Well, I guess they’re consistent. Sort of.
It seems that some people are concerned about our new habit of wearing cowboy hats during academic ceremonies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The complaint is that wearing a cowboy hat is somehow undignified and inappropriate.
Please realize that the mortarboard that most modern academics wear as a hat actually derives from the medieval Roman Catholic priesthood. You see, in the Middle Ages, every university student was also a cleric, in the lower orders of the Roman priesthood. The biretta/mortarboard identified one as part of the lower Roman clergy, and the birettas became more colorful as one rose higher in ecclesiastical rank (for instance, purple for bishops, scarlet for cardinals).
Please realize that the long colorful cowls that we wear over our robes are actually hats, too. Yes, the cowl and the robe with the long sleeves were originally part of a monk’s habit. You see, in the Middle Ages, not only was every university student a cleric, but most were simultaneously under monastic vows. The cowl was used to cover one’s head in the cold and damp weather in Europe, and the long sleeves were handy for carrying such things as writing paraphernalia and one’s lunch.
Now, honestly, what is more relevant and dignified in a Texas free church setting: A cowboy’s hat, reflecting our ministry to and identification with our people? Or, a priest’s biretta, indicating we are ontologically superior to our people? Is it not part of our Baptist Reformation heritage to alter mere trappings as we see fit? We are neither in Roman orders nor under Roman custom. We are Southern Baptists, and as free churchmen, we are free to reform our customs and habits as we deem fit.
We are Southern Baptists in Modern Texas, not Roman Catholics in Medieval Europe, and we will wear common cowboy hats rather than exalted sacerdotal birettas, in honor of our great free churches and in order to identify with our great people. (Via Bill MacKinnon at BHT.)
Well, no one says that goofy academic regalia is an inalterable aspect of reality. And this is consistent, as I say, with some historical rejections of things like Christmas among some Protestant traditions. But you know, I hear that “Gregorian” calendar was thought up by some papist. Hey! I think it was a pope!
A Baptist pastor/blogger critiques the decision and reasoning here.
Well if we’re talking historical precedents, rather than herders of cows shouldn’t pastors look to tenders of flocks of sheep for inspiration in headgear choices?
How about this jaunty gaucho-like sombrero worn so nonchalantly by Homers’ shepherd prince Paris c. 455 BC (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
http://www.philipresheph.com/demodokos/helen/pic9.htm
Oops my bad! Fancy that…
… its red
… and resembles a biretta!
Thanks for the chuckle! God Bless
Well the Gregorian calendar was rejected for quite a long time by Protestant countries and it is only withing the last 100 years or so that it was fully accepted.
Oh and since us Papists invented seminaries and universities they need to come up with their own unique structures.
” Or, a priest’s biretta, indicating we are ontologically superior to our people?”- Yep, that’s what I think of when I see my pastor or attend a graduation, “Man, I’m so ontologically inferior to that dude.”
Gee, the whole idea of a “university” is a medieval Catholic invention. Maybe they should teach during cattle drives around the campfire instead of in classrooms.
Oh, and get rid of books. You know, the first thing Gutenburg printed was that Catholic Vulgate Latin Bible, and indulgences!
And forget about health care and career. It was those Catholic nuns that invented hospitals. (The German word for “nurse” is still “Schwester,” (=”sister”)).
Did this guy fall off a horse?
There’s no end to how stupid you can become if you reject everything not invented by “your people.” Which raises a question–what are Baptists known for inventing?
Paging P.J. O’Rourke…
I wonder what they think about Cardinal DiNardo’s red cowboy hat.
I’ve always been partial to the Time Lord regal robes and headpieces from Dr Who, esp in the Tom Baker episode “The Deadly Assassin.”
Well, bully on them.
And let’s not forget the Latin alphabet, brought to the
English-speaking world in 597 A.D. by “Romish” clergy
sent by Pope Gregory the Great. Gosh, I wonder how
many times a day that alphabet has been used for 1,000+
years.
Is the Baptist Bible printed in the Latin alphabet or in the
Anglo-Saxon futhark ?
How silly an effort this is. There are so many things that originate from the Church that removing them all would be counterproductive and an obvious waste of time. Much like the Italians refusing to use words like “sandwich” because they’re not of Italian origin (as for the French, is “email” so loathsome that you demand it be called “courriel”). A more damning comparison would be Mao’s revolution and the destruction of all things Western or Imperial. They were left with almost nothing and to this day struggle for an identity that the state can never fully provide for. As a result consumerism reigns and nothing underpins their decision making.
Once the house is built removing the foundations from under it will force it to come crashing down. A new house will have to be rebuilt, but with all the blueprints of the West written in “Catholic” how are they to build anything at all?
Non-liturgical churches end up formalizing things they tried to get away from in the first place. Look at the Baptists and scriptural interpretation debates on personal interpretation. The ABC mentality (“Anything But Catholic”) is juvenile and needs to be outed by more than just the Catholic League.