1 corinthians 11:14 says: Does not nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him;
WTF long hair is unacceptable? Bible says so
by tsunami_rid3r 12 Replies latest jw friends
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Pleasuredome
its a pitty paul didnt tell us how long "long" is.
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Scully
Does your mom have short hair? If she does, you should read the next verses to her and tell her you expect her to grow her hair down to her bum. The Bible says so.
Does your mom wear a shawl to cover her head?? The Bible says she should.
They are actually taking that one scripture totally out of context. Read the whole passage, in context:
Become imitators of me, even af I am of Christ. Now, I commend you because in all things you have me in mind and you are holding fast the traditions just as I handed [them] on to you. But I want you to know that the head of every man is the Christ; in turn the head of a woman is the man; in turn the head of the Christ is God. Every man that prays or prophesies having something on his head shames his head; but every woman that prays or prophesies with her head uncovered shames her head, for it is one and the same if she were a [woman] with a shaved head. For if a woman does not cover herself, let her also be shorn; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered.For a man ought not ot have his head covered, as he is God's image and glory; but the woman is man's glory. For man is not out of woman, but woman out of man; and, what is more, man was not created for the sake of the woman, but woman for the sake of the man. That is why the woman ought to have a sign of authority upon her head because of the angels.
If she thinks the scripture unreasonably restricts her by requiring that she wear a headdress, then maybe it's also unreasonably restrictive in requiring men to have shorter hair [although Paul - who is believed to have been bald - never gave a precise measurement that was deemed correct].
Besides in connection with [the] Lord neither is woman without man nor man without woman. For just as the woman is out of the man, so also the man is through the woman; but all things are out of God. Judge for your own selves: Is it fitting for a woman to pray uncovered to God? Does not nature itself teach that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him; but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? Because her hair is given her instead of a headdress. However, if any man seems to dispute for some other customs, we have no other, neither do the congregations of God. -
Leolaia
In the first century, doctors commonly believed that women's long hair worked with her other sex organs to suck up the semen into her womb...thus it was thought to be part of a woman's physical nature. In the Greek world, men with long hair were thought to be physically effeminate. It is not clear at all if this is what Paul was alluding to here, but his use of the word phusis "nature" suggests that Paul was thinking of the different physical nature of men and women, and so it is possible this ancient concept was before Paul's mind. In the very least, Paul conceived of long hair as constitutive to women's beauty and sex appeal (which would be inappropriate for a man to have this feminine trait); his reference to women covering their head during prayer "because of the angels" is almost surely based on the concept of angels as intercessors in prayer (cf. Tobit, 1 Enoch) and the fact that angels have in the past been tempted by the beauty and sex appeal of earthly women (cf. Genesis 6). His recommendation for women to cover their heads would prevent the angels from being sexually aroused by the women praying through them, and would remind them that the women are under a man's authority.
Incidentally, Paul's sexist belief that only males (anér) have God's glory while females only have "man's glory" (doxa andros) ignores Genesis 1:27 which claimed that God created "humans" (anthrópos, in the Greek LXX) in his image, equally both "male and female".
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inquirer
Interesting Leolaia.
:( It seems if I can't have long hair. I forgot about that one. :( I like long hair! I use to have long hair ages ago!
Yeah, just like on the Catholic newadvent.org site (I love the site by the way!) said "how long is long?" We are living in 2005 and people are a lot different these days! People don't have morals like they did back then! :)
Need to research "how long is long?" 1st century AD. :D -
Krystal
Maybe you should remind your mom of the story of Samson... Judges 16:17... his long hair was a sign of his Naziriteship and the key to his strength which Jehovah had granted him...when he revealed his secret and Delilah cut his long hair, he paid with his life.
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inquirer
Krystal,
Yeah, but that was obviously under special circumstances. We want a general feeling of "Yeah, it's ok to have long hair, as long as it is (say) not longer that the top of your chest," or something like that. -
Krystal
As Scully says, if you take a close look at the CONTEXT of Corinthians 11:12-15 you will see paul was teaching a PRINCIPAL not a rule.
In fact, 1 Tim 2:9 encourages "well-arranged dress" the YPA has the following to say on the topic:
" 'Well arranged dress' would naturally be neat and clean." YPA Pg 94
Since times have changed since Paul wrote Corinthians and the "rule" isn't applicable the pricipal should be applied. I cannot see how she could object to the length of you hair as long as it is neat and clean as per YPA!!
Witness parents... gotta make a "judicial comittee" over everything!!
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Kenneson
It seems to me that Paul himself had taken a Nazirite vow, (see Numbers 6:5, 18) after which he had his hair cut (see Acts 18:18) and the four men at Jerusalem also had their hair cut and submitted to rites of purification at Acts 21:24, 26. So, a Nazirite vow may have been unnatural, but some practiced it anyway. Would Paul condemn his own long hair while he was under the vow?
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Frog
How long is a piece of string?!?