by Reborn2002 22 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
As has been stated elsewhere on the board, "Brother" Rutherford was the one that had the problem with the beards. As the "brothers" that knew Rutherford die off, you will see a relaxation of the beard "rule" in the organization.
This has always been a pet issue with me.
Slipnslidemaster:"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is."
- Jan L.A. van de Snepscheut
For the first time in my life, I began growing a beard about 2 weeks
ago. Although no one has actually critisized me openly (other than
my mother), I have been the subject of numerous shocked looks
and gasps of horror at the hall.
As well, I seem to have disappeared from the latest mike handling
schedule, even though I am a regular publisher. I wish I had known this
sooner. I could have avoided a lot of useless work.
That is fine running man. Just tell them you will be more than willing to shave off your beard when you see some scriptures to that effect.
Such a shame shaving is one of those things of pagan origin that they have accepted and made into an unwritten command of men.
These days more and more elders will agree the policy is inappropriate. I hope you can find yourself in a more liberal hall that respects a person's conscience and free choice.
At the same time that the Society will claim that you are free to grow a beard, it is their past indoctrination that has led to the discrimination in the present. If you choose to continue to have a beard, you will be pushed to the 'fringes'.
Even though I never cared to grow a beard, this issue is one that has always disturbed me since I have been a child. The lack of any straightforward answer that made sense and any scriptural support, and to see grown men conform by shaving that had sensitive skin that scarred and bled was unacceptable.
Path
Plus Jesus had a beard, Russell had a beard. I mean really...
Slipnslidemaster:"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is."
- Jan L.A. van de Snepscheut
I found this on the Boston Globe website:
. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/003/living/Hairy_situations+.shtml
Hairy situations
By Tina Cassidy, Globe Staff, 1/3/2002
There are those with infamous facial hair: Satan, Hitler, Ho Chi Minh, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden.
There are those with revolutionary beards: Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Osama bin Laden.
And religious beards: Christ, Moses, Zeus, Rastafarians, Amish, Sikhs, Jews, Muslims ... and Osama bin Laden.
While statistics show that 90 percent of men shave at least once a day, those who don't choose not to for a reason, conscious or otherwise. That's what Allan Peterkin, a Toronto-based psychiatrist, posits in his new book, ''One Thousand Beards: A Cultural History of Facial Hair.''
''The gesture of changing one's face is simply too powerful to be strictly conscious,'' Peterkin writes. ''The rather scant psychiatric and psychoanalytical literature available on the meanings of facial hair reveals that these decisions are based on notions of sex, death, aggression, rebellion, narcissism, damaged self-esteem, fetishism, and gender anxiety. ... Simply put, beards suggest power, dominance, and virility.''
Historically, beards have been used to distinguish one group from its enemy. And evolutionists believe the beard gives more prominence to the jaw and teeth, all the better for baring those pearly whites in a fight. We won't even get into Freud's theory, which, of course, involves the nether regions of the body and shaving's being akin to castration (Freud had a beard). Then there's the ''gay beard.'' For more on that, you'll have to buy the book.
Beards have also been symbols of ''grief, loss, bereavement, unemployment,'' Peterkin writes - which may explain Drew Bledsoe's scruffy new look. The same could be true for Al Gore's beard - no more close shaves for him.
''I think for most men it's transition,'' Peterkin says, adding that Gore was the perfect example of that. ''Middle-aged, wanting to change careers, wanting to change his public face, and he was a little heavier, so maybe the beard was concealing his jowls.''
So what's next for facial hair?
Trend spotters ''predict a big return of the mustache,'' the author says over the phone from Toronto. ''It's a bit surprising. It hasn't been around since the '70s. These things do cycle. I really can't explain why that would be. In the '70s the mustache took on a smarmy singles application, and it also may have become a gay or bisexual identifier. That's why some think it fell into disfavor.''
But the mustache is already visible in some Gap and Kenneth Cole ads, while college kids have been having mustache-growing contests.
''Often these things start on college campuses,'' Peterkin says. ''And the stubble look is back, but less calculated than the Don Johnson variety.'' It all seems to fit in somehow with the longer, shaggy hair men have been sporting.
What about goatees? They're out. ''Too ubiquitous,'' Peterkin proclaims. ''It's like the middle-aged ponytail.'' And in some club circles, beards have taken on a twist. Kids ''are doing some interesting stuff, like the ancient Syrians and Persians, dyeing it, threading it with beads. They're reinventing the minibeard.''
Now it all makes sense. I must admit I have been exceptionally
powerful, dominant, and virile lately.
Actually, the comment about the subconcious psychology of
changing one's face was very interesting. Maybe, I am at a turning
point, and am subconciously planning an escape.
a long running dispute this one.
I seem to rememember that in the 60's they wanted us not to look like hippies, since - at least to the Org- beards were associated with the rebellious anti authority movement.
Always was contentious though and,at least in the U K ,I believe that it has relaxed a bit.
I rember the consternation at K H when a visiting speaker turnedup with a beard! should we send him back? Too late,the non elder chairman had started the meeting. But we sent a strong letter to his congregation
it gets me still, when they say "If he was really spiritual, he would shave it off to accommodate OUR views . Pure manipulation and self importance
If the Borg survives long enuf they'll start looking into whether pubic "beards" should be shaved off.
To the ones higher up in the congregation, seeing another congregation member with a beard is a quick way for them to know just how 'spiritual' that person is (in the WT sense of the word). The clean shaven faces are the ones who are still mentally assimilated into the Borg, and therefore are not going to pose a problem (for now!).
When a member in good standing begins wearing a beard, it's a red flag to them that the person is on the way out, and because it's such a public act (without actually saying a word) everyone else knows it too. It amazes me that such a small matter is so critically important to their perception of control over the congregation.
Love, Scully
It is not persecution for an informed person to expose a certain religion as being false. - WT 11/15/63
well excuse me but i don't remember satan having facial hair - is that when he was going through his hippy phase ?
