The Blessed Hope Podcast -- with Dr. Kim Riddlebarger

"Head Coverings and Modesty in Worship" Season Three/Episode Nineteen (1 Corinthians 11:2-16)

Nov 25, 2024

Discussion centers on first-century Corinthian fashion and why loose hair and pagan styles caused scandal in worship. The speaker explores Paul’s instructions on head coverings, creation-based arguments about gender roles, and how modesty and avoiding pagan identification should shape worship dress. Practical guidance emphasizes preserving church order, gender distinctions, and decorum in public worship.

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INSIGHT

Exposed Hair Signaled Pagan Rebellion In Corinth

Corinthian women exposing their hair signaled rebellion and pagan identification in first-century worship.
Kim Riddlebarger explains that long flowing hair or removing head coverings in Corinth was scandalous and tied to pagan sacrifices and temple prostitution.

INSIGHT

Creation Order Frames Head Covering Instruction

Paul grounds worship dress rules in the creation order: man was created first, so men pray uncovered; women reflect male glory and therefore cover.
Riddlebarger notes kephale likely implies authority, tying head coverings to theological headship.

INSIGHT

Regulating Appearance Not Prohibiting Women Speaking

Women prophesied in Corinth, so Paul regulates appearance, not the act; head coverings prevented disruption and upheld male headship in worship.
Riddlebarger emphasizes prophecy could be public proclamation but must respect elders' authority and head coverings.

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Episode Synopsis:

As a cosmopolitan city and home to many varieties of Greco-Roman paganism, Corinth was a cutting edge place for first century fashion and culture. From what we know regarding the city’s ethos at the time, there was growing tension between traditional gender roles and a desire for women to express themselves in non-traditional ways long associated with polite Greco-Roman society. One obvious way to show this quest for personal freedom was for a woman to wear her hair down (long and flowing) in public or during pagan sacrifices, and not put it up in a bun or wear the traditional head covering. We think nothing about such things today, but for a woman to wear her hair down in public in Corinth was scandalous in Paul’s day.

This section of Paul’s Corinthian letter (the first half of chapter eleven) raises the question of style, fashion, and propriety in worship. Should the Christian women in Corinth seek to follow those pushing the envelope by exposing their hair in public? Paul’s answer is “no.” Christian women are to dress and wear their hair in ways which reflect the doctrine of creation. Adam was created first, so Christian men in Corinth were not to cover their heads in prayer or while prophesying, while women were to show submission to Christ and to their husbands by dressing modestly–in Greco-Roman culture that meant wearing your hair up or wearing a head covering when in public settings.

Paul could never envision a cultural situation such as our own where women are societal equals to men. Although the particulars of first-century culture and clothing cannot be made to fit current trends–given advances of women’s status and modern fabrics and clothing, the general principle remains binding across time–Christians are to acknowledge the distinctions between men and women, and are to wear nothing in worship which might identify the wearer as a devotee of any sort of pagan religion. For Paul, this means modesty in dress and in spirit.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/