Letters from the sub-editor III
There are plenty of examples of editor's headings inserted into the Bible, where they say almost nothing. They are an exercise in pure redundancy, a bit like the bit of plastic wrap that you must remove from the package in order to get to the wrapping. But a more egregious type of Bible heading-gone-wrong is when the editor's addition has nearly nothing to do with the text that follows.
So, “Head Coverings” are the least important issue mentioned in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. Why even mention them unless you were attempting to attract the eye of a (presumably) bored reader in much the same way as the editor of The Daily Tabloid attempts to grab your attention and get you to “Turn to page 8!”
1 Corinthians 11:2-16 is about how the very nature of God as he is in himself is reflected in the relationships between men and women and the way they behave in a congregation. So a better heading for these verses might be “How the Very Nature of God as He is in Himself is Reflected in the Relationships Between Men and Women and the Way they Behave in a Congregation”. Not “Head Coverings”, for heavens sake, which for all its attention grabbing value ends up being weak, wimpy, and tangential.
Although once we realize that it may take more than two words to summarize the extended theological thought of one of the finest minds that Christendom has known, we may perhaps be able to sympathize with the poor old subeditor's dilemma. It is a real challenge to encapsulate serious ideas in a way that doesn't completely trivialize them.
Indeed it is so consistently hard to do this with Paul's thought in 1 Corinthians that it almost makes you want to give up trying and not have subheadings at all! Wait a minute...