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WHY DOES THE POPE WEAR A HAT?
Poteau, Oklahoma
Every reader is probably familiar with the variety of head coverings,
hats and caps worn by the pope. Why does he do that? Does he not know what the
Bible says about a man wearing a hat when he prays or preaches? Paul made it
clear that men are not to wear a head covering at such times. He wrote:
“But
I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the
woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or
prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head,” (1 Corinthians
11:3-4). Each Christian man's head is Christ. To cover his head like a woman is
supposed to do, is to dishonor Christ who is the man's head. (For women read
verse 5 of this same chapter). The fact that Roman Catholic clergy wear hats is
not an insignificant matter because the honor of the Lord Jesus is at stake.
The Douay-Rheims Bible is a Roman Catholic translation of the Bible. Here
is how the above quoted two verses are worded in that translation:
“But I
would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the
woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or
prophesying with his head covered, disgraceth his head.” Instead of
“dishonoureth” the Catholic Bible has “disgraceth.” Otherwise the Catholic Bible
and the King James Bible are the same. So the pope's wearing of hats cannot be a
matter of misunderstanding based upon a mis-translation. Their Bible says the
same as ours.
Well, then, is it that the pope is ignorant of the Bible? He may well be,
but what about the myriad of Catholic scholars? The pope of the Catholic church
cannot plead ignorance in this matter. He can read his own church's translation
of the Bible. You and I can read those two verses and understand them. They are
not at all difficult to understand. So, we ask in our title, “Why Does the Pope
Wear a Hat?” In the light of the clear teaching of the Word of God, why do the
pope and the bishops and priests and other men in the Catholic church make it a
rule to wear a head covering of one kind or another when they pray and preach?
Historically it can be demonstrated that the double miter often worn by
the pope came from paganism. It is obvious when viewed from the side that it
represents the open mouth of a fish and honors Dagon, the fish god. Dagon is
mentioned by name seven times in the Old Testament. But other kinds of hats are
worn by the Catholic clergy as well. Why?
Our point is this: the Roman Catholic Church does not care what the Bible
says. They pretend to follow the Bible, but in reality they are as one man said,
“a stew.” Old Testament priestcraft is blended with pagan gods and goddesses
under Christian (biblical) names in their society and system. The reasons they
wear hats may never be fully known to us, but the fact that they do so in the
light of the Scripture proves to all the world that they do not care what the
Bible says. They are not subject to the Bible. Rather they use it when it suits
them in furthering their ends. To them the Bible is like a salad bar or a
buffet. They take what they want or like from the Bible and leave the rest
behind.
The Roman Catholic position on the Scriptures is this. They say the Bible
is neither sufficient nor perspicuous – the Bible is not enough and is not
clear. So they claim the exclusive right to supplement the Bible with traditions
and with the pope speaking ex-cathedra. When he does this, he is infallible,
they say. The traditions of their church are equal with the Bible, according to
them. And the words of the popes when speaking ex-cathedra contain no error.
What they are saying is this – the Bible is not clear or understandable by the
ordinary person, so Catholic Church councils and popes have the exclusive right
to interpret the Bible. They have the exclusive right to tell you that this or
that passage does not mean what it says, but instead means something entirely
different from what it says if they say so. And loyal obedient Roman Catholics
must believe them instead of the Bible.
One of the Catholic arguments for disregarding the Bible is to argue that
the Catholic Church existed before the New Testament Scriptures. So they claim
they are responsible for the Scriptures and that it is their teaching that gives
the Scriptures authority. The facts are otherwise. The New Testament was
completed about A.D. 100 and the Catholic system did not exist at that time. In
fact the Catholic Church cannot furnish an accurate date for their beginning.
What happened is that dis-fellowship between sound anabaptist or Baptist
churches and some of their own churches took place over several years. Gradually
these unsound former Baptist churches evolved or devolved into the corrupt pagan
works-mongering system that exists today. There was no Catholic church in the
first Christian century and so the Catholics could not be responsible for giving
authority to the Scriptures.
To sum it all up, Catholic clergy wear hats because they do not care what
the Bible says. This is obviously the case. As far as I can learn no pope has
spoken ex-cathedra on the subject of the wearing of hats. They just do it. By
doing so they disgrace or dishonor Christ because they want to do so. They claim
their traditions are equal with the Bible and they claim to have the right to
tell the world what is to be believed whether or not they contradict the Bible.
There are others who equally disregard the Bible. Here in Oklahoma we
have some groups that call themselves “Cowboy Churches.” In newspaper photos
their preachers are shown standing in a dirt floored area preaching to people
sitting in the bleachers. The idea seems to be that you can come to church fresh
from the barn lot with manure on your boots and jeans and be acceptable. The
preachers at these churches are dressed in jeans and western shirts, holding a
Bible and preaching – complete with western hat on at the time. They are like
the Catholics in that they cover their heads when preaching and praying and so
dishonor Christ. So doing whatever you want to do regardless of what the Bible
says is not limited to the Roman Catholics.
There are others who believe and do whatever they want to do regardless
of what the Bible says. Protestant baby-baptizers, like Catholics, know that
there is not a single Bible verse that supports infant baptism, but they do it
anyway. They just do not care what the Bible says. Invitation-system Baptists
know that there is not a single instance in the Bible where anybody ever invited
a person to come forward in order to be saved, but they do it anyway. They do
not care what the Bible says. All sorts of “evangelicals” tell people to do this
or that or the other religious thing and they will be born again. They do this
even though the Bible never tells us what to do in order to be born again. It is
easy to be devoted to a system and not care what the Bible says. Easy, that is,
if you do not care what the Bible says.
The question comes to mind: are these professing Christians who do not
care what the Bible says “of us” or did they go “out from us?” We know the
Catholics did that very thing. We know that the Protestants came out from the
Catholics. Whatever their history, those who disregard what the Bible says are
“not of us.” That being the case, some Baptists are not “of us” either. And
there are Baptists this very day who are step by step in process of leaving us.
Consider that last statement in the light of what John wrote.
“They went out
from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would
no
doubt have continued with us: but
they went out, that they might be
made manifest that they were not all of us,” (1 John 2:19). So when the pope
wears a hat, or a cowboy preacher does the same thing – or anyone disregards
what the Bible says, it is because they do not care what the Bible teaches. They
are not committed to following the Bible, but rather their own system and
traditions. But there are some people who believe and say that what the Bible says does make a difference. They say that it is important in all its teachings and patterns. God has always had such a people. Back in ancient Israel God had worked in some folk and they thought His Word was important. The prophet Isaiah wrote about them in these words: “Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed,” (Isaiah 66:5). Are you one of those who “tremble at his word?” In spite of mistreatment and mockery from the religious liberals and Bible-deniers popular with the world, does it matter to you what God says in the Bible? Are you concerned about being obedient to the Bible? You are not alone. God has today a remnant of people in whom He has worked. These believe that following the Bible is the way to please God. They endeavor to do that very thing in their daily lives and in their religious observances. May their tribe increase! |
