J.W= No beards-clean shaven, short hair...even Jesus???!!!

by Witness 007 34 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  Witness 007

  Do you remember all the publications in the 1950-1960's pictures showing a Jesus clean shaven with short hair???

  Watch. 1954 p.511 "Why do Watchtower books now show Jesus with short hair and no beard? ...because he is shown that way in representations of him that are older then the traditional effeminate looking pictures."

  Watch. 1968 p.286 "Bible evidence and a recent review shows that Jesus did have a beard."

  I know a brother who was never given any privledges becuase he had a beard and refused to get rid of it. Also one Elder was going on the building committe overseas so he dicided to shave his big mustouche off as he said at the meeting "not to stumble any of the brothers."
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  Clam

  This thread reminds me of the Awake cover which gives a WTS artists impression of Jesus . .

  

  I think he looks a bit shifty, but who does he remind you of ? He looks like someone famous but I just can't put my finger on it. The beard's nice but look at that hair style. I knew Vidal Sassoon was getting on a bit, but I didn't think he'd been around that long.

  Clam
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  Witness 007

  Thanks Clam! He doesn't look Jewish in this picture. He looks italian mafia to me....the old pictures when he was clean shaven 1950's style haircut are very weird.
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  eclipse

  He looks like Ben Affleck a little,

  LMAO at Clam

  I thought they were still using oil....? (Like in David's time)
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  greendawn

  What a joke, as a Jew under the Mosaic law he would have had a beard just like all other Jews back then. As for the long hair it may or may not have been so because it is not certain whether Jesus was a Nazirite in which case he would have had long hair.
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  moomanchu

  This is my standard form letter that I send out to ignorant JW's about beards

  For the first approximately 10 years during his leadership of the Bible Students, Rutherford would praise CTR and even stated that he was leading the movement personally while being "beyond the vail"( from the heavens after his death). So for a time the Judge promoted remembering CTR to retain followers and to not rock the boat. Rutherford did this because as a smart business man he knew if he had not praised CTR at the very beginning, the society would lose even more followers those who were still loyal to CTR.

  As time past rutherford established himself without question as the spiritual leader and president of the society. Like first century christians though who followed different brothers like Apollos or Paul, there were brothers at Bethel who still looked to CTR as their spiritual leader and held him and his teachings in very high esteem.

  Rutherford was well aware that many male members of the Bible students emulated CTR by growing long beards. It was at this time that the Judge decided it was time to get the brothers to forget CTR. He didn't want creature worship of the founder of JW's or him becoming an icon. He began a slow and careful plan to get CTR out of the consciousness of the Bible Students. The Judge thus ruled that beards were "out" in the Bethel families. He cut off the beards of Jesus, and Adam in WTS illustrations. All of the sudden, naturally recurring male facial hair was "un-Theocratic." Brothers were even told they couldn’t grow a mustache unless they wanted to lose there "privileges." The Bethe rules trickled down to the congregation and the rest is history.

  The funny thing is if you ask A jw why you can't grow a beard there usual reponse is we don't want to be associated with the hippie movement or uncleaness of the 60's.They don't even realize that the beard ban was made way before then. Matter of fact it wasn't until the 70's that the mustache rule was relaxed this being because of the great popularity of facial hair in the 60's and 70's.
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  RULES & REGULATIONS

  Jesus in 2007?
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  AllTimeJeff

  When you think about all of the prohibitions and principles that are in the bible, (and you can debate those) this "issue" is stupid in spades. It reveals just how controlling and unreasonable the GB is.

  Our Circuit had a "problem" with a few brothers growing beards while I was in. At the CA, our CO illustrated how "distracting" a beard is by walking out on the platform wearing a 20 gallon cowboy hat. Then he reasoned that while the hat was nice and clean and that it was his right to wear it, it was "distracting". LOL Problems with this "reasoning" include that we grow hair, not hats. That their is NOTHING in the bible that would ever prohibit facial hair.

  Since Paul highlighted how short hair was glory for man and long hair glory for women, wouldn't it stand to reason that a beard, which only a man can grow, would be to mans glory? I don't know...

  Whew! It's not like there are bigger fish to fry for these morons.
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  nvrgnbk

  
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  bluebell

  I've always thought it was a dumb rule - just like all hairstyles beards can be nice and neat or really scruffy.