1 Corinthians was written to address various problems within the Corinthian church which gave rise to disputes. Paul deals with both theological and practical problems, addressing serious doctrinal disputes and moral sins as well as problems in Christian living, including (in 1 Cor 11-14 in particular) ‘disorderly conduct in worship.’
In the previous section (1 Cor 8-10), Paul has been trying to help the Corinthians understand what gospel freedom means and has given us key principles:
- Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. (1 Cor 8:9)
- No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. (1 Cor 10:24)
- Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. (1 Cor 10:32-33)
‘It is this mutuality and self-giving love which sums up the dynamic within the Trinity and which is to be the bedrock of relationships in the church.’ (Lis Goddard, ‘The Gender Agenda’)
In Corinth, it appears that the exercise of freedom was leading people to behave in ways that were both culturally unacceptable and inconsiderate. The Dionysiac celebrations in Corinth meant that men and women would exchange their clothes as a ritual act; female prostitutes would shave their heads and male prostitutes would wear their hair much longer, flouting the conventional rules to which Paul refers in this passage. Nowadays, when hairstyles are seen as a matter of personal taste, it’s hard to understand these cultural references, but ‘for a Christian woman in the church to appear in public without that covering, let alone to pray or to share the Word in worship, was both culturally offensive and from Paul’s perspective, confusing to nonbelievers who were trying to understand what this new community of faith stood for in terms of values and relationships.” (Keith Krell, bible.org)
“It seems that some of the women in the church were discarding their veils, something that only pagan temple prostitutes or other rebellious women would do. For a woman to come to church without her veil would be dishonouring to her husband, as well as culturally confusing. By the same token, for a man to wear a veil or to somehow have his head covered during worship was not culturally acceptable in Corinth.” (GotQuestions.org)
Thus, for a woman not to wear a veil at this time was ‘a mark of a woman with loose morals. It outraged the proprieties. It is no part of the life of the Christian needlessly to flout the conventions.’ (Leon Morris, P 151) Wearing a veil may not have the same connotations today, hence many churches no longer require this practice. The fundamental principle behind Paul’s words is that of consideration of others: the principle behind Paul’s words is that “the Christian should always act in a seemly manner.” (Leon Morris, P 156) He goes on to say, “The principle is of permanent validity, but we may well feel that the application of it to the contemporary scene need not yield the same result…In other words, in the light of totally different social customs, we may well hold that the fullest acceptance of the principle underlying Paul’s words does not require that in Western lands women must always wear hats when they pray.” (ibid.)