• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

※※♡Rose○Gold○Macaron♡※※

Jesus is sweeter than macarons.
Mar 12, 2020
206
70
21
Carterville Illinois
✟43,590.00
Country
United States
Gender
Female
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Celibate
I saw someone on Quora yesterday say that God does not like the idea of things being "unisex". Where do we draw the line of what's okay for both males and females? I understand something like clothes should be masculine and feminine, but what about toys, for example? Can girls play with Hot Wheels and can boys play with dolls? Are toys gendered or are they unisex? Growing up, I didn't like dolls, I liked Hot Wheels. Why do "girl" toys have to be pink, and why do "boy" toys have to be blue? Do colors have gender now? XD... Anyways, I also worry about hair length. I'm not a male, and I prefer to have my hair down to my shoulders, which isn't too short for a female, but is it a sin for men to have long hair? What does Paul mean when he says that long hair on a man is shameful and is against nature (excluding the Nazarite vow), as male hair is thinner and men usually are the ones that go bald. How can a man have long hair without looking like a female? I like to listen to classic rock bands, and a lot of the guys had long hair, and dare I say it, they actually looked good with long hair! We know they are men, but how is long hair on a guy sinful, and in what ways is it sinful? What does shameful exactly mean, and what does it mean to be against nature?
 
  • Agree
Reactions: Junia

com7fy8

Well-Known Member
May 22, 2013
14,729
6,634
Massachusetts
✟654,134.00
Country
United States
Gender
Male
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Single
How long is long, anyway?
I would say God means it is short enough so a man's hair is not getting in his eyes in the wind, and it isn't long enough so people can think a man is a woman. So, it is trimmed above a person's neck, or something like this. But a person can pray and get God's guidance. And God is creative :)
 
  • Winner
Reactions: Junia
Upvote 0

Joined2krist

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Jul 15, 2015
3,400
2,585
✟449,578.00
Gender
Female
Faith
Catholic
Marital Status
Single
Where do we draw the line for what's ok between male and female?
I think it's in the area of appearance/image, 'He created them male and female...', There has to be a distinct difference in how males and females appear, especially as Christians. For example, we shouldn't dress boys in girls clothing and vise versa, some males who keep long hair look feminine, same goes for women who cut their hair in traditional male hairstyles
 
  • Winner
Reactions: Junia
Upvote 0

SANTOSO

Well-Known Member
Jul 15, 2020
2,227
1,187
48
Jakarta
✟244,310.00
Country
Indonesia
Gender
Male
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
I saw someone on Quora yesterday say that God does not like the idea of things being "unisex". Where do we draw the line of what's okay for both males and females? I understand something like clothes should be masculine and feminine, but what about toys, for example? Can girls play with Hot Wheels and can boys play with dolls? Are toys gendered or are they unisex? Growing up, I didn't like dolls, I liked Hot Wheels. Why do "girl" toys have to be pink, and why do "boy" toys have to be blue? Do colors have gender now? XD... Anyways, I also worry about hair length. I'm not a male, and I prefer to have my hair down to my shoulders, which isn't too short for a female, but is it a sin for men to have long hair? What does Paul mean when he says that long hair on a man is shameful and is against nature (excluding the Nazarite vow), as male hair is thinner and men usually are the ones that go bald. How can a man have long hair without looking like a female? I like to listen to classic rock bands, and a lot of the guys had long hair, and dare I say it, they actually looked good with long hair! We know they are men, but how is long hair on a guy sinful, and in what ways is it sinful? What does shameful exactly mean, and what does it mean to be against nature?

It is not a sin for guys to have long hair or women to have short hairs.

But we should be more concerned with what the Lord have said :
Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. -Luke 12:7

even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. -Isaiah 46:4

Therefore, we can find the Lord more concerned with our life ; you see that the Lord who has made us and how good the Lord to bear with us, carry us through old age and save us.

Give thanks to the Lord. For He is good and His grace continues forever.
 
Upvote 0

coffee4u

Well-Known Member
Dec 11, 2018
5,002
2,819
Australia
✟166,475.00
Country
Australia
Gender
Female
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
I saw someone on Quora yesterday say that God does not like the idea of things being "unisex". Where do we draw the line of what's okay for both males and females? I understand something like clothes should be masculine and feminine, but what about toys, for example? Can girls play with Hot Wheels and can boys play with dolls? Are toys gendered or are they unisex? Growing up, I didn't like dolls, I liked Hot Wheels. Why do "girl" toys have to be pink, and why do "boy" toys have to be blue? Do colors have gender now? XD... Anyways, I also worry about hair length. I'm not a male, and I prefer to have my hair down to my shoulders, which isn't too short for a female, but is it a sin for men to have long hair? What does Paul mean when he says that long hair on a man is shameful and is against nature (excluding the Nazarite vow), as male hair is thinner and men usually are the ones that go bald. How can a man have long hair without looking like a female? I like to listen to classic rock bands, and a lot of the guys had long hair, and dare I say it, they actually looked good with long hair! We know they are men, but how is long hair on a guy sinful, and in what ways is it sinful? What does shameful exactly mean, and what does it mean to be against nature?


You have missed the point and so did whoever said that.

It isn't about dolls, colours, hair or anything else that you can point to, it comes from within and what is appropriate for the culture at that particular time.

When you wear pants/trousers do you do so as a woman or are you trying to be a man?

Blue was originally for girls and pink was for boys if you want to look up that history.

Jesus wore an open garment to the knees while women at the time wore an open garment to the ankles, he didn't wear pants/trousers. He wore the clothing identified in that time and culture as being for males. When a Scottish man wears a kilt he is most definitely wearing male clothing as does a Samoan man when he wears a lavalava.(wrap-around skirt)

I don’t believe 1 Cor is simply a blanket statement against long hair because we know God commanded Sampson to never cut his hair. If long hair was intrinsically sinful it would be for all times and cultures.

It may have been referring to men wearing long hair in a feminine style, something that the culture identified as being for women.
It may be about men who wanted to be women.

Then there is also the question of exactly what is long? And what did Paul mean by long? His idea of long may not be ours. In the army an officer would tell a recruit to go get his long hair cut and it would not be past his ears, so it’s all relative.

Whatever you do, do it to the Lord.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.

22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
 
Upvote 0

Greg J.

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Mar 2, 2016
3,841
1,907
Southeast Michigan
✟279,364.00
Country
United States
Gender
Male
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Single
I saw someone on Quora yesterday say that God does not like the idea of things being "unisex". Where do we draw the line of what's okay for both males and females? I understand something like clothes should be masculine and feminine, but what about toys, for example? Can girls play with Hot Wheels and can boys play with dolls? Are toys gendered or are they unisex? Growing up, I didn't like dolls, I liked Hot Wheels. Why do "girl" toys have to be pink, and why do "boy" toys have to be blue? Do colors have gender now? XD... Anyways, I also worry about hair length. I'm not a male, and I prefer to have my hair down to my shoulders, which isn't too short for a female, but is it a sin for men to have long hair? What does Paul mean when he says that long hair on a man is shameful and is against nature (excluding the Nazarite vow), as male hair is thinner and men usually are the ones that go bald. How can a man have long hair without looking like a female? I like to listen to classic rock bands, and a lot of the guys had long hair, and dare I say it, they actually looked good with long hair! We know they are men, but how is long hair on a guy sinful, and in what ways is it sinful? What does shameful exactly mean, and what does it mean to be against nature?
It is an essential skill to work toward (through regular Bible reading) to be able to tell when someone's comment is based on something directly from the Bible or something he/she has deduced from what is in the Bible. Even when a comment is based on something directly from Scripture (which hopefully will have a Bible citation so you can look it up yourself), people interpret the same verses differently. People's deductions from Scripture without direct support in verses sometimes have the quality of hearsay—in other words, just wrong and sometimes harmful! Asking a pastor is sometimes a good idea (or perhaps writing a post in an online forum. :))

Until you've been reading the Bible a long time, how you handle this question about what someone said is to be like the Bereans:

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11, 1984 NIV)

It doesn't take that long before a person can do this with some help. I view your question as seeking that help. :)

To understand anything written, one must understand the context it was written in. For example, it is important to know how the writer thought his intended audience would understand what he writes. To do this with the Bible, we need to become increasingly familiar with the cultures of the people in the Bible.

It hasn't even been 20 years since tattoos went mainstream. Before then many saw tattoos as indicating a person was a part of some subculture (e.g., motorcycle gang, armed forces). It caused a big controversy in Christian circles for various Scriptural reasons. It was argued that it displeased God, wasn't being a good steward of one's body, not accepting yourself as God made you, and so on. However, it was also said that the negatives associated with it in the Bible were cultural (connected to worshiping false gods, prostitution, etc.), not as important as other questionable things that God permitted, and so forth. What we can safely say, however, is that God does not issue a command anywhere in the Bible not to have tattoos that clearly has nothing to do with culture. Contrast this to one of the ten commandments: not to kill another person. That killing is bad is found all throughout the Bible and is presented as bad to people from many different cultures. In this case, it is easy to see there is principle at work revealing God's nature on the subject. And it follows a principle that Jesus said was the 2nd-most important command (in Mark 12:31):

Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31, 1984 NIV)

All of the unisex matters you mention are culture-based. In other words, God did not say anything directly about them that obviously applies to us today. Even so we need to examine one more thing:

Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. (Romans 14:20, 1984 NIV)

In other words, if a man wearing long hair is going to cause someone to deter or harm their relationship with Jesus, then that man should not wear long hair. This is very dependent on what the people that see and interact with you believe. Keep in mind that one of the most important things about being a Christian is being an example of Jesus' love and character for others (e.g., Gal. 5:22-23) without feeling like we are failing to be perfect. (We do the best we can.) There is another important verse:

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. (Romans 14:1, 1984 NIV)

Combining all those ideas, including that God made you as you are, weigh all these issues (sometimes with prayer asking for wisdom from God, cf. James 1:5) to figure out how a specific action applies to you. How it applies to others may not be the same as it applies to you.

Even for those that have been reading the Bible a while, I recommend the following book. It is easy to understand: How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gorden Fee and Douglas Stuart.

Regarding the last couple of questions in your post: Shame is what one experiences when you believe you have done something that will cause or has caused others to reject you when in fact you desire/need their acceptance.

Against nature refers to the natural things that are contrary to God's nature. God made hair. God made hair to grow. There's nothing wrong with those things. Complaints about men having long hair are rooted in what "seems right" by individuals and those in a particular subcultures, and not based on a moral principle revealed by God in the Bible. (You can always ask for the Bible verses they base their conclusion on.)
 
Upvote 0