11:4,5
This comment about men praying with or without their head covered seems utterly irrelevant to us today, and it illustrates one of the problems in interpreting and applying these verses. Paul uses fundamental theological understanding about God, man and creation in relation to something that means nothing at all to us today. To pray without having one’s head covered would have been a new departure for Paul. Jews then, as they do today, prayed while wearing a head covering. Conversely, Greek women (and men) prayed (in the pagan sense) without a head covering. So the church had adopted a novel practice. The men prayed without a head covering, women did wear one. The man was signifying his freedom in Christ.
A woman, however, who prayed without a head covering was dishonouring her head. Paul then says this is like having a shaven head. It would be shameful for a woman to have a shaven head.
11:6
Yet another verse that means absolutely nothing to us today. What Paul is doing is reinforcing the point made in the previous verse. The women were not about to have their hair shaved off, they would consider that shameful, but some of them were quite happy to pray without a head covering. Paul is saying that if they were happy to pray without a head covering, then they should shave off their whole hair. Ie he is saying that their action is ridiculous.
This is just laying the groundwork, we will start to get the explanation tomorrow!
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