Study Series on Christian Headcovering

Find the Light Study Library presents:

"Womans Headcoverings Part 01", By Craig Simpson

In this series of articles we want to consider the subject of head coverings; it is a subject that has caused so much confusion throughout the years, and in a lot of people's minds, it is really an unsettled matter. This however, needn't be the case. If we look at this subject with a searching mind, we will see that the subject is very clear and has a reasonable explanation, which is provided in the pages of the Word of God.

Our objective in these articles is to approach the subject with a clear mind helping all of us to come to a firm conclusion once and for all, we will:

* firstly set the background to the Apostle Paul's inspired comment
* look at what Paul has to say in 1 Corinthians 11
* look at what early church history has to say on these matters
* consider objections which have been raised throughout the years
* and finally consider what we in the twenty first century should be doing in our worship to our Heavenly Father.

In this first article, the writer goes back to the beginning, presenting the concept of the authority of men, as is mentioned in the passage from 1 Corinthians 11. A short article using scripture.

Part 2 is also available here.
This website is maintained by the Maranatha Christadelphians of New Zealand, Southern California, and Australia.

Chrysostom on the Headcovering

"Free To Cover" at blogspot has posted for your interest and reading time, a copy and paste from the CCEL website (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) - the writings of John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) on 1 Corinthians 11:1-16. In the early style of our modern commentaries, Chrysostom uses the original Greek, the cultural times, and reasoning from other scripture, to go through the letter from the apostle Paul to the Corinthians, and explain this idea of headcoverings, and other aspects of worship and relationship between men and women. This is not light reading. I hope to finish it myself soon...

When Religious Head Covering Is Not a Problem

"The Hijab 'controversy' that isn't"
RTE News, Ireland

"RTE's Education and Science Correspondent Emma O Kelly finds that the recent 'controversy' over the Hajib in schools is a media creation." Read the entire article at the title link above. Below are some quotes from the article:

In the midst of all the articles, opinion pieces and polls in newspapers and elsewhere about the wearing of the Hijab by pupils in schools here, one crucial point appears to be being lost: within the schools themselves, it is currently not an issue of any real concern.

In one way that's probably not so surprising. After all, for generations the Veil has played a central role in education here. Countless generations of Irish children have been educated in Irish schools by Irish women wearing veils. Some still are. The only difference now is that its pupils, not teachers, who are covering their heads, and they're not Catholic, they're Muslim.

In the schools where this is happening, it's no big deal. Where I have discussed the matter with schools, they tell me no permission was given to a particular pupil to wear the veil, but only because permission was never sought. These schools see it as a private matter, to do with tolerance and the right to religious expression.

. . .

Some commentators have referred to the banning of the Hijab in schools in France. The French ban followed intense and bitter debate and controversy there. One may agree or disagree with that decision, but Ireland cannot be compared to France. The French education system is a secular one and it is on that basis that the Hijab, along with other overt religious symbols, was banned.

Our education system is of course the complete opposite - and a ramble down the corridors of many of our secondary and primary schools will testify to this.

There among the crucifixes and statues of the Virgin Mary you're likely to see the faces of countless women, some smiling, some stern, wearing some of the most outrageous and ostentatious headgear you are ever likely to see.

I began this article by saying that the wearing of the Veil or Hijab is 'currently' not an issue of concern in Irish schools. It would be deeply regrettable if a media-driven debate, that's taking place outside the reality of student and school experience, were to make it one.

[Emphases mine - LisaM]

Why Drop the Practice?

"Head Coverings in Church", from El Shaddai
- DWXI Prayer Partner Foundation International, Inc.
A Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Chapter

This article explains the point of view concerning "Head Coverings in Church Canon Law." Using the difference between wordings in the 1917 Code of Canon Law and the 1983 Code of Canon Law, reasoning from moral law and as a sign of subjugation, this article from EWTN goes on to explain why the church would "drop the practice of such a fitting sign of the natural order." Concluding:

While it is absolutely clear to me that there is no canonical or moral obligation for women to wear a head-covering in Church, women are certainly free to do so as a matter of personal devotion. They should, however, see it as a sign of subordination to God, as that better suits the liturgical context. Those who wear a covering or veil, and those who don't, should not judge the motives of the other, but leave each woman free in a matter that is clearly not of obligation.

**(NOTE) Inclusion here does not mean that I do or do not agree with all of the teaching or opinion you will find contained in these sites.

"Turbans Make Targets"

A short quote here from the article: "Turbans Make Targets, Some Sikhs Find", by KEVIN COYNE, June 15, 2008, in the N.Y. Region of the New York Times. Read the entire informational article at the title link.

To wear a turban in America — even in a state that has absorbed as many waves of immigration as New Jersey has — is to subject yourself to judgment by strangers, not all of whom have warm and fuzzy feelings about diversity.

“You get these looks all the time, especially after Sept. 11,” said Rajinder Singh, 57, who holds two doctorates, works as a chemist for a pharmaceutical company, has never cut his hair, following the requirement of his faith, and wears a turban. “You could see people — their lips inside their car — that this person is swearing at me.”

Muslims have absorbed much discrimination in the United States in recent years, but also caught in the crossfire have been Sikhs, members of a religious minority from India whose men happen to wear a similar head covering, and who have endured similar suspicions since the terrorist attacks and the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Photo also from the New York Times article.

Again From Turkey

[This is only the first part of the article at this link. The boldface emphases were made by me, LisaM, to highlight the points of main interest to the subject of head covering.)


The Anachronistic Kemalist ideology
By Khalid Amayreh, June 13, 2008

Underscoring the ideological rigidity of the ultra-secular but undemocratic Kemalist ideology, Turkey’s Constitutional Court this week ruled that Islamic headscarves violated secularism and can’t be allowed to be worn at universities and other public institutions.

The verdict overrides a recent decision by the Turkish parliament allowing the hijab at universities as a matter of personal and religious freedom. It also sets the controversial court above the parliament and even above the collective will of the Turkish masses.

Indeed, it is more than mind-boggling to see female Muslim students granted full freedom to attend universities in Europe and North America with their headscarves on while Turkish students are denied the same freedom in a country where Muslims constitute nearly 99% of the population.

The military-dominated Kemalist establishment, which has been steadily losing public appeal as is evident from the outcome of the two latest general elections, claims that the hijab constitutes a mortal threat to the safety and survival of secularism in Turkey.

This rationale, however, is as irrational as it is silly, since it is beyond the pale of common sense to think that a small piece of cloth covering a woman’s hair poses a threat to the survival of secularism. In fact, one might argue that a secular regime that can’t tolerate, let alone survive, a woman’s headscarf is not worth maintaining.

Besides, true secularism shouldn’t really interfere with people’s choices and personal freedoms.

Nonetheless, it is obvious that the Turkish court as well as the military establishment and their allies in the media and business sectors have long come to view secularism as a kind of religion whose raison d’etre is to counter and, if possible, eradicate Islam.

To the chagrin of the anti-Islam Kemalist establishment, however, nearly nine decades of fundamentalist secular inquisition have utterly failed to realize this sinister goal. Turks continued to express their respect of and adherence to Islamic teachings and ideals.

Khalid Amayreh continues to work as a journalist. He lives with his family in the Occupied Palestinian town of Dura with his wife and family. More political commentary on the headcovering and secularism in Turkey can be found in this article from desertpeace at wordpress.

---

Found online: comparison photos of 1957 USA and 2008 Turkey

Headcoverings - SermonAudio

What was the 'head covering' in 1 Corinthians 11 and what is its application to today?

Listen to Robert Truelove, Pastor for the Christ Reformed Church, in Lawrenceville, GA
Head Coverings - What Are They & How Do They Apply Today?

Sermon is about 43 minutes long.

That Turban

In The Washington Times article, "Sleek Sikh", by Julia Duin, you meet Sandeep Singh "Sonny" Caberwal, 29, a graduate of Duke University and Georgetown Law School.

Mr. Caberwal, shown in photos accompanying this column, grew up in rural Ashboro, N.C. as the son of a doctor and the wearer of a turban ever since he was a small child. His family is from Punjab, India. He has never cut his hair, as all Sikh men have been required to have long hair since 1699. It is always covered by a skull cap and turban. Some time ago - he does not know when - Kenneth Cole, founder of a clothing line by the same name - got an idea for an advertising campaign on breaking stereotypes - and plugging clothing. Mr. Cole hired a casting agency to find a male Sikh willing to be a model. The man had to be American-born, highly educated and articulate. There being no candidates on the usual lists, the agency began calling up national Sikh-rights organizations and Mr. Caberwal heard Cole was looking.

One thing led to another and last October, he found himself in New York posing in some pretty spiffy clothes along with that turban.

Read the entire article at the link above. Photo here is also from the article referenced above.

Veils and Wimples - How To

Simple Steps to Look Great in a Veil, or Veil-and-Circlet, with photos.
by Cynthia du Pré Argent

Thank you, coffeecatholic, for posting the link to this really neat page, with photos, of how to gracefully wear a veil, medieval style. Those interested in the history of head coverings will enjoy this.

Photo used here is copied from this website, which takes a long time to load up for me and I don't know why.