Jumpstarter 6 of 10

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Question 6

When he reads 1 Corinthians 11, he says his brain initially “walked away with everything the world walked away with,” and he suspects Anabaptist practice might be more tradition than Scripture; what were the specific interpretive obstacles he names (men only uncovered when praying, women covered “all the time,” “hair is given…as a covering”), and which of those obstacles do you still find strongest?

Another way to ask: He lists problems with understanding 1 Corinthians 11 (like when men are uncovered, women being covered all the time, and “hair is given as a covering”). Which of these problems still seems hardest for you to answer, and why?

Direct Answer He names three main obstacles: the apparent prayer-only timing for men, the all-the-time expectation for women in his community, and the phrase “her hair is given…as a covering,” which seems to make a separate covering unnecessary. The transcript doesn’t tell us which obstacle you personally should find strongest, but it highlights “hair as covering” and timing as the major stumbling blocks.

Support from Transcript:

He says he didn’t “see what y’all saw” and walked away with “everything the world walked away with.”
Obstacle 1: “How come the woman has to cover her head all the time, but the men only when they pray? Doesn’t seem like that’s what it says to me.”
Obstacle 2: “Is it not evident…rules for women while they’re in the church? Why is the hair not the covering when…the verses specifically say the hair is given…as a covering?”
He questioned tradition vs text: “how much…practice is coming from these scriptures versus…tradition.”
He reports weak defenses he heard: appeal to “pray without ceasing,” and practicality (“hard to take off a head covering”), concluding, “I’m not going to let that be my defense.”
In the Chrysostom section, he addresses the “hair is covering” objection by arguing Paul’s logic would become “absolute nonsense” if hair alone were the covering.

Discussion Follow-ups Which is harder for you: the interpretive question (what does Paul mean?) or the application question (church-only vs continual)?

Jumpstarter 6 of 10