A Bethel Memory #2 - Much ado about wiskers

by LivingTheDream 26 Replies latest members private

  • WingCommander
    WingCommander

    The end all, be all answer to this is simple: If God dislikes facial hair so much, he wouldn't have put that in our genes to be able to grow facial hair.

    End of story. Anything above this is going beyond what is written. (or NOT written so to speak).

    For the record, what I heard officially was that this practice of disallowing beards came about right after Judge Rutherford took over. A lot of the Bible Students (some called Russellites) left after The Judge took control and continued to be Bible Students. A lot of them had beards like C.T. Russell, so of course The Judge didn't want his WatchTower drones to be any thing like the Bible Students, so decreed that beards were forbidden to everyone associating them to C.T. Russell.

    So basically, something that started out as Judge JR Rutherford doing to spite the Bible Students, has trickled down to become the "Law of the WT Land", and the younger generation doesn't have a true clue as to why. Even the explanation of it being banned because of the "Hippie Generation" of the 1960's being rebellious is flawed and incorrect, as it doesn't go back far enough. JR Rutherford couldn't stand anyone paying homage to or looking like they are in agreement with C.T. Russell, so hence he banned beards.

    Pretty f*cked up, huh?

    - Wing Commander

  • miseryloveselders
    miseryloveselders

  • "In the '60s, facial hair equaled rebellion ... individual expressions of nonconformity had to be suppressed

    • Key phrase, "in the 60s"....... Those that came of age back in the 60's are now leaders in both religious organizations respectfully. Whatever fears, values, traditions, etc. they were instilled with back then, are still necessary in their view today. The more people change, the more these men feel the need to stick to an outdated party line regardless of how ridiculous it appears to outsiders or even their younger brethren. That link you posted also mentioned that Mormon leaders demand encourage white dress shirts. I've known COs who demanded such as well. What's ironic about it all to me is, younger COs didn't mind a brother with a non-white dress shirt delivering talks at the assemblies. The last CO I had didn't mind us growing soul patches. The older CO before him strictly opposed soul patches and non-white shirts. The funny thing about all of this to me is, none of it is scriptural. The only thing you might be able to make an argument for these "traditions" being scriptural is how the leadership in both organizations parallel the Pharisees.

  • Think About It
    Think About It

    Itsacult.

    Think About It

  • wobble
    wobble

    I first grew a beard in 1975, not because I thought the New System was coming and shaving would be a thing of the past, but because I wanted to.

    Come the day a bro. in another Congo. (Tempory C.O etc) wanted to use me on the platform at a Circuit Assy to make a point in his item by recounting an experience I had in FS. He showed me the (secret) instructions for those having parts on the Assy. "no beards".

    I objected that no scriptural reason was given and anyway I had the FS experience whilst wearing a beard. He was sad about it, but adamant and as I was not too fussed, I could shave it off and grow it back easy enough, and anyway it was a bit HUGE, like ZZTop remember them ? it needed a trim at least .

    So, I shaved it off, and went on the platform, as usual I did not pull any punches and afterwards a long serving sister congratulated me for "telling it like it is" but I made no reference to my new found habit of shaving.

    But it caused a ripple or three as nobody could understand the reasoning,or support my having to shave, it was 1988, not 1968.

    The funny thing is, the Elder who was most upset that I had been made to shave, it shook his faith in the Borg, but he is still in, no longer an Elder though.

    The other bit of hypocrisy is that years later, around 2003 they used a guy from my Congo in similar role, he had a beard when he joined the JW's and no one mentioned it when he went on the platform, yet I think they still stick to the silliness officially.

  • Leolaia
    Leolaia
    If God dislikes facial hair so much, he wouldn't have put that in our genes to be able to grow facial hair.

    I don't think that point, while it makes good sense, is going to carry weight with a JW elder who reasons, "Wouldn't that apply to circumcision as well? It doesn't matter if foreskin is in the genes, circumcision was still something to be done for a boy or man under the Abrahamic covenant that marked him as one of God's people. If it was the practice in God's earthly organization in ancient times to circumcise, then if God's earthly organization today says you must shave, wouldn't you just obey the organization?" (or some nonsense similar to this).

  • SixofNine
    SixofNine

    I once grew a beard and was subsequently told that I would not be "used". I begrudgingly shaved.

    I then grew a soul patch, and got only good comments on it; sort of "well we won't be doing that, but you're stickin' it to the man just enough so that we won't have to take heat for it from the higher ups... so good on ya!".

    I grew a beard again, after a while, and kept it for the last 5 or 6 years of my Witness career. It was a beating every day (even though, again, I got mostly positive comments on it from sisters, and probably 50/50 positive from brothers - even kudos from the Circuit Overseer).

    They weren't going to rock the boat, no matter how silly the policy is.

  • VM44
    VM44

    Wing Commander gave the reason.

    Beards are NOT allowed at Bethel becauser Judge Rutherford did not like beards!

    The influence of "The Judge" lives on!

  • wobble
    wobble

    The ghost of the Judge still walks the corridors, so watch out you Bethel boys having a clandestine drinks party (and other things), you may get an uninvited guest !

  • Scott77
    Scott77

    Iam gong to start growing again my beard back. Sigh, some traces of Watchtowerism is still within me. I keep shaving over and over again every 3 days.

    Scott77

  • SlipnSlide
    SlipnSlide

    This has always been a stupid rule. In most illustrations in the magazines, the men have moustaches/beards. I know of a few brothers that were told that they had to shave their beards. They did not really give the brothers in my kh a hard time about the moustaches, though. As a female, I have always thought that men who had beards and soul patches (that is so sexy on a man!) looked very pleasing to my eyes.

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