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[Re-Blog] Christian Woman Forced to Remove Religious Headscarf at Alabama DMV, Told Only Muslims Can Cover Head

Yvonne Allen
The following article is a part of our re-blog series where we seek to give exposure to those who are writing interesting pieces on Complementarianism and head covering. We are not the author.

A Christian woman who was forced by DMV staff in Alabama to remove a headscarf she wore as a symbol of her faith in order to take a photo to renew her driver license is now suing local officials for violating her religious freedom rights under the U.S. and state constitutions.

The ACLU announced on Tuesday that it had filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the Christian woman, Yvonne Allen of Tuskegee, asking the court to order DMV officials to allow her to retake her driver license photo with her headscarf intact.

“Today, the ACLU and ACLU of Alabama filed a federal lawsuit on Ms. Allen’s behalf, arguing that Lee County’s refusal to provide a religious accommodation to Ms. Allen violates her rights under the Alabama Constitution and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit asks the court to order Lee County officials to allow Ms. Allen to retake her driver license photo with her headscarf,” the ACLU said.

“Wearing a headscarf is an integral part of my Christian beliefs. In 2011, I moved with my children to Alabama after the end of a 12-year relationship with their father. I was lost, confused, hurt, and broken. But I turned to God and spent hours in prayer and study. During that time, it became clear to me that, to be obedient to God’s Word and show my submission to Him, I had to cover my hair on a daily basis. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul speaks very clearly without ambiguity about this. I have followed this command every day since and believe that removing my headscarf in public is extremely shameful and dishonors God,” Allen first wrote in a statement on the issue in April.

According to the lawsuit, Allen visited the DMV office in Auburn on Dec. 29, 2015, to renew her expired license and was told she had to remove her head covering and eyeglasses in order to take the photo for the document.

“No ma’am, I don’t uncover my hair,” Allen said she told the clerk.

“She asked me, ‘Is it for religious purposes?'”

“I smiled, ‘Yes, ma’am,'” said Allen.

The clerk then asked Allen if she was Muslim and when Allen told her she is Christian the clerk told her that she would have to remove the headscarf.

“Ms. Allen informed the clerk that she does not uncover her hair. In response, the clerk asked her, ‘Is it for religious purposes?’ Ms. Allen responded, ‘Yes ma’am.’ The clerk then asked, ‘Are you Muslim?’ When Ms. Allen explained that she is a Christian, the clerk told her, ‘No, then you need to uncover your hair. Only Muslim women have the right to cover their hair in the driver license photos,'” the lawsuit said. Read more

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Ce que Saint Augustin croyait concernant le voile

Head Covering: Church History Profiles

[Présentation de la série : Cet article fait partie d’une série qui examinera ce que certaines grandes figures de l’histoire de l’église croyaient à propos du voile. Leurs arguments, leurs choix de langage et leurs conclusions ne sont pas forcément en accord avec ce que nous croyons. Le but de cette série est de vous exposer fidèlement les idées de ces personnes sur la question du voile, et non de sélectionner uniquement ce qui représenterait notre position.]

Saint Augustin (354-430 ap J-C) exerçait la tâche d’évêque à Hippone (l’actuelle Annaba, en Algérie). Il est l’un des plus notables “Docteurs de l’Église” d’après le Catholicisme romain, et reste considéré par beaucoup d’évangéliques comme l’un des pères théologiques de la Réforme Protestante à cause de ses enseignements sur le salut et la Grâce. Il est particulièrement connu pour ses livres “Les confessions” et “La cité de Dieu“.
Augustine

Augustin reçut un jour une lettre de son ami Possidius qui était évêque à Calama, contenant de nombreuses questions pastorales. Entre autres, Possidius demandait si il fallait autoriser “les bijoux d’or et les vêtements coûteux ?“. Augustin lui répondit que cela n’avait pas à être interdit “sauf dans le cas de ceux qui ne sont pas encore mariés ou qui ne comptent pas se marier.” car ces personnes “doivent avoir pour unique pensée celle de plaire à Dieu.” Et il justifia la permission faite aux époux de se décorer par ce verset “celui qui est marié se préoccupe des affaires de ce monde, des moyens de plaire à sa femme.” (1 Cor 7:32-34)

Augustin ne voyait donc aucun inconvénient à ce qu’on se fasse beau pour son époux. Cependant il avait quand-même une restriction à cette permissivité. Il écrit “Il ne convient pas pourtant que les femmes, même celles qui sont mariées, laissent voir leurs cheveux : l’Apôtre veut qu’elles soient voilées “. Nous voyons donc ici, que même s’il permettait aux femmes mariées de porter des ornements et des vêtements précieux, elles n’avaient cependant pas le droit de découvrir leur tête. Le fait qu’il affirme que ce qu’il dit est valable “même” pour les femmes mariées, montre que les femmes seules étaient aussi tenues de se couvrir la tête. Le fait qu’il traitait une situation déjà moderne par rapport au temps où vécut l’apôtre, indique qu’Augustin ne considérait pas le voile comme quelque chose de culturel, mais bien comme une prescription à laquelle tous devraient obéir, y compris à son époque et en Afrique du Nord 1) Toutes les citations de ce paragraphe sont tirées de la “Lettre 245” qui peut être lue en ligne ici :http://abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/saints/augustin/lettres/s004/l245.htm Read more

References

1.
↑ Toutes les citations de ce paragraphe sont tirées de la “Lettre 245” qui peut être lue en ligne ici :http://abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/saints/augustin/lettres/s004/l245.htm
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祈りのベールの証し：アッシュリー・ブラウン

Head Covering Testimonies

名前：アッシュリー・ブラウン
年齢：２２歳
所：米国ニューヨーク州ロングアイランド
祈りのベールをつけ始めた時期：２０１３年９月

Covering Testimony: Ashley Brown

１）読者のみなさんに、自己紹介してください。

私は２２歳で、ニューヨークのブルックリン生まれ、ロングアイランド育ちです。

私の趣味は、作曲、ピアノ奏楽、バスケ、それに楽しいこと何でも好きです。私はオープンで社交的な性格です。地元に住んでいる人をみんな知っているというタイプの娘ですが、本当の友だちといえるのは数人です。

私はイエス様が大好きで、主を喜ばせたい、主に仕えたいというのが自分の唯一の願いです。

私の家族はすてきな人たちです！うちはホームスクーリング家庭です。母は賢い人で、主に熱心に仕えています。私の継父は現在うちの教会の賛美リ―ダ―をしています。父はやさしくて、穏やかで、心のひろい人です。私は７人兄弟の真ん中ですが、兄弟仲がすごくいいです。

私は常に宣教に対する情熱がありました。そして今年から中国宣教に関わり始めています。でも何か特別なことをしているわけじゃありません。行く先々で御言葉を分かち合い、世の中のものから聖別された者として、自分の信仰についてお証ししているだけです。

にもかかわらず、神様は働いてくださり、私を変えてくださっています。そのことを主に感謝しています。 Read more

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[Re-Blog] A Complementarian “Samurai” Man Emerged!

Re-Blog: Headcovering Articles
The following article is a part of our re-blog series where we seek to give exposure to those who are writing interesting pieces on Complementarianism and head covering. We are not the author.

Dear brothers and sisters, today, I’d like to share my joy with you regarding the Christian Head Covering in 1 Corinthians 11. A few weeks ago, a Japanese brother wrote to my blog, saying that by reading the HCM articles, he was convicted that the Christian Headcovering is applicable for today (though he was not sure, at that time, that this command should be applied to ALL Christian women or not.)

Then, this evening, this same brother wrote to me and said as follows: I made a small leaflet regarding my personal conviction of the woman’s headcovering practice and distributed it to my wife and several other sisters in the church today.

Wow! Isn’t he brave? Isn’t he like a 21st century “samurai”? Yeah, I think he is! Not only this brother, but I’ve also witnessed other courageous and valiant complementarian brothers who stand firm on the Bible doctrine.

And I strongly believe that there must be many other potential “samurai” brothers in the churches across the globe whom the world is waiting for their emergence! We need more brothers like him who dare to testify the Bible truth gently and fearlessly.

As regards to the recent phenomenon called the “feminization of the church”, the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood said as follows;

Walk into the average evangelical church in America, and you will likely sing lyrics such as “I want my life to be a love song for you, Jesus” and “I want to fall in love with you.”

Then you might hear a sermon encouraging Christians to be “intimate” with Jesus and attend a “care group” where everyone is expected to share their feelings.

Such tactics might appeal to women, but they are at least partially unbiblical and push men away from Christianity, according to Randy Stinson, executive director of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) and assistant professor of gender and family studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS).

“Where are the men in our churches today?” Stinson said in a lecture sponsored by the SBTS theology school council March 29. “We have a crisis going on in the local church. Number one, men aren’t coming. And number two, when they are coming, they’ve [sic] marginalized, they’re being passive, they’re being pushed to the side.”

I believe that the recovery of the practice of the headcovering will reinforce and further the Biblical masculinity and femininity. And it must be one of the strongest testimonies of the 21st century Christian churches to the gender-confused world that God exists and that there is a creation order of men and women which reflects His infinite wisdom and beauty!

> READ THE REST: A Complementarian “Samurai” Man Emerged!

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[Re-Blog] How do I Lovingly Submit to my Husband…When We Disagree?

Re-Blog: Headcovering Articles
The following article is a part of our re-blog series where we seek to give exposure to those who are writing interesting pieces on Complementarianism and head covering. We are not the author.

When I first told my husband I wanted to use a head-covering, and explained that the Bible tells women to do so as a sign of submission, he gave me a frown. Submission? The word was distasteful to him. It made him think of a brainless dish rag subjugating herself to every whim of her tyrant master. But, that’s not what he was! So, why submission? After we realized that the Bible uses the word submission to mean that the wife respects her husband’s leadership, we were back on familiar ground.

Similar to how my husband respects and “submits” to the authority of his boss at work, God expects me to respect and submit to the authority of my husband. It doesn’t mean he’s better than me; it means his role and my role are different. He has been given by God the responsibility of leading his family. I have been given by God the responsibility of respecting his opinions and “following through with his orders.” I don’t think submission is so hard to understand when put in those terms.

It’s fairly easy to follow through with orders when what your boss asks of you is something you also agree with. But what about when your boss asks you to do something you don’t agree with? What then? If my husband “disobeys” his boss at work, he could get fired! In the work realm, disrespecting your boss’s orders can get you into big trouble. In much the same way, when a wife disrespects her “boss’s” orders (or wishes), trouble is just around the corner. Marital problems develop. Finger pointing and blaming worsen the situation. Things might get uglier than that; things could end in divorce! That’s not a biblical solution, of course. But, if we don’t want that to happen to us, if we don’t want problems in our marriage, we need to think about how toprevent them before the situation gets serious. There’s got to be a better way of dealing with disagreement.

So, I’m going to throw out a few examples of how one might deal with differences of opinion in a marriage. Of course, these are my own opinions, and even though I will sometimes use quotations from the Bible to support what I believe to be the best solution, you are responsible for reading the Bible for yourself, and obeying God according to your best interpretation. Just watch out for those sneaky preconceived notions that can sometimes get in the way! In this post, I’m going to address head-covering. In subsequent posts, I will tackle other issues.

> READ THE REST: How do I Lovingly Submit to my Husband…When We Disagree? (head covering)

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[Re-Blog] Maintain the Traditions

Re-Blog: Headcovering Articles
The following article is a part of our re-blog series where we seek to give exposure to those who are writing interesting pieces on Complementarianism and head covering. We are not the author.

My wife and I have recently studied a matter in God’s Word together. It is something she became very interested in and started asking me about. In studying all the arguments and getting into the detailed exegesis of Paul’s language in this passage, we feel the Lord has blown open a portion of Scripture that was somewhat dim to us before.

This represents our current views on the issue and does not mean we believe those who read this passage differently are in rebellion. We encourage all believers to take a closer look at a passage that has often been brushed aside. I was talking to a minister friend of mine about this issue and he told me he’s heard of a few other wives of ministers switching to covering their heads after studying this passage in depth with their husbands. “What about you?” I asked. He chuckled, “I confess, I haven’t studied it in detail, yet.”

Sarah has written the following to describe her thinking on the matter now. Even if you don’t agree with us, God’s Word has powerful truths for His people in this chapter.

> READ THE REST: Maintain the Traditions (from Fixed Nails)

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Covering Testimony: Vian Elisabeth

Head Covering Testimonies

Name: Vian Elisabeth | Age: 23 | Location: Norway | Starting Covering: Summer 2014

Vian Elisabeth

1) Introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a Norwegian, the oldest of my siblings. I work as a teacher and assistant at a Christian school, while studying Bible Translation. I came to know the Lord in the end of 2013, and since then I’ve had only one goal in life – to live a life set apart for the Lord and His work. I love reading missionary biographies, playing the piano, singing, doing embroidery, knitting, as well as cooking!

2) Where do you attend church? Tell us a little bit about it. Do others practice headcovering there?

I attend a conservative Lutheran congregation in Norway. It’s a wonderful congregation with many faithfull believers. A few other women there practice head covering, which is great.

3) What led you to start covering?

I’d never given headcovering much thought before. It was when I became a true Christian and read through the Bible for the first time with my “eyes opened” that the words of 1 Corinthians 11 stood out to me. The Bible convinced me, as well as reading that this has been the common Christian practice throughout history. Read more

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