Bible Question: "Should women in church wear hats?"

Bible Answer: The short answer to this question is "No."

Now that I've made some of the stricter denominations mad with my answer, let me explain my views based on relevant Scriptures.

I grew up in a Methodist church more than half a century ago and can recall when virtually all women in the church wore hats. It was a custom then that is not seen widely any more, though some still do.

Paul speaks to this custom in 1 Corinthians 11, where he makes a distinction between men and women in church that is generally understood thusly: Men shouldn't wear hats in church and women should. However, I believe a more careful reading is needed.

The first part is very clear. "Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head," 1 Cor. 11:4 says.

The head Paul refers to dishonoring is not the man's own head, but Christ, who has authority - or headship - over every Christian.

In the previous verse, Paul said, "But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God," in 1 Cor. 11:3.

I'm sure there are some women who would argue Paul's point about the man being the head of the woman, but let's leave that for another Q&A, if anyone would care to pose that thorny question.

Paul's main point here is men shouldn't keep their hats on when addressing the Lord in worship. I presume from that, if you aren't praying or preaching, which is what prophesying means, it was fine with Paul to wear a hat in church. But please don't try that on my say-so. I've seen young men in church wearing ball caps and have resisted an almost overwhelming urge to remove it for them.

The real issue here is recognizing that Christ has the authority over us, and just as no man would address a king while wearing his hat, neither should we address our King while our head is covered.

Of course, I'm updating Paul's comments, as he says nothing about hats. The head coverings of his day were mainly turbans or other types of cloth coverings that are still common in the Mideast.

With the men, the issue was a sign of respect for the authority of Christ. And with the women, the issue was the same, a cultural one.

In Paul's day and still today in some parts of the Mideast, women do not even go out in public without a covering on their head, much less go into a worship service. Most of the countries of the Mideast which observe such customs are fundamentalist Islam, such as the Taliban-ruled country of Afghanistan, where we are now at war.

So should we take this custom of biblical times and apply it to our women in our Christian churches today? I don't think so, any more than we should command our women wear robes and veils.

Paul even gives us an out for such extremism in 1 Cor. 11:15, "But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering." How long is long? In 1 Cor. 11:5-6 Paul gives the standard that as long as a woman head isn't shaved, she is covered.

And then Paul concludes this whole passage about men and women having their heads covered or uncovered in church with these words in 1 Cor. 11:16, "But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God."

In Paul's day, he had personally led many gentiles to Christ and formed many churches in areas of the world where there was no such custom as head coverings for men or women, and he plainly says here, this is not an issue worth arguing about in the church.

Paul says he personally has no such custom, nor do the churches.

And if Paul says don't argue about it, then let us follow his lead.

Submit Bible questions by email to writeme@johnwmyers.com

(John Myers has been a Christian lay speaker, Sunday School adult teacher and newspaper Bible study columnist for more than 20 years.)