Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Since there is so much fuss about earrings on men, thought I would offer proof positive that God himself pierced David's ears and certainly doesn't mind if u do either.

Psalms 40:6
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced;
burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not require.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

He required servants to be pierced as well ...

Exodus 21:6

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

I just don't like the needles and awls.

In antiquity most piercings and cuttings of the flesh were done to "brand" an individual as a slave or the possession of another. That's why primarily women and pirates or other mercenary forces wore the ear ring - that loop or hoop style dangle thing. Of course there were many other reasons as well - a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood, etc.

The woman was chattel for her father until he sold her off to become the chattel of another man (a wife). The pirates were often run away slaves. Mercenaries were often the slaves possessed by their captain who hired out the entire band to the highest bidder.

Free men had no such scars or piercings to identify them as the property of another. This is my own primary motivation for not being branded in any way - I am a free man. However, if I can accept a woman wearing uncut hair as a consecration to God (and I do) I suppose that on the same grounds I could accept someone else wearing an ear ring to signify a similar purpose.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

OUCH! is all I can say, that was before the Chinese at WAL-MART.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

P, earrings on men are certainly not new to our generation. However, I am curious as to why there is such an aversion and distaste. Maybe, its due to gender bias perception. Even when I see men wearing large diamond earrings, something is unsettling in me.

I consider myself liberal minded, however I still struggle with this. I pastor in a predominately black city and I know this issue will eventually show itself in my leadership. Still haven't decided where to stand.

BTW, while u r absolutely correct as to the gender branding, etc. I doubt any today consciously wear them as a symbol....just sayin.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

When I was going to the Vineyard Church in Springdale, OH, several of the pastors --both men and women-- had piercings.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

I guess I've never understood why people want to put holes in their skin. :blink If I did wear earrings, they'd be clip-ons. No ear punctures for me, thanks anyway. :D

That aside, are you sure the meaning of the verse in Psalms is "pierced" ears?

KJV: Psalm 40:6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

MY husband (and my son) will most certainly NOT be having their ears pierced. I think it looks girly, and that's the end of that. :coffee2 I don't care whether David did it or not.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

My wife just got her ears pierced. After being UPC for about 12 years the holes had grown back together. I was all worried that it might hurt or she would be in pain but she said she didn't even feel it.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Yeah. Today it seems to be just another fad to go along with. It's too much hassel for me.

"Let me stab a hole in your head and sell you something to wear in it..."

Why not just leave it alone? People look fine without it. Just MHO.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Yes. The word in the original is "pierced" and appears to be an allegorical allusion to the branding of a "love slave."

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

So you tell your husband what he will NOT do?

That would be the quikest way to get me to wear an earing.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Or we could call it what it really is. A mild version of body mutilation.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

mu·ti·late (mytl-t)
tr.v. mu·ti·lat·ed, mu·ti·lat·ing, mu·ti·lates
1. To deprive of a limb or an essential part; cripple.
2. To disfigure by damaging irreparably: mutilate a statue. See Synonyms at batter1.
3. To make imperfect by excising or altering parts.

mutilate
verb
1. maim, damage, injure, disable, butcher, cripple, hack, lame, cut up, mangle, dismember, disfigure, lacerate, cut to pieces He tortured and mutilated six young men.
2. distort, cut, damage, mar, spoil, butcher, hack, censor, adulterate, expurgate, bowdlerize The writer's verdict was that his screenplay had been mutilated.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mutilate

Calling piercing the ears a form of mutilation is really a rather large stretch of the truth. As you can see from the vast majority of definitions above, ear piercing barely fits any of the definitions. Couple that with the connotation that mutilation is usually something that is very bloody, gory, and leaves the mutilated in a very noticable state due to the horrendous condition their body is left in. Attempting to call ear piercing a form of mutilation is a lie.

And you see while it may not be a lie by the connotation of what a lie is, it is definately a lie under the definition of what a lie is. (lie ... 2. Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression.) So since calling ear piercing a form of mutilation gives the wrong impression, then by definition this is a lie. The point is, its much better to use words with their connotation than their denotation. Otherwise people are going to look at you as funny as you are looking at me by saying what you did was lie.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

You would deliberately do something to upset your wife? :blink

He wouldn't do something like that without talking to me about it first, and I wouldn't either. (get my ears pierced without his approval)

I don't boss my husband around, but he gets my input on just about everything, and vice versa. When it comes to decisions that affect both of us, affect our children or affect our family as a whole, we have an agreement that the "no" vote rules. That way nothing ever gets the go ahead unless both of us are in agreement. If he doesn't agree with me, it's my job to persuade him. If I'm uncomfortable with something, it's his job to persuade me. I think it works pretty well. Trust me - it doesn't all go MY way. LOL!!!!!

Women who nag and whine and are bossy tend to have resentful husbands who don't want to do anything for them. However, if you're kind and you pick your battles, you're more likely to win a few. I am 100% confident that if my husband decided for some crazy reason to pierce an ear or two, that my "no" vote would completely halt the process. :) Ergo, I can say: My husband will not be getting his ear[s] pierced.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Hmm. I think I just realized why my wife is always telling me "Don't take out the trash" and "Don't even think about doing the dishes".

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Maybe this is why my wife is always saying "You BETTER go buy that brand new computer NOW!".

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

ROFL!!!!! My husband IS the type of person who will rebel if I'm bossy--so I know better. ;)

He changed our wedding ceremony because one of my older sisters snapped her fingers at him during rehearsal and told him to get in line (literally). He formed a new line from a new door. It was hysterical! :toofunny

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

:ursofunny

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

I agree with pelathais here. Earrings could biblically signify a woman's submission to her husband, although most women probably never think about it that way.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Don't try and put this on me. Reminds me of a book I saw once, Bobbed hair, Bossy Wives and Women Preachers.

If my wife told me what I WASN'T going to do then she might expect a similar response from me. My wife doesn't tell me what to do, so we don't have the issue.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

I fought with God over this issue when He told me to pierce my ears. I thought earrings were going to send you to hell. It took 3 months of praying, research, and a Word of knowledge spoken into my life before I took the plunge.

When I did, I was able to speak into a young man's life who though who committed to a relationship with Christ after realizing God didn't care about his earrings or tattoos. He had to see visible evidence that God was after him, not his jewelry.

I'd pierce my ears again in heartbeat to reach this generation.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

u say God told u so? just wondering how u came to that conclusion?

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

I know God's voice when he speaks to me.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Tattoos, on the other hand, are a different story, IMO.

"Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD."
Leviticus 19:28

Not trying to bash anybody here with a tattoo, but this is Scripture.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

is that it? i wasn't being derogatory, I'm just wondering why? that's all. Usually when God speaks there is a purpose. Was it to give u a greater witness?

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

my old friend who was a high profile evangelist in UPC who has now gone on to be with Jesus had a "hot' & "cold" on each of his breasts tattooed...it was so funny, he showed up on the platform one Sunday morning without an undershirt and everybody could see em...lol

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

The purpose of the tattoo is important, consider the context. It is not a stand alone clause it is tied to the previous statement.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Are the cuttings in the flesh and making marks upon you both associated with a reaction for the dead? Or do they refer to two separate and unrelated actions?

Most Bibles I've checked are ambiguous as to whether they are separate except this one:

I forbid you to shave any part of your head or beard or to cut and tattoo yourself as a way of worshiping the dead. CEV

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Touche. I don't tell my husband things like, "You are NOT going to do that." However, I can tell you with confidence that my husband will NOT do that, and due in no small part to my input on the matter, should it ever arise. (Highly doubt the possibility anyway.) Just because I put it strongly to you doesn't mean I'll put it to HIM like that. :D

I'm afraid I've never read that book....

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

So, are you saying that it's okay to have tattoos as long as you are not doing it for the dead?

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

If the prohibition against cutting the flesh and tattoing the flesh are both for the dead, then a tattoo which is not for the dead would not be wrong.

Besides, that was Old Covenant, under the Law. If there is no NT prohibition against tattoos they are not wrong.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Twice I almost got inked twice, once as a Navy Submariner, once as a member of a heavy metal band, I don't regret passing on either.


God converted me. What do I need to mark me but his Spirit?

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

There's no NT prohibition against bestiality either.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Romans does tell us not to "leave the natural use of a woman". 1 Cor 6:13 tells us that the body is not for fornication. The Greek word for fornication covers all illicit sexual acts, if I am not mistaken.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

Is the tattoo for self glorification? hmmm I didn't know our bodies natural use to God is for that. If it is not then... Also why do you need to tattoo yourself? I always find this a interesting answer and it usually is answered with a question.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

The argument of "if it is not repeated in the NT it doesn't matter" is about as idiotic as it gets. Paul says all scripture is given for instruction in righteousness.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

If you go down that road, then you could say the same thing about fixing your hair, plucking your eyebrows, trimming your nose hairs, using any kind of facial/body creme, medicinal or otherwise, ect...

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

nope, incorrect. tattoos are not grooming. Totaly different thing. Try again! The aspect of men cutting there hair shows basic grooming/maintenance is allowed.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

I didn't say cutting your hair. I said fixing your hair. Cutting it short is one thing, and would be considered grooming. Fixing it in a certain style could be considered even more superficial than getting a tattoo, since you do it to look nice to other people. A tattoo, as far as I know, is usually more of a personal preference that is not usually seen by other people.

Re: Earrings? Why not? God piereces ears!
 

I don't believe in making ones hair something of a glorified mess. It should be nice and kept. Mild organization that does not bring attention to oneself. You might want to read how the early church in the first few centuries looked at this stuff. You might be amazed and how they clearly limited any type of elevating oneself in appearance.