Censored Scriptures

Not really censored, but the scriptures almost universally ignored include I Corinthians 11:14-15 which reads,  “Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him. But long hair is a woman’s glory. Long hair is given to her as a covering. …. neither we nor the churches of God have any other practice.”

Women’s hair naturally grows longer whereas men’s hair doesn’t. Men’s hair more often naturally falls off at a certain age whereas most women’s hair doesn’t. This is seen by some as how nature deems it a shame for men to have long hair.

In addition, Christian women covering their head with a cloth veil was the custom of the early Church. It was universally taught by the Church Fathers and practiced by devout Christian women throughout history until recently. It continues to be the practice among Christians in many parts of the world, such as Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, and other countries. Additionally, it is still practiced among the Amish, Anabaptists, Conservative Mennonite churches, Muslims, the Dunkard Brethren Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other sects. Many hold that head covering for women is an ordinance of the Church, requiring being worn throughout the day by women.

The symbolism of both the long hair and the head covering is a sign of a wife’s subservience to her husband. In fact, a woman whose head was covered with a head scarf socially indicated that she was married. It symbolized her modesty and her submission to her husband. A wife who refused to cover her head was historically seen in the Christian world as publicly disgracing her husband. This is taught in 1 Corinthians 11:2-10 which says:

“Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.  But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.  Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors him, but every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, her husband, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. ….  it is disgraceful for a woman to cut off her hair or shave her head.  For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.  Man was not made from woman, but woman from man.  Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.  A woman ought to wear a symbol of authority on her head also because of the angels.”

The mention of angels is a reference to the angels who would be offended by a visible usurpation of God’s intended order by the lack of a head covering on a woman in worship.

Given these teachings I have always found it ironic that Jesus is often pictured as a long-haired Caucasian instead of a short-haired Semite, which is historically far more accurate. The earliest images of Jesus Christ that emerged in the first through third centuries show him as a Semite with short hair. I would think that those who depict Christ would have studied the New Testament and history more carefully to determine what he actually looked like.

Some may assume that Jesus was upholding the Nazarite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) since he was from Nazareth and not cutting the hair was one of the Nazarite’s stipulations. However, the Scripture only records Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist as being Nazarites. Furthermore Jesus drank wine at the wedding feast of Cana (John. 2:1-11) and at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:29/Luke 22:18) which would have been a  major violation of the Nazarite vow (Num. 6:3-4).

From these verses, it is clear these scriptures are often ignored. Conversely, some argue that 1 Corinthians 11:2-10 is God’s way and, in the end, things will go better for humanity if this teaching is followed.

The Dictionary of Daily Life in Biblical & Post-Biblical Antiquity adds that long hair was not the norm for men in Biblical times. Neither Roman or Greek men normally wore their hair long. After the widespread profession of barbering, hair length was uniformly short, as supported by the commonality of barber shops in Rome. Likewise, Jewish men wore their hair short as depicted by wall paintings in synagogues. The fact that God commanded the Nazarite not to cut his hair supports the fact that men in general cut their hair. Some in the women’s movement may have a problem with the scriptures quoted. I did not author these scriptures, but am only endeavoring to understand them.