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Thomas Schirmacher argues that from the biblical teaching that man is the head of woman (1 Cr 11:3) the Corinthians had drawn the false conclusion that in prayer a woman must be veiled and a man is forbidden to be veiled, and that the wife exists for the husband but not the husband for the wife. Paul, however, rejects these conclusions and shows in 11:10-16 why the veiling of women did not belong to God's commandments binding upon all the Christian communities. Schirmacher presents an alternative exposition, discusses quotations and irony in 1 Corinthians, and deals with other New Testament texts about women's clothing and prayer and about the subordination of wives.

Sujets

Religion

Christianisme

Christian Theology

Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Luviri Press
Date de parution	02 avril 2023
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9789996066917
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

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Paul in Conflict with the Veil
Copyright 2023 Thomas Schirrmacher and Klaus Fiedler
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission from the publishers.
First published in German 1991
First published in English 2002
Bonn: Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft (VKW)
Published by
Luviri Press,
P/Bag 201, Luwinga, Mzuzu 2, Malawi
ISBN 978-99960-66-90-0
eISBN 978-99960-66-91-7
The Luviri Press is represented outside Malawi by:
African Books Collective Oxford ( order@africanbookscollective.com )
www.africanbookscollective.com
Cover: Josephine Kawejere
Paul in Conflict with the Veil
An Alternative Interpretation of 1Corinthians 11:2-16
Foreword by Hans-Georg Wünch
Thomas Schirrmacher

Mzuzu
2023
Dedication
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2Cor 3:18)
“Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.” (1Cor 11:11-12)
To Christine
Living and discussing with my counterpart,
daily strengthen my conviction
that the life-long marriage
of two human beings,
created by God to be essentially different,
is a divine covenant
and the climax of Creation.
Just as for the
Church, education, the economy and the State,
its significance for my personal
wellbeing has no match.
Contents
Foreword
My Thanks
Preface to the First German Edition
Preface to the First English Edition
Preface to the Malawian Edition
Malawian Publications on Women’s Theology
Kachere Series
Mzuni Press
Luviri Press
How to Read this Book
1. For the Reader in a Hurry: The Alternative View of 1Corinthians 11:2-16 in 13 Theses
1.1. The Thesis of this Book
1.2. Alternative Translation of 1Corinthians 11:2-16
1.3. An Alternative Interpretation of 1Corinthians 11:2-16 25
Proposition 1
Proposition 2
Proposition 3
Proposition 4
Proposition 5
Proposition 6
Proposition 7
Proposition 8
Proposition 9
Proposition 10
Proposition 11
Proposition 12
Proposition 13
Summary (Repetition of 1.1)
2. The Most Difficult Text in the New Testament?
2.1 Between Misogyny and Egalitarianism
Do Uncovered Women Hinder Revival?
The Difference between Man and Woman
Women and Bible Translations
2.2 Interpretation without End?
Problem after Problem
A Bouquet of Interpretations
Is it just a Question of Long Hair?
3. The Alternative View in Detail
3.1 The Alternative Interpretation is Nothing New
3.2. Argumentation for the 13 Propositions
Proposition 1
Proposition 2
Proposition 3
The First Three Propositions in Detail
Excursus: The Jewish Custom of Veiling Women
Proposition 4
The proposition in detail
Proposition 5
The proposition in detail
Proposition 6
The proposition in detail
Proposition 7
The proposition in detail
Proposition 8
The proposition in detail
Proposition 9
The proposition in detail
Proposition 10
The proposition in detail
Proposition 11
Proposition 12
Proposition 13
4. Quotations and Irony in 1Corinthians
4.2 Paul in Cross-fire
Example: For and against Paul (1Cor 1-4)
Example: Church Discipline (1Cor 5-6)
Example: Marital Love (1Cor 6-7)
Example: Meat Offered to Idols (1Cor 8-10)
One Side: Paul on idolatry (1Cor 8-10:22)
The other Side: Paul on meat sacrificed to idols (1Cor 10:24-33)
Example: The Gifts of the Spirit (1Cor 12-14)
4.3. Paul’s Corinthian Opponents
4.4 Quotations and Irony in 1Corinthians
1Corinthians 7
1Corinthians 6:12-13
1Corinthians 8-10
1Corinthians 14:34-35
5. Further Texts on Woman’s Dress and Prayer and her Submission to her Husband
1Timothy 2:9-10 and 1Peter 3:3-4
1Timothy 2:8-10
Submission
Related Dissertations from Malawi
Bibliography
Foreword
While studying at the Free School of Theology in Basel, Dr. Schirrmacher and I were confronted with a seemingly insoluble problem. On the one hand, as Bible-believing Christians, we consider Scripture to be the infallible Word of God and reject the idea that the validity of its statements depends on culture. On the other hand, we treat 1Cor 11:2-16 (the issue of headcoverings for women) as if this particular command of the Apostle Paul were no longer binding due to cultural changes. “With what justification,” we asked ourselves, “do we declare some Scriptural statements to have been valid only in Bible times, and others to be binding for all cultures and times?” I find it essential to interpret the Bible according to a uniform hermeneutic system 1 rather than according to one’s own preferences and tastes.
An article in the magazine “Licht und Leben” 2 brought us a little further. We discussed the issue, sometimes all through the night, to discover whether the text of 1Cor 11 might include citations which Paul had quoted from a previous Corinthian letter in order to contradict them. We used the “veil issue” as a test case.
I am now more convinced than ever that Paul indeed was addressing specific Corinthian arguments in order to refute them. This would have been no problem for the Corinthian church which knew its own position quite well. With careful exegesis, we can determine which statements are indeed such quotations. Our standard must be the Biblical text itself, not the fact that “we cannot imagine” a certain statement. Whenever Paul apparently contradicts himself within a few verses, we may assume that he is referring to the Corinthian arguments.
In the following book, Dr. Schirrmacher demonstrates how the application of this basic assumption to the veil issue in 1Cor 11 suggests a new 3 interpretation of the text. Even though some verses remain problematic (verse 10, for example), I find Schirrmacher’s general direction convincing. The Bible-believing Christian who rejects any cultural invalidation of Scripture will find this approach helpful.
Should the following exegesis of 1Cor 11 prove satisfactory, we should then examine other texts in 1Cor to determine whether Paul uses the same stylistic device elsewhere, our standard being the Scriptural text itself. The principle is that Biblical statements may be culturally limited in the form of their application, but not in their actual meaning. 4 It is essential, as the history of the interpretation of this text demonstrates, to avoid making one’s own preconceptions the standard of interpretation, above all when dealing with other Pauline texts on the position of women in the Church and before God!
This book does not claim to answer all questions pertaining to the “veil issue”, nor to all issues and problems which arise in 1Cor or to Paul’s opinion of women. Dr. Schirrmacher wishes to suggest an alternative interpretation of 1Cor 11:2-16, in order to open new paths to understanding other texts in the book and other Pauline statements about women.
I hope this volume will have a wide circulation. May it help those who have been dissatisfied and prefer a hermeneutic which suits the text. May it also provide assistance to those open-minded believers who want to learn, and are seeking a proper understanding of Biblical statements.
Dr. theol. Hans-Georg Wünch
Academic Dean and Lecturer of Hermeneutics,
Neues Leben Seminary, Wölmersen

1 Hermeneutics is the „Doctrine of Understanding“ of a text, that is, the basic, general rules, with which a text is to be interpreted. For the Bible, hermeneutics includes such questions as the inspiration of Scripture, the relationship of the Old Testament to the New, the interpretation of parables, the usage of Old Testament quotations in the New Testament, etc.
2 Paul Petry. „Das verschleierte Haupt“, Licht und Leben 67 (1956), pp. 52-54.
3 Not new in the sense that no one else has ever had this idea, but in the sense that it is no longer common, and is indeed somewhat unusual for modern readers.
4 This applies also to Communion which was celebrated as a “Love Feast” which explains Paul’s directions in 1Cor 11:33ff. We do not need to change the form of Communion (which, however, would not be amiss), nor are Paul’s statements meaningless for us today. The commandment to watch over and to be considerate of each other is still valid today. Only the form of the application has changed.
My Thanks
I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Hans-Georg Wünch , Dr. Jürgen Kuberski , and to my father, Prof. Bernd Schirrmacher , for discussing similar, alternative interpretations of 1Cor 11:2-16 with me and for supplying me with other material on the subject. My mother, Ingeborg Schirrmacher , and Torsten Bissel proofread the text of the first German edition. My wife, Christine, to whom I would like to dedicate this book, supported me with innumerable discussions on the general topic and on this book itself. I cannot remember how often she has reread and supplemented the text over the years.
I also thank my translator Cambron Teupe who again has done a marvelous job and my coworker Ron Kubsch for organizing the revision of the German and the making of the English edition.
Many librarians have offered more assistance than their job required. Particularly the following libraries have allowed me to use their literature and their space:
Library of the Philadelphia Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA (USA)
Library of the Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA (USA)
Library of the William Carey International University, Pasadena, CA (USA)
Bibliotheek van de Theologische Universiteit van de Gereformeerde Kerken (“Oudestraat”), Kampen (NL)
Bibliotheek van de Theologische Universiteit van de Gereformeerde Kerken (Vrijgemakt), Kampen (NL)
British Museum Library, Lo