Sunday, October 18, 2009

Yet Another Way to Deny the Head Covering -- Deny the Bible Itself

It seems a certain Christian commune got a special revelation from God that the women there aren't required to cover their heads. Some of their members had been obeying the requirement to that point.

I won't reveal who they are unless I find the same message at their website as was reported on the forum where I found this out.

There wasn't any argument that the scripture doesn't SAY the female head is to be covered, or any argument that it was "really" long hair and not an actual covering over the head, or any other argument with the historical interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, no argument at all. They have no doubt that Paul is requiring that the head be covered. But in their case the Holy Spirit supposedly told them they didn't have to cover. They prayed about it as a community for some time and that was what they concluded the Holy Spirit was saying to them.

Oy.

Ya know why, they think? It might alienate potential converts.

Oy.

I argued that the Holy Spirit never contradicts scripture which is the same as contradicting Himself. I was dismissed in terms that suggested my point of view is rather neanderthal spiritually speaking, that obviously I'm stuck back in the doctrine of Sola Scriptura, and then I got a lecture about what's wrong with Sola Scriptura. I could hardly believe my ears.

Turns out they also deny the first chapters of Genesis so they reject all creationist arguments against evolution. Well, that figures.

Yet of course they also affirm that they do indeed believe and follow scripture.

Just the parts that agree with them. They do indeed believe good and hard and follow good and hard those parts of scripture they agree with. The illogic of this escapes them.

Oy.

Then there's that REASON they think the Holy Spirit gave them! As if the gospel itself weren't enough to alienate potential converts! As if the cross of Christ weren't an offense to the flesh! As if conversion weren't a supernatural event that has nothing to do with human machinations. So you get these "seeker-sensitive" churches that play to the flesh of the unbeliever and of course they must get lots of "converts" who are never truly converted by the Spirit of God.

I'm not doubting their story that they prayed and got this "revelation," so how is that to be explained? Well, doesn't scripture say God will be perverse with those who are perverse, and will answer their prayer according to their folly or something like that? The meaning of the head covering passage is quite clear, and they acknowledge that it is clear, so to pray to have it revealed whether it applies to THEM is the same as to tell God they already reject His word, they just want Him to ratify their rejection. Apparently He obliged.

Oy.

(Sorry, it's just that "oy" gets across the feeling in this case so much better than any other word I can think of.

And I do have some Jewish relatives.

Though they don't use the expression.

Oy.)