Black and White Christianity

[Sudsy]

Black-car churches mandate they because before cars were around, they mandated simple, black buggies. There is nothing deeper than that.

I never heard that one. What I always heard was that base model cars were black. Any other color cost more and was considered a luxury. Eventually some Anabaptists thought the uniformity was a good thing and "as long as we keep it black, we won't have to make decisions about what colors are appropriate and which ones are not."

As far as black clothing, up until the 1800's, black clothing was more expensive, and some Anabaptist churches forbade it because of that. Then it became the same price as everything else, and became a fad, and then by the late 1800's, it was the color of choice. And then like black cars, Anabaptists liked their uniformity, and so they started mandating certain articles of black clothing.
I don't think any group only wears black. But I may be mistaken.

White headcoverings for women go way back....

I suspect white headcoverings is related to simplicity however there does not appear to be a simple headcover design even though they all are white.

[PetrChelcicky]

Some random thoughts:
1. Quakers preferred grey clothing (which became a distinctive marker), but if we look into the beginnings, the idea was to have clothing in the natural colour of the threads, without any kind of "colouring". I have not found if this was equally handled for wool and for linen. Was there a similar tendency within Anabaptism? Or in Puritanism?
2. Sudsy mentioned the problem that death might as well be seen as something to celebrate. This problem has intrigued me since I first read "1001 nights".In it there is a story about Abdallah the landman (farmer) meeting Abdallah the merman, and the merman reprimands the landman because they mourn the death of their friends and relatives instead of being jouyful, which the merman views as evidence of their disbelief. So this would be treated in a parallel way within Islam.
3. Perhaps we should not overestimate the meaning of Black and White. For example, brides' gowns were black till into the 19th century (and in rural areas till the beginning of the 20th), at least here in Germany. (Of course, many marriages started with a ritual mourning of the bride's girlfriends because she lost her freedom. Don't know if there is any connexion with the choice of Black for the bride's gown)

[Ernie]

I suspect white headcoverings is related to simplicity however there does not appear to be a simple headcover design even though they all are white.

Not sure what you are referring to. I see dozens of simple white designs that do not take a seamstress to make.

[mike]

I suspect white headcoverings is related to simplicity however there does not appear to be a simple headcover design even though they all are white.

Not sure what you are referring to. I see dozens of simple white designs that do not take a seamstress to make.

The kapp design is absolutely not simple and requires a skilled seamstress.



The simple white hanging veil, not so much. They are more simple and almost anybody can make these. Although I am surprised at how many ladies who wear veils end up ordering them from a seamstress as well.

[Josh]

Our head coverings for church on Sunday are literally just a square piece of cloth.

The everyday ones are a round piece of cloth, fastened with pins. Some people sew them together for convenience into a permanent kapp shape.

Many women like well made garments and prefer to get things from a seamstress. In more conservative circles, nobody* wants to stand out as “different” either so women tend to prefer conformity vs making a zany pattern of their own.

* “Nobody” meaning “nearly all people”.

[MaxPC]

Several orders chose white wool because it was cheaper than black wool. With the passage of time that color became the traditional color of the habit. There is even an order of nuns who wear a pink habit. I have no idea why they do though.

Perhaps the pink habit might represent that we have not yet be given our pure white robes and the blood of Jesus is continuing to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and the red in the white results in a pink colour. Now thats a wild guess but it would make sense to me.

Maybe. Or maybe they just like pink? I think it has some symbolic meaning but beyond the black, the white, the brown, and the greys I am out of my depth there.

[Sudsy]

Some random thoughts:
1. Quakers preferred grey clothing (which became a distinctive marker), but if we look into the beginnings, the idea was to have clothing in the natural colour of the threads, without any kind of "colouring". I have not found if this was equally handled for wool and for linen. Was there a similar tendency within Anabaptism? Or in Puritanism?
2. Sudsy mentioned the problem that death might as well be seen as something to celebrate. This problem has intrigued me since I first read "1001 nights".In it there is a story about Abdallah the landman (farmer) meeting Abdallah the merman, and the merman reprimands the landman because they mourn the death of their friends and relatives instead of being jouyful, which the merman views as evidence of their disbelief. So this would be treated in a parallel way within Islam.
3. Perhaps we should not overestimate the meaning of Black and White. For example, brides' gowns were black till into the 19th century (and in rural areas till the beginning of the 20th), at least here in Germany. (Of course, many marriages started with a ritual mourning of the bride's girlfriends because she lost her freedom. Don't know if there is any connexion with the choice of Black for the bride's gown)

I think death can be both sorrowful from a human experience of losing the company of another human and at the same time a celebration from a spiritual view as one celebrates to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

When we feel sad at someone's departure and loss of fellowship we basically are feeling sorry for ourselves and/or for others left behind that are sorrowing. And that is not wrong but rather a human response. Jesus responded with sorrow. The shortest verse in the Bible is 'Jesus wept'. In His humanity Jesus wept over Lazarus and those left behind that loved him and in His divinity he raised him from the dead.

Scripture says we do not sorrow in the same way as those who have no hope of the resurrection and being forever with our Lord. An unbeliever's sorrow has no offset of the Holy Spirit living within them that will allow them to celebrate. If we walk by the Spirit, I believe we will experience this spirit of celebration and 'homecoming' for the deceased.

I have seen this happening many times where one believer weeps with those left behind in the human experience of losing a loved one and then reminds those that still remain of where this loved one now is and together the mourning often turns to celebration. I have also witnessed those who have no hope of anything beyond the grave and their sorrow is extreme. Some don't even want to live on.