I was talking with someone just the other day who had been raised in a pretty extreme holiness church. What I mean is that particular church, or stream of the Christian church, tends to focus a great deal on the different rules you must follow to be holy. If you do not do these certain things (or if you do other things) then you are not Christian. One of the rules that ought to be followed is in regards to hair length for men (and women). What is the rule? Why would a Christian church teach that men cannot have long hair? What is the scriptural mandate for this?
I have worn my hair both long and short. It is currently on the longer side, so I thought these would be interesting questions to explore, especially since the current sermon series is on holiness.
What is the rule?
The rule is that men cannot have long hair. “Long” is a subjective term. Is it covering the ears? Is it to the nape of the neck? Is it to the shoulders? The follow up rule is that women ought to have long hair, and while that does not seem to cause as much trouble, there are those extreme holiness churches that, God bless them, strive to be entirely consistent on this. Under this rule men cannot have long hair. It is a “disgrace,” or “unnatural” and a man cannot have long hair and be a Christian. Admittedly, there are more “liberal” churches that may not question your salvation on account of your hair length, but they would still certainly not consider it proper or the thing that a Christian man ought to do. Continue reading “Holy Hairstyles”