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Question 10
Finny says the early church saw this practice as settled and universal (v.16) and then warns of three traps among practitioners—fashion, shame (tiny “posterior” coverings), and overregulation; if your group tried to obey this passage today, what would repentance look like for each trap (including for men), and how would you tell the difference between glad submission to God and mere cultural performance?
Another way to ask: Finny says the early church treated this practice as settled, but warns about three dangers: making it fashion, using shame, and over-controlling rules. If your group tried to follow this passage today, what would turning back to God look like in each danger (for men too), and how would you tell real obedience from just putting on a show?

Direct Answer Based on the transcript, repentance would mean refusing to turn head covering into attention-seeking fashion, refusing shame-driven minimal compliance, and avoiding controlling rule-making—pursuing sincere obedience that honors God’s order rather than performing for people.

Support from Transcript:

  • He reads v.16 as settled and universal: the churches have “no such custom” of *arguing*—“this is such a settled, clear manner… the universal of the churches of God.”
  • Trap 1 (fashion): head covering can become “a fashion show… elaborate displays of beauty,” which contradicts its purpose “to devail beauty and to be modest not to attract attention.”
  • Trap 2 (shame): he observes coverings “get smaller and smaller… just in the back… seemingly things that women are ashamed of,” and calls that “very sad.”
  • He challenges whether some are truly “coverings”: like “cover this table… [a] sticker… you didn’t cover,” implying repentance includes honesty before God about real covering.
  • Trap 3 (overregulation): he names it as a ditch (though the truncated transcript doesn’t detail how it works), implying a danger of legalistic control.
  • Men are included in the whole passage’s moral logic: men must not “undercut” their role (v.4) and must exercise “loving authority,” not bullying.
Discussion Follow-ups A useful test from the transcript: does the practice “attract attention” or “devail beauty”? Is it motivated by fear of people (shame) or by reverence for God’s “celestial order” and concern for modesty before humans/angels?

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