Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 10
Early Christian voices are cited (Chrysostom: “the whole world hath… received and kept the law,” Tertullian: “not among strangers… but… brotherhood,” Irenaeus reading verse 10 as “a veil… because of the angels”); if early Christians assumed head covering was a trans-local “law” for the churches rather than a Corinth-only custom, what practices today might we be wrongly treating as “cultural,” and what might simple obedience cost you socially in your current church or family setting?
Another way to ask: If early Christians thought head covering was a rule for all churches, not just Corinth, what things do we today wrongly label as “just cultural”? If you chose simple obedience on a debated issue, what might it cost you socially in your church or family?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the transcript, the speaker’s point is that early Christians treated head covering as a church-wide practice, which should make us question whether we dismiss other uncomfortable commands as “just cultural.” The transcript doesn’t list many other specific “culturalized” practices, but it does show that simple obedience can bring social pushback and accusations.
- Chrysostom is cited as saying “the whole world hath both received and kept the law,” referring to head covering.
- Tertullian contrasts outsiders and the church: not “among strangers… but among those… brotherhood,” and says “the woman’s head is bound to have a veil.”
- Irenaeus’ translation: “A woman ought to have a veil upon her head because of the angels,” showing he understood verse 10 as an actual veil.
- The speaker describes modern resistance as ignorance: many “have not been taught it and have not been shown it… almost total ignorance.”
- He recounts social cost: accusations of him “oppressing my wife,” criticism “closer to home,” and the fear of being seen as “weird Christians.”
- He also notes churches avoided teaching: “I wouldn’t dare read some of the verses… ‘This is going to make people mad.’”