Beards?

by Think About It 31 Replies latest jw friends

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  Truthexplorer

  Poor Charles Taze Russell, I can only imagine the looks he will get when he is ressurected
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  Think About It

  OldHippie says- Beards and moustaches are increasingly common here, also from the platform at conventions. No-one bothers.

  Sounds like the JW's have made progress in some areas. Good for the ones who want more identity and breathing room in their lives.

  God Chick.....you are right, too many "stupid" rules.

  Zoiks.....I have also seen CO's come in and have too much influence on style & thought. Disgusting!

  Think About It
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  awildflower

  do they think they will be able to shave everyday after Armageddon?

  That's funny! And what are woman suppose to do about all their shaving? I can handle a gotee, or a very, very limited amount of facial hair, but beards and mustaches, yuk. And I love like the Chris Daughtry look, the shaven head and small facial hair . But yes, it should be a man's choice for God's sake!
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  LittleSister

  I always thought the beard rule was stupid, my hubby has had a beard as long as I have known him and keeps it very neat and tidy and I would have hated him having to shave it off.

  When we were active he still had some Congo privileges, but I expect he would never have been appointed to MS with it not that he cared.

  However back in the late 80’s early 90's we had a lovely brother join the Congo who had a beard and he was hounded because of it. I always felt sorry for him and his wife he had been an elder for many years previously and was one of the few good guys, but our loving brothers were so cruel it sent him crazy and all over a beard.
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  Terry

  I think many of the posters here may be too young to know the following:

  When I came in to the "Truth" around 1959 hardly a magazine article or public talk went by without raising the issue of JESUS HAD NO BEARD.

  This was a real JW fetish!

  "He was clean-shaven." was the inside scoop.

  Sometimes you'd work it in at the door when you'd point to a Watchtower illustration of backwards Jesus (you know, CHRIST JESUS not JESUS CHRIST).

  Practically everything that came from the Watchtower's original "thinkers" was backwards or inside out or contrary or just plain weird.

  But, the fetish about JESUS HAD NO BEARD pretty much illustrates how arbitrary, capricious and whimsical the JW doctrine has been in the past.

  There is little wonder that even today a Witness in good standing must be "clean shaven" like backwards Jesus use to be.

  I'm speculating here, but, could the NO BEARD obsession have stemmed from a desire to distance the organization away from Charles Taze Russell's unique facial outcropping??
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  designs

  The 'rules' about grooming were always a bit culturally slanted and weird. A 'white' brother would be hounded for moustaches and sideburns but a 'black or latin' brother would and could have a moustache and even a soul patch and have parts on assemblies. Ozzie and Harriett reruns.

  It was all so silly
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  Olin Moyles Ghost

  I'm a fader; been a JW for decades. I've been to meetings, assemblies, and conventions across the U.S., and I have never (I mean never) seen a brother on the platform with a beard or goatee. The only acceptable facial hair for a JW man is a mustache.

  Perhaps things are different in other countries, but in the U.S, elders and servants are not permitted to have beards. In fact, when I was growing up I was told that you could not be on the Ministry School if you had a beard--but I've never seen that in print.

  It's common for younger JW men to grow some facial hair when on vacation, but they always shave it when they come back home and go to a meeting or service. I think that most young (under 40) JWs realize that the beard rule is dumb. It wouldn't surprise me if it goes away in the next 10-20 years.
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  JustWantTruth

  In my neck of the woods eastern U.S., beards are still a no no. My old congregation ( I have been inactive for about 7 months) is 99.9 percent black and you absolutely can not have a beard or sideburns( except this really old dude who looked like he still lived in the 70's, he was allowed to get away with the sideburns). My brother use to try to grow a beard out because he would always breakout when he shaved. It is actually common for black men to break out when shaving I hear. So for such unfortunate men like my brother it can be more unsightly to shave. However, my dad always scolded him about it and made him shave. This was just a few years back. Soul patches under the bottom lip are acceptable however. The PO has one and his elder sons all sport them.
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  undercover

  Two fold reason as to why beard's are frowned on.

  One: control.

  I remember a CO once using an illustration of a Russian brother who had a beard moving to the States and the elders didn't question his beard. But when the CO showed up he asked why he was allowed to continue have it and serve as an elder. The other elders asked what would they base it on? The CO said, "It's just not done." He even said that from the platform in telling us the story. His whole point was that we should not question organizational ruling but adhere to counsel. He was happy to inform us that the very next meeting, the Russian brother was clean shaven. No scriptural reasons given, no biblical principles. It was a rule that was to be followed and followed without question.

  Two: reputation of the organization.

  I questioned the beard rule to an elder and handed him the Bible and asked him to show me the principle where Christians are forbidden or even asked to not wear a beard. He wouldn't even take the book but went on to explain that many large corporations have strict grooming laws. He mentioned EDS, I think it was (owned at the time by Ross Perot) and they had no beards, no long hair, no exposed tattoos or facial jewelry, etc. These people represented his company and were not allowed to wear anything that would/could harm its reputation. I realized then, that we weren't Christian ministers...we were WT employees and that the no beard rule was a company policy being forced on its unpaid working force.
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  Truthexplorer

  I remember a meeting about 8 moths ago, where the WT touched on grooming. One of the elders pointed out how special shavers are now advertised that allow men to design their stubble in a certain way as it is meant to look cool; but that christians want to avoid such fashions as we dont want to appear scruffy land unshaven looking when at meetings.

  What a joke!! control, control, control