1 Cor 11 - Introduction

Introduction:
Chap. 11 Outline
11:1-2 - Imitators of Christ
11:3-7 - Spiritual Hierarchy and Prayer
11:8-16 - Praying Men & Women and Authority
11:17-19 - Who is right; who is Wrong
11:20-26 - Communion
11:27-34 - Lord’s Supper
***

Verses 1-2 is Paul urging the Corinthians to copy the way he lives.

Verses 3-16 present is a set of ‘problem verses’ for 21st century Christians, especially those believers in the United States. I am not saying the verses are wrong, nor that Western Christians are wrong about these verses. The concepts presented in these verses are difficult for people who value freedom almost above anything else. Americans are exceptionally proud of our freedoms. We are proud that our country promotes equality of men and women, or of races. Our founding documents, especially the Constitution, have been amended by the people to lock in legal equality for all. We are free to worship as we please, to dress as we please, to talk however we wish, to work wherever we want. “Freedom” trumps all.

So when we come to these verses which discuss who has authority over whom, or who is the ‘head’, or how you must dress when you present yourself to the Lord in prayer, we Americans bristle. We get huffy. Who are you to tell me how I should dress when I pray? Who are you to tell me how I should wear my hair? How dare you tell me that someone has authority over me? I am free and subject to no one! I can almost hear the protest, “Who are you to tell me that I must wear a veil, when praying or teaching? Who are you to tell me that a woman cannot teach or preach in a church service?” Which brings us to cultural norms.

Things that were standard practice Israel and the ‘Middle East’ at that time are not acceptable in the modern Western culture. How do we discover the basic truths here, without demanding compliance with ancient regional customs? I am not sure that the custom of women wearing veils in public was a ‘custom’ anywhere else on earth - Africa, Asia or India, Europe (Greece and Rome), anywhere but the Palestinian environs. (This letter was written to address problems in the Corinthian church. That does not mean there are no principles that apply to us. ) We can clearly see what happens when customs become sclerotic - a woman or a girl wearing a burka, covered head to toe whenever in public. We can also see what happens when standards are thrown away completely - public display of various states of undress in public, in movies, on TV. Neither extreme is good for our society.

Honestly, I have looked up several commentaries on these verses. Very few of them satisfactorily explained what Paul was addressing, and especially how it applies to you and I as modern era Christians. In some cases these commentaries can’t even agree what is meant by ‘veil’ - is it a face covering, or is it a scarf for the hair and head, or is it a hood that covers the head down to the shoulders? And then there is the matter of hair styling: men are to have short hair and women long? If so, how come most movies and videos of the those ancient days show men with long hair, almost to the shoulder. None of them has a buzz cut. The men have long hair cuts, maybe not below shoulder length and not as long as some of the women. I wouldn’t call the men’s hair cut short in any case.

I will cover the introductions to verses 17 to the end of the chapter when we come to them.

So, now that I have whined about how hard it is to read and understand these verse, let’s saddle up and head on out! Excelsior!

***