian Woman Cover Her Hair? (Radical Christian Woman)
“And you thought only CNN was biased! The church has a TON of it’s own biases (and so does Fox News too!) Maybe “bias” is a harsh word. But what else would you call it when almost all modern church women don’t cover their heads and haven’t since the 1960s.” - Ahh, the Headcovering Issue (Covered Christian)
I am a Christian. I attend a Southern Baptist church. And, I wear a head covering in accordance with my understanding of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. I began doing this in September of 2009 - Got It Covered (The Peaceful Wife)
April re-published and updated her article and video on head covering. You can watch the video here.