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Another offshoot of the cultural position is that we can replace the head covering symbol that God selected with another one of our choosing.
Like the Frank Sinatra song “I Did It My Way” – the wedding ring is substituted for the woman’s veil.
The woman who chooses to replace God’s symbol of the external covering is essentially saying, “I love you God . . . . but I’m Doin’ It My Way!”
Substituting the wedding ring for the woman’s covering sounds a lot like the replacement of the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper with cheeseburgers and Coca-Cola.
Growing up I heard a preacher talk about a progressive church in California that had substituted these for the bread and wine. I never knew if this church was a real one or whether the preacher was using an imaginary church to make his point that the elements of the Lord’s Supper have been established by Jesus, i.e., we don’t have the authority to change and override Him.
The Corinthians definitely got an earful in the second half of 1st Corinthians, Chapter 11 for making their changes to the Lord’s Supper.
Paul rips into them for turning the Lord’s Supper into more or less a party.
“For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry
and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do
you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I
say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.” 1st Corinthians 11:21-22 NKJV (Bold added)
As he continues his rebuke, Paul gives a stern warning:
“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” 1st Corinthians 11: 27-29 NKJV (Bold added)
Making changes to the symbols that God has declared seems risky if you ask me.
We see in Leviticus the two sons of Aaron who decided to use a different type of fire than what God commanded by seemingly saying, “Hey, this fire is just as good!”
“Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.” Leviticus 10:1-2 NKJV (Bold added)
Christians have no authority to change the symbols of baptism or communion.
We likewise have no authority from Christ to exchange head covering on women for some other symbol like a wedding ring.
Laughably, those who subscribe to the wedding ring substitution don’t require the husband to remove his wedding ring to pray. If the wedding ring is truly the substitute, then men need to remove their wedding band before praying or prophesying. Otherwise, the symbolic meaning is lost.
The Bible speaks concerning a woman putting a cover on her head. The Bible never mentions wedding rings.
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