Sunday, May 25, 2014

Sunday thoughts: I Corinthians 11

A pastor whom I met online sent me some study materials for I Corinthians 11.  As I've begun to read them, I find that folks much more educated than I am describe this passage as hard to understand, or I find that very educated people disagree on the interpretations.  In some ways it's reassuring to know I'm not the only one who has grappled with the meaning of this passage. 
Often I hear people toss around the phrase, "the man is the head of the home."  Sometimes I wonder if they picked that up from a secular government form or from scripture.  I've heard people use the term variously to imply that a woman shouldn't try to make hard decisions on her own; that in a conflict of wills, the man's will is always served, or that a man should be the spiritual leader in the home.  The problem I have when I encounter this is that there seems to be no way for me to engage in a dialogue on this without getting much deeper than most conversations warrant.
The average person that I'm around probably doesn't want to get into a conversation about whether there is a hierarchy in the Trinity, nor do they care to discuss the possible meanings of the Greek word kephalē.
Here is an article by Gilbert Bilezikian in which he discusses "headship."  (By the way, I love the way he uses the words "glib" and "carelessly.")
http://www.cbeinternational.org/?q=content/i-believe-male-headship
These are my Sunday thoughts and some things to chew on.

2 comments:

  1. As I read the article I found myself agreeing but not liking how the title is mis-leading the same way he states the word 'head' is mis-used by tying it to modern English definition.

    That said, like the very educated individuals in our society who cannot believe that the other educated persons do not come up with his/her same conclusions, I wonder why EVERYONE doesn't think like I do. LOL
    Very good entry, also very controversial among conservatives. Shucks we want folks to agree with US! (smile)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I believe he was very intentional about his title. It forces us to reckon with the definition of "headship."

      Delete