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Grew my hair from December 1996 until November 2000. My wife had given me intermittent grief about it (she's now practicing acceptance now I'm on a 12 step programme) and I was having a seriously bad hair day. Went and had it all cut off to 1" long - the barber asked me at least 5 times if I was sure and did I want to think about it and come back another day (can't blame him then). It's only hair for god's sake but I felt mutilated, as though I'd lost my identity - the whole lot. Cried for 2 weeks and only started to cope when I'd made the decision not to cut it again (which I haven't). Had to go through the whole growing out thing all over again (looked like Barry Manilow in my Summer 2001 holiday photos)! Now feel great and have learned from the experience. I realise that I needed to do this to find out how important it was for me to be a longhair (had the side effect of my wife realising and accepting its importance for me too - she'd thought I had long hair just to annoy her !). Now have 26 months growth and feel whole again.
A separate issue - I can't believe the 'biblical debate' on the American websites I've seen. Long haired ministers are a bit of a cliche over here in England. My home town of Harrogate in the North of England has loads of VERY long-haired longhairs and no-one cares. I've never experienced any discrimination and I understand that it would be illegal here anyway (men and women with long hair would be treated the same e.g. working with food etc.). I feel sorry for people who feel the need to control what other people look like 'You don't have to like it, but it's my thing' that's my motto.
One final thought - I know (for me) that long hair's an obsession but I think it's a benign obsession - much better than drinking or using.
Great website. P.S. Maintenance cuts are bad - they always cut off more than you want !!!
My guess is that LONGHAIRed people are probably nicer and more sensitive to
the needs of others than most people!
Preachers should certainly take THAT into consideration..
AMEN...AMEN!!!
VERY VERY TRUE!!! Most of the nicest dudes I've known has longhair and msot of my closest friends have longhair or at least at one time or another!!
I'm not saying I agree with the Biblical viewpoint but I'm not sure why you find it hard to understand why it's there.
The Apostle Paul in Corinthians states point blank that long hair is a dishonor on a man. For those who accept the Bible, this obviously presents a difficulty.
. . . there is a BIG difference between "dishonor" and "SIN"!
Please REMEMBER that the Apostle Paul (who I have admiration for)
also talked about the "dishonorable parts" of the human body...
now tell me...would you have us CUT THOSE OFF TOO???
It's amazing that Apostle Paul also says in Corinthians (in the very next paragraph) that short hair is a dishonor on a woman. I've seen MANY women and girls with short hair and I haven't seen anybody giving them hell for wearing their hair short. It's also amazing that MANY people break the 10 commandments and don't think nothing about it. So, why is it that with all of these "laws" in writing that the only one that can't be broken is "men with long hair is a shame to him"? This doesn't make sense.
WOMEN aren't supposed to have short hair...
. . .and I seem to see lots of them...mostly Chritians too
Some Christians believe that every letter of the bible comes directly (and correctly) from God. They intrepret Paul's advice to the Corinthians as an order from God. Many fundamentalist Christian churches DO require males to have short hair and be clean shaven and females to have long hair. For more information on this topic plug the phrase "long hair bible" into Google.
I am a Christian and this is my opinion on the matter. In Corinthians Paul was not giving commandments or laws from God. He was giving his opinions to the Corinthian church elders who had (presumably) asked him about the dress for early Christians attending mass. Paul was writing the dress code for a first-century A.D. Christian church at a time when short hair was the norm for men and the church did not want to draw undue attention to itself or its members.
Actually, the context is about praying or prophesying with the face covered. The greek word for 'covered' actually more accurately translates as 'hanging down over'. This is most likely refering to the wearing of facial veils, which was a custom for the women at the time. This is why Paul says "But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering." The reason that it's good for a woman to have long hair is so that she can use her hair to cover her face instead of having to wear a veil while praying or prophesying. Paul didn't say women can't cut their hair, he said they shouldn't be shaved. Anyone think of Shena O'Conner as glorious?
The reason men should not 'grow tresses of hair', which is how the greek for 'long hair' actually translates, is so that their face will not be covered when they pray or prophesy. That being the case, wouldn't simply pulling the hair back take care of that problem? I'm not sure, I'm still pondering that myself.
Anyway, I'm going to bible college under a first baptist teacher, and he's never said anything to me about my hair. In fact, he thinks I'm a good student. All I've ever gotten is compliments on how good my hair looks when I go to church, or anywhere for that matter. No one in any church has ever criticized my hair length. I've even had a preacher tell me from the pulpit in the middle of a sermon that he gets jealous of my hair, and I had the "prettiest hair of any guy I've ever seen, or any girl I've ever seen for that matter." This was at a legalistic second baptist church that ran my friend off for dressing gothic style in church!
...but was indeed it's denomination, and name, Dalton Second Baptist.
