beards are from satan!
by Adrianoblue 49 Replies latest jw friends
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warmasasunned
i knew an elder who had a beard he was looked down on by some......strange,when jesus looked like a hippie.
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dorayakii
Hobo Ken: "white people living in China eventually produce Chinese offspring (without intermarrying)--due to the influence of soil and climate" - The Watchtower 7/15/ 1902.
recovering: HMM DOES NOT THAT POINT TO NATURAL SELECTION?
Yes, it does. It sounds a lot more like an elaborated form of Lamarckian evolution rather than Darwinian natural selection. Lamarck was a contemporary of Darwin who theorised that an organism passes on characteristics that it has learnt or aquired during its lifetime eg. the length of a giraffe's neck. This has now been discredited because we now know that only the germ cells (the sperm and egg) carry genetic information, soma cells (the rest of the cells in your body) are dead-ends when it comes to reproduction. This means that the cells of a giraffe's neck or those of a Chinese person's eyes (soma cells) cannot pass on some characteristic called "length" or "narrowness" to their offspring.
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WontLeave
Once again, this was covered long before I got here, but it's a subject I've done a lot of research on. I've heard so much negativity about beards from elders, even ones who claim they would like to have one if they were allowed. The fact is, only the Society has ever found fault with beards and every time God has expressed his opinion of them, it's been positive.
YOU must not cut YOUR sidelocks short around, and you must not destroy the extremity of your beard - Lev 19:27 (reiterated @21:5)
Shaving off a beard was a symbol of sorrow or destruction.
Now as soon as I heard of this thing I ripped apart my garment and my sleeveless coat, and I began to pull out some of the hair of my head and of my beard, and I kept sitting stunned. - Ezra 9:3
In that day, by means of a hired razor in the region of the River, even by means of the king of As·syr′i·a, Jehovah will shave the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away even the beard itself. - Isa 7:20
He has gone up to The House and to Di′bon, to the high places, to a weeping. Over Ne′bo and over Med′e·ba Mo′ab itself howls. On all heads in it there is baldness; every beard is clipped. - Isa 15:2
For upon every head there is baldness, and every beard is clipped. Upon all hands there are cuts, and upon the hips there is sackcloth! - Jer 48:37
And as for you, O son of man, take for yourself a sharp sword. As a barbers’ razor you will take it for yourself, and you must make it pass along upon your head and upon your beard, and you must take for yourself weighing scales and divide [the hair] in portions. A third you will burn in the very fire in the midst of the city as soon as the days of the siege have come to the full. And you must take another third. You will strike [it] with the sword all around her, and the [last] third you will scatter to the wind, and I shall draw out a sword itself after them. - Eze 5:1-2
Even long hair on men, every time God gives his opinion, he seems to be for it.
All the days of the vow of his Naziriteship no razor should pass over his head; until the days that he should be separated to Jehovah come to the full, he should prove holy by letting the locks of the hair of his head grow. - Num 6:5
Now compared with Ab′sa·lom there proved to be no man so beautiful in all Israel as to be praised so much. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there proved to be no defect in him. And when he shaved his head—and it occurred at the end of every year that he would shave it; because it was so heavy upon him, he shaved it—he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the royal stone weight. - 2Sam 14:25-26
Of course, we're all familiar with Samson and his 7 braids.
Paul's reason for bashing men with long hair must have been a personal one. But he's known to say things that are his own opinion: "I say, yes, I, not the Lord" (1Cor 7:12). It was no-doubt swayed by militaristic Roman custom where the fashion was for men to be "high and tight", to use current military jargon. This kept lice and filth to a minimum while on the battle field for long periods of time. It also didn't allow for an enemy to grab and use his hair to manipulate a soldier in close combat.
Of course, we all know these man-made rules are nothing more than a power-grab by (currently) 8 old men and the elders who worship them. They're not the least bit interested in anyone submitting to God, but to the GB or even some idealized personification of the publishing company, itself. Of course, we have all seen examples of people doing bad things always wanting others to join them. Other people doing it makes it seem not so bad, or even acceptable. Of course, the elders have to perform this idolatry to retain their positions and possibly some part of them knows what they're doing is wrong, so they need to feel like "everybody else is doing it" to ease or eliminate their guilt.
Interestingly, even the Society's literature doesn't overtly ban beards, but cautions to give it thought (after they bash beards, of course). The expectation is that if we want to please God (the Society), we'd never do anything He (the Society) doesn't personally like. This mentality can't really be put into words - whether printed in literature or vocalized in the back room - since it would sound totally insane and cultish. It takes years of brainwashing and mental/emotional conditioning to "get it". Purely emotional and cultural rules are impossible to present logically and just have to be "felt". This is how JWs interpret the meaning of 'putting on a new personality'. Therefore, the cautions are perceived as orders from God (the Society), rather than a plea to train one's conscience according to the Bible and obey its warnings. The actual words on the pages are completely ignored and the intended meaning is conveyed perfectly to those who "get it". It's the secret code JWs have substituted for the "pure language" along with renaming things that already had names (Old/New Testament, John the Baptist) and redefining words that already had definitions (truth, light).
A side note, on birthdays:
The excuse for the birthday ban is the 2 birthdays mentioned in the Bible where bad things happen. By that logic, Eglon - "a very fat man" - who was an evil king of Moab must indicate that being fat should also be a DFing offense. Also, Jehovah sent Ehud - "a left-handed man" - to kill him, so left-handed people should be held in special esteem in the congregation.
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Ding
Leviticus 19:27: "27 "'Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard."
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miseryloveselders
You would think the WT would promote beard growth, being that they want to remain seperate from the world. Also they appear to be obsessed with the law covenant. Considering the scriptures mentioned above, and being that they highlight the fact that Wall Street supposedly is clean shaven, which by the way is part of Satans system of things, wouldn't they want to be different than worldly businessmen and maintain the principles set forth in the law covenant? The most recent WT articles(from the 70s) subtely condemning facial hair make it seem like its the beatniks and hippies fault, but its 2010, those movements are long gone. By the way, there's a fair share of black JW males ticked off about the WT's facial hair policy. The bottom of their faces look like mountain ranges of ingrown hairs.
Is it safe to say the WT's antifacial hair stance was a result of Rutherford's obsession with eliminating any remnants of Russel's influence? Also, the possibility that Fred Franz and Knorr didn't want brush burns on their gonads?
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Terry
Beards in religion
Beards also play an important role in some religions.
In Greek mythology and art Zeus and Poseidon are always portrayed with beards, but Apollo never is. A bearded Hermes was replaced with the more familiar beardless youth in the 5th century B.C.
Sikhism
Sri Guru Har Gobind ji and servants with full beards Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, ordained and established the keeping of unshorn hair as part of the identity and one of the insignia of Sikhs. Sikhs consider the beard to be part of the nobility and dignity of their manhood. Kesh is also one of the Five Ks for a baptised Sikh.
Hinduism
An Indian Hindusadhu with full beard Hindus keep beards depending on which Dharma they follow [citation needed] . Many Hindu priests are unshaven as a sign of purity [citation needed] . The ancient text followed regarding beards depends on the Deva and other teachings, varying according to whom the devotee worships or follows. Most original idols lack moustaches, except for the Rakshasa and Asuras, who are considered to be bad or power-seeking. Many Sadhus, Yogis, or Yoga practitioners keep beards, and represent all situations of life. Shaivite ascetics generally have beards, as they are not permitted to own anything, which would include a razor. The beard is also a sign of a nomadic and ascetic lifestyle.
Vaishnava men, typically of the ISKCON sect, are encouraged to be clean-shaven as a sign of cleanliness. Vaishnavas of the Gaudiya tradition on the other hand generally keep beards and a shaven head (except a small tail called a shikha).
[edit] Judaism
Orthodox Jew in Jerusalem with a beard and peyos (sidelocks) Main article: Shaving in JudaismThe Bible states in Leviticus 19:27 that "You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard." Talmudic tradition explains this to mean that a man may not shave his beard with a razor with a single blade, since the cutting action of the blade against the skin "mars" the beard. Because scissors have two blades, some opinions in halakha (Jewish law) permit their use to trim the beard, as the cutting action comes from contact of the two blades and not the blade against the skin. For this reason, most poskim (Jewish legal deciders) rule that Orthodox Jews may use electric razors to remain cleanshaven, as such shavers cut by trapping the hair between the blades and the metal grating, halakhically a scissor-like action. Some prominent contemporary poskim [who?] maintain that electric shavers constitute a razor-like action and consequently prohibit their use.
The Zohar, one of the primary sources of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), attributes holiness to the beard, specifying that hairs of the beard symbolize channels of subconscious holy energy that flows from above to the human soul. Therefore, most Hasidic Jews, for whom Kabbalah plays an important role in their religious practice, traditionally do not remove or even trim their beards.
Also, some Jews refrain from shaving during the 30-day mourning period after the death of a close relative, known in Hebrew as the Shloshim (thirty) as well as during periods of the Counting of the Omer and the Three Weeks.
Islam
A Muslim male with a beard See also: Islamic hygienical jurisprudenceThe Prophet Muhammad ordered growing a beard, and it is said by those who promote it strongly that all the prophets have had one. Trimming the mustaches is one of the fitra. [ 26 ] [ 27 ] [ 28 ] [ 29 ] [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] There are those who view it as a sunnah and they may argue that it has an equivalent status to the nine other acts of fitrah, of the sa?i?a?adith about the ten acts of fitrah, but this argument is considered weak at best. All Muslim scholars view keeping a beard as being at least commendable for men as it follows the example of Muhammad, and most consider it obligatory.</ref>
Most scholars view that men who shave are not allowed to do things such as being an imam and leading prayer because in doing so they are trying emulate the women or the unbelievers which are sins. This position is highly debatable considering there is a Hadith about men in Paradise being clean shaven.
In the Islamic tradition, God commanded Abraham to keep his beard, shorten his moustache, clip his nails, shave the hair around his genitals, and pluck his armpit hair. [ 33 ]
Christianity
Basilios Bessarion's beard contributed to his defeat in the papal conclave, 1455. Jesus is almost always portrayed with a beard in iconography and art dating from the 4th century onward. In paintings and statues most of the Old Testament Biblical characters such as Moses and Abraham and Jesus' New Testamentdisciples such as St Peter are with beard, as was John the Baptist. John the Apostle is generally depicted as clean-shaven in Western European art, however, to emphasize his relative youth. Eight of the figures portrayed in the painting entitled The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci are bearded. Mainstream Christianity holds Isaiah Chapter 50: Verse 6 as a prophecy of Christ's crucifixion, and as so, as a description of Christ having his beard plucked by his tormentors.
In Eastern Christianity, long hair, as well as beards, are often worn by members of the priesthood and by monastics, and at times have been recommended for all believers. Amish and Hutterite men shave until they are married, then grow a beard and are never thereafter without one, although it is a particular form of a beard (see Visual markers of marital status). Many Syrian Christians from Kerala in India wore long beards.
Nowadays, members of many Catholic religious communities, mainly those of Franciscan origin, use a beard as a sign of their vocation. At various times in its history the Catholic Church permitted and prohibited facial hair. [ 34 ] Some Messianic Jews also wear beards to show their observance of the Old Testament.
Diarmaid MacCulloch writes: [ 35 ] "There is no doubt that Cranmer mourned the dead king (Henry VIII)", and it was said that he showed his grief by growing a beard. But "it was a break from the past for a clergyman to abandon his clean-shaven appearance which was the norm for late medieval priesthood; with Luther providing a precedent, virtually all the continental reformers had deliberately grown beards as a mark of their rejection of the old church, and the significance of clerical beards as an aggressive anti-Catholic gesture was well recognised in mid-Tudor England."
Rastafari Movement
A male Rastafarian's beard is a sign of his pact with God (Jah or Jehovah), and his Bible is his source of knowledge. Leviticus 21:5 ("They shall not make any baldness on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their flesh.") Likewise, it is not uncommon for a Rastafarian beard to grow uncombed, like dreadlocks.
Religious prohibitions
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Modern Mormon men are strongly encouraged to be clean shaven. Formal prohibitions against facial hair are given to young men entering their two-year mission service. Those entering the church-sponsored universities are asked to adhere to the Church Educational System Honor Code, which states in part: "Men are expected to be clean-shaven; beards are not acceptable."
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Terry
Ancient Greece
A coin depicting a cleanly-shaven Alexander the GreatThe ancient Greeks regarded the beard as a badge or sign of virility; in the Homeric epics it had almost sanctified significance, so that a common form of entreaty was to touch the beard of the person addressed. [9] It was only shaven as a sign of mourning, though in this case it was instead often left untrimmed. A smooth face was regarded as a sign of effeminacy. [10] The Spartans punished cowards by shaving off a portion of their beards. From the earliest times, however, the shaving of the upper lip was not uncommon. Greek beards were also frequently curled with tongs.
Ancient Macedon
In the time of Alexander the Great the custom of smooth shaving was introduced. [11 ] Reportedly, Alexander ordered his soldiers to be clean shaven, fearing that their beards would serve as handles for their enemies to grab and to hold the soldier as he was killed. The practice of shaving spread from the Macedonians, whose kings are represented on coins, etc. with smooth faces, throughout the whole known world of the Macedonian Empire. Laws were passed against it, without effect, at Rhodes and Byzantium; and even Aristotle conformed to the new custom, [12] unlike the other philosophers, who retained the beard as a badge of their profession. A man with a beard after the Macedonian period implied a philosopher, [13] and there are many allusions to this custom of the later philosophers in such proverbs as: "The beard does not make the sage." [14]
Ancient Rome
Shaving seems to have not been known to the Romans during their early history (under the Kings of Rome and the early Republic). Pliny tells us that P. Ticinius was the first who brought a barber to Rome, which was in the 454th year from the founding of the city (that is, around 299 BC). Scipio Africanus was apparently the first among the Romans who shaved his beard. However, after that point, shaving seems to have caught on very quickly, and soon almost all Roman men were clean-shaven; being clean-shaven became a sign of being Roman and not Greek. Only in the later times of the Republic did the Roman youth begin shaving their beards only partially, trimming it into an ornamental form; prepubescent boys oiled their chins in hopes of forcing premature growth of a beard. [15]
Still, beards remained rare among the Romans throughout the Late Republic and the early Principate. In a general way, in Rome at this time, a long beard was considered a mark of slovenliness and squalor. The censors L. Veturius and P. Licinius compelled M. Livius, who had been banished, on his restoration to the city, to be shaved, and to lay aside his dirty appearance, and then, but not until then, to come into the Senate. [16] The first occasion of shaving was regarded as the beginning of manhood, and the day on which this took place was celebrated as a festival. [17] Usually, this was done when the young Roman assumed the toga virilis. Augustus did it in his twenty-fourth year, Caligula in his twentieth. The hair cut off on such occasions was consecrated to a god. Thus Nero put his into a golden box set with pearls, and dedicated it to Jupiter Capitolinus. [18] The Romans, unlike the Greeks, let their beards grow in time of mourning; so did Augustus for the death of Julius Caesar. [19] Other occasions of mourning on which the beard was allowed to grow were, appearance as a reus, condemnation, or some public calamity. On the other hand, men of the country areas around Rome in the time of Varro seem not to have shaved except when they came to market every eighth day, so that their usual appearance was most likely a short stubble. [20]
In the second century AD the Emperor Hadrian, according to Dion Cassius, was the first of all the Caesars to grow a beard; Plutarch says that he did it to hide scars on his face. This was a period in Rome of widespread imitation of Greek culture, and many other men grew beards in imitation of Hadrian and the Greek fashion. Until the time of Constantine the Great the emperors appear in busts and coins with beards; but Constantine and his successors to the end of the sixth century, with the exception of Julian, are represented as beardless.
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miseryloveselders
Thanks for that post Terry. So Mormons are "encouraged" to be clean shaven as well, ridiculous. Going beyond what's written. I like this picture, I'd love to let my beard grow like this. I thought Lebron and Braylon Edwards' beards looked good on them.
Its insane how something so natural as facial hair is demonized by "men of God." So much for God's image, and avoidance of going beyond what's written. If Honest Abe didn't have a beard, he'd look like he had AIDS. The beard enhanced his masculinity IMO.
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wobble
I wore a beard from 1975 to 1988, a big old black jobbie, a bit ZZ Top, by 1978 my hair was real long too, I served as M.S at the time.
A few local Elders have one, or wore one for a good time. This is in the U.K, where no such guy would be used on a Circuit or District Assy. if he wore one.
Which is why some shaved again.
The WT are a bunch of Pharisees.
