Long Hair during service

Not sure where you went with that Squire but what Paul was saying that if any man doesn't like the long hair on women and short hair or men rule he could suck it up for that was the custom for all churches and there was no other. No "soul liberty" issue here. Some use this verse to teach the opposite but they are incorrect.

I think if we look at the angels in Isa 6 we see a picture of a woman in worship. If a women kneels in a katastole that Paul describes as modest apparel and brings her long hair down and covers her face in place of a cloth veil she will be a similar position and hopefully the attitude of the angels. If the katastole is long enough she could stand and be in the same feet and face covering pose. It is the position of humility and submission to God.

http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/view.cgi?book=1ti&chapter=002&phrase=#phrase

Paul uses eternal relationships (God to angels, God to man, Man to woman and nature) to lead up to this instruction so it is not a local or cultural issue. This was meant to be a standard for all Christians.

Why would the angels even be interested that you are to do it for their sakes? Because angels are in submission to God and they want to see humans in the same attitude of worship as they are. Humans make them raise their eyebrows so to speak on so many issues but it would appear that our failure to properly worship really baffles them.

Note that part of the rite of jealousy is to have the woman's hair uncovered or let down.

Num 5:14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: (KJV)

This would indicate that normally the hair was combed up. Since many if not all men find long hair on a woman very sexy the hair may have only been let down during intimacy with the spouse or in the case of worship which is basically a special time of intimacy with God.

The woman in Numbers should have been very uncomfortable in the presence of the priest since normally only God or her husband saw her that way but a woman that has betrayed her vows may not have any comfort problems and her relaxed attitude might be a part of the test.

In NT times, a woman who was not submissive to God or man and was "loose" cut her hair as a sign she was available. Some "faiths" required a woman to give her virginity to the priest or to cut off her hair to look like a prostitute. This was probably to encourage the giving up the virginity as the hair would require a long time to grow back and make the woman a target whereas the other would have no telltale signs unless she became pregnant.

Homosexual prostitutes would grow their hair long to attract customers. Thus this may be to what Paul was speaking of when he said doesn't even nature teach you. However, he could have also used nature because in the animal kingdom it is the male that has the flowing locks or finest feathers and we are not of that kingdom so it is reversed for us. In my hippie days the rock opera Hair actually used nature to promote long hair on men. Mary Garden, an opera star, in 1927 cut/bobbed her hair to say that she was casting off the last shackle of men. Not much changes in 2000 years.

In our relaxed society, few think that such things matter to God and that we can just be willy nilly about our lives but if God said that we should paint our right great toe red and our left great toe green then we can't ignore it or reverse it. Only in the recent century has the hair issue been an issue in the Church. It was the way things were. Even with the men wearing powdered wigs their hair was shorter than their wives for even Jews thought that if a man showed his ears he was vain. What most IFB men wear is the style of the Romans. A Jewish Christian would have covered his ears.

How long is long? Wherever your hair quits growing is long enough for you. Mary Magdelene used her hair like a towel to wash Jesus' feet with her tears. They normally had a towel long enough to wrap around their waist and it still be long enough to use for the job.

Comb it anyway you like. I have a lady in my church that braids her hair in a simple style and you would never know that her hair reaches to the floor when she lets it down. Her daughter told me is how I know.

Anyway, I Cor 11 is not outdated or some odd cultural thing that Paul was accomodating.

 

Wouldn't "long" be a somewhat subjective term? Shoulder length? Is that 'long' enough? Middle of the back? Waist? Knees? Calves? Ankles? Floor length? Floor length plus 8 inches?? Who defines? I'd offer that "how long will it grow?" is subjective and judgmental, to say the least.

Not to mention, there is some legitimate question about the rendering of that next verse about contentious, as "we have no such custom" vis-a-vis`"we have no other custom". Food for thought!

Ed