...the bottom line is that if you are an American (and no, this has nothing to do with liberalism) or a western Orthodox Christian (probably a convert)...you live in a culture that absolutely does NOT see a woman's hair as inherently sacred or whathaveyou.
This may be true in the present day, but it wasn't that long ago that hats and headcovering were absolutely the custom for women in church. I remember my mother's and grandmother's beautiful hats, and my Catholic grandmother and aunts all wore mantillas. This has been a fairly recent change, at least in my neck of the woods. The older ladies in African-American churches also wear hats, to this day.
Yes. It is a cultural thing. You're making my point. Now you can argue that you wish women still wore headcoverings to church. But then how do you separate that custom from other cultural customs? And if you want to keep one custom, how do you justify not keeping all the others?
Just say that you like the idea of wearing headcoverings. But I'm not going to accept that it's a theological imperative.
I think you missed a little of my point also. Your point (I believe, but I may be mistaken) was that in the US there is not a tradition or culture of women wearing headcoverings in church. While in my experience, there is, or at least, was up until fairly recently. And for all the reasons, Biblical and theological, given by others who are in favor of women wearing headcoverings.
I'm not missing anything. I'm just arguing for an understanding of culture that allows for evolution and change. No culture has ever remained totally stagnant. Some resist change more forcefully while others accept it more readily -- but no culture remains the same.
I have never stated that headcoverings were never a part of US culture -- that would be untrue. From puritans to Catholics to secular fashion, etc., hats and coverings are a part of US culture. Heck, they still are in a different way.
Nonetheless, cultures change.
That has been my point all along. At one point in time, people dressed up to go to the movies.
I'm all for preserving a kind of decorum and respect in our public conduct, but I'm not about to ascribe a theological imperative to shifting cultural artifacts and tradition.
