It is in hatmony with the Scripture that says, "By this all will know that you are my disciples if you have well publicised shaving sessions among yourselves."
(Not so) Subliminal Shave Your Beard Message
by Funchback 39 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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John Davis
Granted I never want a beard. I had one and I hated it. Too itchy and hot. My Middle Eastern heritage makes it really a thick and itchy beard.
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OneEyedJoe
John, you're missing the point altogether. The beard thing is about hypocrisy. They're obsessed with beards when it doesn't make sense to be. There's no prohibition on beards in the bible, and they claim to be lead solely by the bible. In fact there's explicit instruction in the bible that men have beards, and they use an adjacent verse to justify their prohibition on tattoos. Hypocrites. They say they rely on bible principles and leave things to the conscience of their members where the scriptures aren't clear, yet they ban beards. Hypocrites. They criticize other religions for violating Paul's instruction not to go beyond the things written in scripture, yet they ban beards. Hypocrites. It's such an insane place for them to make a stand, and as such it stands out. It's possibly one of the clearest places to see how rigid and intrusive their control is. And when you understand how cult brainwashing works, it begins to make perfect sense. The beard ban is one of the places where the cult exposes itself in every way for what it is.
Another thing that makes the beard ban such a sticking point is that it's something that no one has any emotional attachment to. No one has died refusing to grow a beard for the cult, so there's hesitance to accept that the ban may be wrong due to a refusal to accept that people died for nothing (as there is with the blood ban). Adding to that the explicit biblical ban on shaving, and the fact that many men would like to grow a beard it leaves this issue as a unique seam that can allow someone to start to break into the cult mind control.
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undercover
I posted this thought on another 'beard' thread a couple of months ago. Cut/pasted from that post:
...the 'beard rule' is a microcosm of the WTS/JWs. We've latched on to this seemingly innocent thing because it demonstrates the authoritarian rule of the WTS over it's members. One cannot dictate to oneself this simple grooming choice. It has to be made for you. The same for your entertainment choices. Your celebrations. Even your level of education.
When you're inside the religion, and allowing them to control your thinking and actions, you don't think about it. But as soon as you exert your freedom, this one minor thing sticks out as a huge signal that something is wrong with the ruling body of this group.
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steve2
People, John Davis has had these kinds of exchanges about beards with other posters in other threads and far more persuasive arguments criticizing JW organization's policy have been adduced and he has flicked them to one side with the brandishing ease of a seven-blade shaver.
He clearly feels a need to enter all posts on beards and to frame JW organization's policy in a less damning light - the JD-pro-JW-organization mountain ain't moving.
We could just say, "Hear what you're saying" and move on.
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John Davis
I have not posted about beards ever before, there Steve2. maybe you need to do some research before blowing up on people.
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John Davis
In fact Steve2 I never said that anyone was wrong by saying that they shouldn't have that rule or voice their opinion. I just said that I don't get the big deal. I also qualified it by saying I never want a beard again because it is too itchy and hot for me. So I don't get where your attack comes from.
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Bad_Wolf
Why does Jesus, angels, and all spirit creatures have beards in JW literature? Did God and the angels not get the memo from the GB that they are not being spiritual and need to shave their beards?
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Spiral
I think there's more to it now: it's to deconstruct the adult in the JW. Everyone has to be the same, down to the same type of suit, skirt (check that length, sisters!), type of job (education limits help create this) and basically any other individualization.
Now that I am forced to attend on occasion, I just see a lot of robots in sad clothing, with the same types of jobs and circumstances, depressed outlooks, basically "file folder tan" type of people.
Perhaps with the space of not attending for a decade this has become obvious, but I really think the "org" is making a real effort to keep everyone in line, in a very narrow space of being.
Mr. Spiral looks great in a beard, BTW. Haha.
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compound complex
I'm close to the Nathan Grindal "look." He's a fellow ginger, but I'm a lot older:
