Should Women Cover Their Heads During Church?

One, I know I shall contradict several people here, but I shall do so in love. I have respected your opinions and I ask that you do so to mine. Two, you may correct me if I am wrong in any way, but I shall always check the Bible first, having the Borean spirit in mind.

My family did a Bible study on this recently. We discussed what it meant and why.

First, let us look at it's context. These verses are in the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter eleven, verses one through six. Paul wrote this as a letter to the Corinthian church, a church that was perverse and needed to be gently corrected. Many of these things said in this book apply to us and many lessons are to be learned.

Background:
Remember Abraham? His first son by Sarah, named Isaac, was precious to the aging father. However, God asked him to sacrifice his son to show his commitment and devotion to the one true Father. Of course, you know what happened. When he was about to kill his son, an angel stopped him and Abraham was provided with another sacrifice. Does that mean that we should all kill our firstborn sons? No. This was there for a lesson to be learned, to trust God always.

What about "Trust in the Lord always?" Was that for just Solomon or all of us? The answer is, all of us.

Keep in mind, these two examples are in the Old Testament. That's shouldn't be any different. The Old Testament and New Testament do not differ in importance. Though the Old Testament was written before Christ's first coming, that doesn't mean that it's to be regarded any less or any more. Is the New Testament not waiting for the LORD's second return?

Back to the Corinthians. The women were commanded to wear their headdresses during church service because it was the custom of the times. Have you seen the Bible movies? All of the people wore head coverings. The Muslims wear head coverings because back in the times everyone wore head coverings. Men, women, young, old, and from every part of the world. Even in American times, women wore head coverings. (Hats or bonnets) It was the culture.

Then the women of Corinth were not obeying their culture at the time. The women were feminists. Comparable to the feminists we have today. They believed that men and women were equal. They spoke out in church and prophesied. Not only that, but they took of their veils. They wore them, but during church meetings, the women removed them. That was disrespectful to the culture, the men, and to God. Was this spiritual or physical? The women's attitude mattered. They did not want to be submissive to men and God. That was the problem.

Now, think about today. Do we wear headdresses in church generally? No. God gave us our long hair as natural coverings. You may think that the hair as covering did not apply to the veils, but it does. If it did not, why would Paul include it in the chapter? Imagine a church service in you average church. How many people would have hats or head coverings? Very few. Now imagine a person sitting amidst the crowd in a head covering. Would it catch your attention? Would you notice that covered head? Now, think of that head as your head. You would attract attention! If there was a new beleiver in Christ sitting there, your covering would indeed be a distraction. Your headdress would keep them from listening to the preaching. They would look at you. Even if it was not for the whole time, they would be distracted by you. Just like an infant crying, someone coughing persistently, or a phone ringing, a head covering would do the same.

Allow me guide you into an Indian church that I attended for a while. The whole place is different. You see a colorful smorgasboard of head covering on one side, and on the other you see men. The women and men are separated and the women wear scarves for the service. Out of respect for their culture, you head towards the men side or women's, depending on your gender. If you are a girl, you take off the scarf that is wrapped gracefully around your neck. You put it on your head and slide into a seat.

For this situation, you put on your scarf and respect the culture. You do not want to be a hindrance to your fellow Christians.

My late grandfather taught at a Brahman school before he retired. Brahmans are strict Hindus who do not eat meat. Brahmans are high class Indian Hindus who are vegan. My grandfather, who was a devout Christian, never ate meat from then on. He was putting 1 Corinthians 8:13 into practice. "Therefore if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall." My grandfather wanted to be a testimony and not have his eating of meat hamper the Brahmans opinion of him, and more importantly of God.

Lastly, ask yourselves these questions whether for head coverings or any situation:
Will it be glorifying to God?
Are we doing it out of love for God then man?
Would Paul approve, and more importantly would God approve?