If you are part of a Chrisitan church that teaches that the Bible must be strictly followed, to the letter, in all aspects, and without regard for the different cultures and circumstances prevailing when the biblical books were written, then I have to ask: do the women in your church wear hats whenever they are in church? All of them? All the time? Because Paul said that women should have their heads covered whenever they are praying or prophesying—basically, whenever they are in church.

Paul is very clear about that—while a man must not have long hair or wear a hat in church,[1] Paul proclaims that long hair is “a glory” for a woman,[2] but that women must nevertheless always cover their heads in church (literally, “when praying or prophesying”).[3] These rules are laid out in chapter 11 of 1 Corinthians. Interestingly, these rules are preceded by 1 Corinthians 11:2, in which Paul says, “Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I handed them down to you.”

So, are Paul’s rules about hats and hair merely human “traditions” rather than scriptural imperatives? It would seem so, since the Old Testament lays down no such rules. Indeed, quite the opposite. In chapter six of the book of Numbers, God sets forth the rules for a Nazirite—that is, a man or woman who makes “a special vow, namely, the vow of a Nazirite, to live as a Nazirite for the Lord.”[4] One of those rules is that Nazirites—man or woman—may not cut their hair.[5] Samson was a Nazirite and was famous for his long hair.[6] So I guess Paul would not have approved.

Now what does Jesus say about human religious traditions? He was actually quite critical of them. For example, the Jewish leaders had a tradition that people should wash their hands before eating.[7] This tradition actually had less to do with personal hygiene than with religious ceremony, but it was a “tradition of the elders”[8] which the Jewish leaders believed should be followed. Jesus accused them of elevating their traditions above God’s commandments.[9]

Let’s be very clear about something—the Jewish leaders believed their traditions were in perfect conformity with God’s laws, so they were surprised and offended when Jesus and his disciples failed to honor those traditions.

Interpretations of scripture are similar to traditions in that they are subjective in nature rather than based on plain and objective scriptural truth. The Jewish leaders’ interpretation of the Old Testament laws regarding the Sabbath are a good example. The Jewish leaders accused Jesus of violating the Sabbath because he did not conform to their interpretation of the Sabbath laws, and that was one of the reasons they wanted to kill him.[10] Jesus of course rejected their interpretation of those laws.

I believe something similar to the Jewish leaders’ elevation of their traditions and scriptural interpretations is happening in Christianity today. Too many Christians are elevating their human traditions and their interpretations of scripture above God’s commandments, especially what Jesus told us were the two greatest commandments—love God above all else and love others as much as we love ourselves.[11] Some even want to enforce their traditions and their interpretations of scripture upon non-believers.

What traditions and interpretations am I talking about? The list is probably endless, but here are a few that come quickly to mind:

prohibition of abortion and/or birth control

the submissive role of women in marriage

the subordinate role of women in the church

homosexuality, transsexuality, and other LGBTQ issues

the role of religion (or religious faith) in politics and government

I am of course aware that Christians can, and do, make biblical arguments in favor of their traditions and interpretations of scripture, just as I’m sure the Jewish leaders did regarding their traditions and Sabbath rules. However, the matters I have listed above are things Jesus said nothing about, and they are matters about which sincere Christians have differing opinions. We can certainly each have our own opinions, and we can each try to “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling,”[12] but all Christians should have the humility to acknowledge that our opinions might be wrong. And we should tolerate those with different views.

More importantly, we must never make any of our traditions or biblical interpretations a litmus test for who is, or can be, a follower of Jesus, lest we be guilty of what Jesus accused the scribes and Pharisees of doing:

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.[13]

To be clear, I am not so arrogant as to think I have a monopoly on truth. When I one day meet Jesus, I may find that some, many, or even all of the opinions and biblical interpretations I have written in these blog entries missed the mark. I can live with that.

But I find intensely distressing the idea that someone, like the lady I discussed a few weeks ago, would turn away, or be turned away, from following Christ because of someone’s misguided opinion about what the Bible says or means. Because Christianity is not about rules such as whether a woman has to wear a hat in church. Christianity is about what is in a person’s heart.

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[1]. See 1 Corinthians 11:4, 11:7, and 11:14.

[2]. 1 Corinthians 11:15

[3]. See 1 Corinthians 11:5, 11:10, and probably 11:13.

[4]. Numbers 6:2

[5]. Numbers 6:5

[6]. See Judges 13:5 and 16:17.

[7]. See Matthew 15:2 and Mark 7:3-4.

[8]. Matthew 15:2, Mark 7:3 and 7:5

[9]. See Matthew 15:3-9 and Mark 7:6-13..

[10]. See, for example, Matthew 12:1-2 and 12:9-14; Mark 2:23-24 and 3:1-6; Luke 6:1-2, 6:6-11, and 13:10-14; John 5:5-18 and 9:13-16.

[11]. See Matthew 22:35-40 and Mark 12:28-31.

[12]. Philippians 2:12

[13]. Matthew 23:13; see also Luke 11:52