1 Corinthians 11:7 explanation

"For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man."

This verse recently stuck out to me a lot as a young woman, and if I'm being honest, it discouraged me a lot. All my life I had been told that all humans are made in the image of God, but in this verse Paul seemed (to me) to be implying that only man is created in God's image... and woman is not. It also seemed (to me) to be implying that God values/loves women less than men, and that He does not want to call women, but only men.  If someone could please help me out with this, that would be greatly appreciated. 

Comments

  • edited June 2016
    St. Paul did not say that the woman is "not" made in the image of God.  In a liturgical setting, her role is to reflect the glory of her husband, just as Christ reflects the glory of His Father (go back and read verse 3).  That does not mean that Christ is not equal to the Father or that Christ is not God.  He is of the same Godhead, so is woman of the same humanity and image of God with man.  For just as Christ is subject to His Father, so is the woman to man.  

    How do we know this what St. Paul's intentions are?  Well the same St. Paul you quote is the same St. Paul who wrote this:

    "26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3)

    So if a female is equally a "son of God" as a male is, then the woman is not less than a man, but equal to the man.  What St. Paul is talking about in his letter to the Corinthians is order in the liturgy, not some sort of inferior status.  And many people have argued that he was responding to liturgical disorder in the Corinthian community as well as is evident throughout his letter (if read the rest of that chapter, you find him discussing how to conduct the Last Supper and also consider his displeasure with the "speaking of tongues" controversy in 1 Corinthians 14, so he starts making his canon laws of liturgical order on this particular situation).
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