"Beards are sin!" False doctrine?

[Aquila]

I was looking up artistic depictions of Jesus. All have beards. But, most are unbiblical, depicting Jesus with long flowing locks of hair. So far, I keep running into this picture below... it seems more biblical than the long haired hippie Jesus I see all over the net:

[Aquila]

Imagine standing before this Judge... and reliving every word you've spoken when you've mocked, degraded, condemned, castigated, or segregated sincere and devout men with beards in the name of a tradition of man...

[Amanah]

Originally Posted by Aquila

Imagine standing before this Judge... and reliving every word you've spoken when you've mocked, degraded, condemned, castigated, or segregated sincere and devout men with beards in the name of a tradition of man...

what if you did none of that, but simply requested that men who sit on the platform be clean shaven?

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Amanah

what if you did none of that, but simply requested that men who sit on the platform be clean shaven?

That would mean that Jesus was never welcome on that platform. Would it not?

[Amanah]

Originally Posted by Aquila

That would mean that Jesus was never welcome on that platform. Would it not?

I have seen clean shaven men on the platform greatly used of God, so I would have to say you are incorrect.

[Michael The Disciple]

Dom,

Did you take it personally? Heres who it was meant for.

The beards standard Pastors think you are evil if you have a beard.

I recognize you said it was unbiblical to preach it. You just did it because your Elder friend asked you to.

[aegsm76]

Originally Posted by Aquila

Imagine standing before this Judge... and reliving every word you've spoken when you've mocked, degraded, condemned, castigated, or segregated sincere and devout men wearing dresses in the name of a tradition of man...

I fixed it for you.

[Amanah]

You talk about four distinct beard periods throughout history. What are they?

Well, you get shaving established as a norm by Alexander the Great, [which continued] in the Greek Hellenistic period. And then you have a first beard movement in the 2nd Century under Emperor Hadrian, who was the leader of the Roman world at the time, and so he grew a beard and established a new standard. Very deliberately. It was absolutely an intentional statement about himself and true manliness. And then you have, in the Middle Ages, kings and knights favoring beards, particularly in the middle of the Middle Ages. And then in the Renaissance they come back again, in the 1500s. That's the third beard movement. And then finally one more time in the late 19th Century that we're all familiar with.

What I'm curious about is, why shaving in the first place? People talk about beards being an active decision a man makes: "Why do you have a beard?" It seems to me it's weird to not have a beard.

Your point is very well taken because it precisely indicates what I was saying in that we treat shaving as the norm, as if it weren't a decision. But of course it is a decision, as you say. But, it's so established in our culture that that's the norm that we don't think of it as a decision. But it really was Alexander the Great who did it and made the decision as it were. What he did at the time sort of established it as a higher form of manliness that men can aspire to. And for him, personally, it meant, and for the elite Greek men of the time, it meant a higher level of manliness—closer to the gods than ordinary manliness.

And this was because the gods were often depicted as being clean-shaven?

Yes, exactly. It was this youthful, eternal immortality kind of idea. And you still hear that today in the 21st Century, or [back in the] 20th Century especially. You shave and it makes you look younger, more vital, energetic. Athletes, at least in the past, not only did they shave their faces but their body hair as well, to show their muscles, but also to make them look young. So that's part of it. But the other thing is that shaving seems to suggest that you are a refined and cultivated person who has transcended your natural animal aspect. So it ties it with sort of being a higher-level man in the sense of being civilized.


How would you characterize the current beard moment? I have a big beard myself. It seems to me there's three stereotypical reactions to people having a beard now: You're either a hipster, a redneck, or a "terrorist." I can't tell you how many times people have asked me if I'm joining ISIS with this beard. Do those three options ring true to your sense?

Then there are religious beards too as you mentioned; throw that into the pile. I think we're at a moment, once again like in other beard movements, where men are rethinking what it is to be a man, and how to represent oneself. And of course our society is so much more divided than societies in the past. We don't have a single cultural authority like a king or emperor. There's no body or group that defines masculinity for everybody. What that means is there are a wide range of different approaches. But I do think, like other beard movements, we are rethinking masculinity. And gender in general is kind of up for grabs, being redefined in lots of ways. I think it makes sense that men would at least consider the possibility of facial hair as a way to think about the nature of manhood. It is a reorientation, again, toward the natural. At least as a starting point for the whole idea of what is a man. Especially when so many people are questioning that.

To refine that a little further, in my last chapter, I talk about the notion of autonomy, the freedom to make decisions for yourself. And I think that for a lot of men that's got to be an important piece of what it means to be a man today, or maybe just a human being. But for men in particular, "How am I an autonomous being who has my own choices to make?" One of the ways to show you have personal choice is to have some facial hair, and move away from the older expectations, and the corporate expectations, of shaving. I always argue that the first people who grow beards are the people who can. Because there are still lots of rules and demands made on people that you can't have a beard. So the first thing it shows is that you're your own man, and I think men are interested in that.





https://www.esquire.com/style/groomi...eards-and-men/

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Amanah

I have seen clean shaven men on the platform greatly used of God, so I would have to say you are incorrect.

Miracles, inspiring preaching, being exemplary people, moves of God... all are not evidence of salvation. We see these things among Trinitarians too. Only those who abide in the Word are saved. We are warned not to take away from, nor add unto, the Word. Teaching a tradition of man over the Word of God is false doctrine.

The issue deepens...

There is absolutely no biblical precedent for denying men their calling in Christ Jesus on account of a beard or facial hair. Such a standard has no biblical merit, and elevates man's opinion above God's Word.

Jesus warns of this kind of thinking when addressing the issue of the Pharisees and all their man made traditions:

Matthew 23:4-5 King James Version (KJV)
4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

Mark 7:9-13 King James Version (KJV)
9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Matthew 23:15
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Matthew 15:9
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Mark 7:7
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Titus 1:14
Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

Romans 16:17 King James Version (KJV)
17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

Dividing the body and having partiality or personal favoritism is a sin:

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 King James Version (KJV)
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

1 Corinthians 3:3 King James Version (KJV)
3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

1 Corinthians 11:18 King James Version (KJV)
18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

James 2:1 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.

Please understand, those who would require beards to serve on the platform would be guilty of the same error.

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Amanah

You talk about four distinct beard periods throughout history. What are they?

Well, you get shaving established as a norm by Alexander the Great, [which continued] in the Greek Hellenistic period. And then you have a first beard movement in the 2nd Century under Emperor Hadrian, who was the leader of the Roman world at the time, and so he grew a beard and established a new standard.
https://www.esquire.com/style/groomi...eards-and-men/

So, now we follow Alexander or Hadrian? We do not take our queues from the world. And, my God in Heaven, definitely not Esquire Magazine.

The ultimate question is - Is there Bible/Scripture/Word for such a standard? The answer is either yes, or it is no.