Is it a sin for men to have long hair, and women short?

[winterbluebells]

Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?"
I also think I read something about long hair being a women's covering (what does that mean? :s) and that it his her glory?

 

[YoDude]

Dang those hippies and their long hair..... Are you serious? Yes, of course men look better clean cut, and a woman's long hair can be beautiful. But, I certainly hope this does not cause you to stumble; beauty is inside, a clean cut person can be all dirty inside and a 'long hair' could be clean inside. Erase the bias, and give people a chance.

 

[winterbluebells]

But then, in the Old Testament, wasn't it Law for (Jewish men?) not to cut their hair?

 

[united4Peace]

Dang those hippies and their long hair..... Are you serious? Yes, of course men look better clean cut, and a woman's long hair can be beautiful. But, I certainly hope this does not cause you to stumble; beauty is inside, a clean cut person can be all dirty inside and a 'long hair' could be clean inside. Erase the bias, and give people a chance.

Not to mention is some of our professions it's cleaner for us women to have short hair...and I really dont know how moms with long hair do it...I had to cut all mine off for years because I just didnt have the time to do long hair up...

 

[YoDude]

But then, in the Old Testament, wasn't it Law for (Jewish men?) not to cut their hair?

The old testament is given to the chosen and sanctified (separated) tribe of Israel, the traditions and laws of that time were appropriate and the holy men loved the law. It was a system for God's chosen people, and nothing was wrong with it.

Now we have the forgiveness and sacrifice of Jesus for our sins, satisfying the law completely, you will enter heaven pure due to Jesus intercession. The old laws still apply, but are taken care of, now we have the gift of the holy spirit (along with the teachings of the new testament), to guide us spiritually in such matters. Long hair, types of foods, a woman's role, etc. to me are not core issues, the holy spirit guides us in understanding these issue; we have a logical brain, it is not a sin to use it, hair length is just not a factor in a person's walk with the Lord in these times. But you should certainly cut your own hair if you believe it to be a sin for you, just don't expect others to do the same.

 

[Criada]

In the time Paul was writing, it was usual for prostitutes to shave their heads, so women with short hair were thought to be 'bad'. It was a cultural thing, and I don't think it's a problem now. Certainly in old testament times men had long hair as a sign of their devotion to God (Samson, for example, and also John the baptist).

 

[winterbluebells]

'Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?'

What does this mean?

 

[YoDude]

It reminds me of the new testament verse saying right and wrong can even be seen in nature so that everyone should be held accountable. In other words, there is a harmony that exists in nature, which is a creation by God, and his hand can be seen in it, which is goodness. So, observing the systems of nature and how it works in a predictable harmony, should extend to the body of believers in that they submit themselves to one another and not become a stumbling block to one another. The new testament would still encourage a kind of unified behavior and dress perhaps, but Paul explains that this is not the core of our new testament beliefs - the pharisees stumbled and abused the law and would have rejected those outside focusing more on hair than heart, now the gospel is extended to all people, even the 'long hairs', and in fact they may be, in many cases, closer to God than the well manicured.

 

[AMR]

My understanding of the word translated "long" in the passage from 1 Cor. 11 condemning men having long hair would be better translated as "fixed".

Thus, the actual point of condemnation for men is having elaborate hairdos. Sampson and in general the Nazirites shows that it is not length of a man's hair, but ornateness that is in view. A man's hair is not his glory, while a woman's hair is. A woman can cover her glory as a sign of submission, or she can remove her glory. To remove her glory would be dishonorable and shaming, which most women would not want.

For men, it is against nature to focus on what is women's glory, but it is perfectly natural for women to be concerned about it.

AMR

 

[breadandbutter]

No, it is not a "sin" for a woman to have a short hair cut. The word the Apostle used was "shame", or the Greek atimia. It bear a cultural meaning and did not indicate a condition of sinfulness before God but a condition, often punishment for a crime, before society.

One must understand the historical/cultural background of the passage of 1 Cor. 11:3-16. I am the author of a booklet and numerous tracts on this passage and have a website, where I feel you will find answers to your questions there. I am unable to furnish the link, but simply browse with the key words "holiness standards" or "study holiness" through Bing or Yahoo. My site comes up with a Roman Empire scene and a woman's statue.

In ancient times both men and women Greeks and Romans had long hair, and homophilia was deeply entrenched in Greek society, and the Romans thought being "gay" was "cool". But, beginning with Emperor Augustus, who had stern morals, the Greco-Roman world began thinking their way out of homosexuality, and by the 1st century A.D. the ENTIRE EMPIRE connected hair length with sexual perversion. The norm throughtout the Empire was men in Ceasarcuts--after the Emperor--and women in long hair.

Transvestitism and sex reversal played an important part in pagan worship, esp that of Dionysus, which was a major cult in Corinth at the time of the Apostle's Epistle. At certain religious celebrations men grew long hair and wore veils, while women cut their hair short (shorn) or shaved their heads. This honored the god, Dionysus, who was sexually ambivalent, himself, referred to as "sham man", "double-natured", and in "feminine form." Women sometimes shaved their heads to honor an image of Aphrodite having both male and female organs. The Apostle directed men to pray and prophesy unveiled, while women did so veiled, lest the church be identified with paganism. [The 'covering' mentioned in vv4-6 is not long hair, but a veil. The Greek verb is 'katakalupto', which means 'veil' in Strong's.]

The Apostle made an analogy, or parallel, between hair length and being veiled or unveiled. The ancient writers, like Plutarch, also did so. The moral philosophers of the day agreed with Paul and used similar terminology in their writings as Paul's in that long hair was a "shame" or "disgraceful" for a man, while short hair cuts on women were "shame." The Apostle expressed his disapproval of short hair cuts on women and long hair on men because of the hair length connection and involvement with homosexuality and pagan worship that existed in his culture. The Apostle used the same word, atimia, and "nature" [phusis] in speaking of homosexuality in Romans 1:26-27.

Hair length does not bear the same meaning in our historical era and culture it did in the Roman Empire. Although long hair is still considered "feminine" a man in a pony-tail is not necessarily "gay", and a short hair cut on a woman does not mean she is lesbian. This connection disappeared after the fall of Rome.

The passage of 1 Cor. 11:3-16 is dealing with culture and not salvation.

 

[apache1]

My take on it? Wear your hair any way ya dang well please, it shore don't determine whether you go to heaven or hell or not. A much bigger pet peeve to me than long or short hair or whatever are tattoes (especially tramp stamps and ones that cover a significant part of the body) and body piercing. Even so, would I want to outlaw those things, or even try to determine whether they would send you to hell or not? Absolutely not, I just simply don't personally like them.

 

[Theofane]

Jesus Himself had long hair, did He not? The traditional (though not necessarily accurate) image of Jesus is of a bearded man with shoulder-length hair.

What about when a 21st century man shaves his head-- does that indicate devotion to God?

 

[kev86]

no

 

[Francess]

But then, in the Old Testament, wasn't it Law for (Jewish men?) not to cut their hair?

I actually think it meant their beards, not the hair on their head.

 

[marcus900424]

I think it could be worldy. Long ago (50 years) long hair was not popular. Rock was something new, and it was called the devils music. And even longer ago, masturbating was seen as unclean.

Sin or not? I think if you see "coolness" in it, you might put a distance from Jesus, just like being unclean is putting distance from him.

//A longhaired guy