[Evang.Benincasa]

Originally Posted by n david

I appreciate this post, thank you.

"In fact, and you're really not going to like this, he doesn't have to have scripture and verse to do so. Period. End of story."

This was regarding guidelines set for those who wish to be involved in a church ministry or on the platform. This isn't about a doctrine being preached. This is simply about guidelines and preferences for dress, appearance and conduct for those who desire to be used in ministry/platform. These may include things which are not sin and as such do not have chapter and verse, but are the preference of the church leadership. I have served on the church board/Pastoral counsel of two churches, so this may not be indicative of how things are done elsewhere -- in those churches, these guidelines were set by the church board.

Your response at the end included: "Oh . . . I forgot . . . You don't need to quote scripture. Just because . . . I guess anything goes."

That is simply untrue and takes out of context my statement.

Originally Posted by n david

Here's something to make you happy: If a minister claims that growing a beard is a sin, that is wrong. It's not scriptural.

The original question you ask is whether it is false doctrine. What is false doctrine? First, define what is doctrine. Doctrine is a set of beliefs or teachings based on the Word of God. So false doctrine would be something which is contrary to the beliefs and teaching of the Word of God.

For example: it is biblical doctrine that a person must be born again. False doctrine would then be claiming that you don't need to be born again.

For there to be a claim of false doctrine, there must be a doctrine to begin with. There is no early church doctrine on beards that I have found. So I would answer that it is not false doctrine, but would agree that any minister who claims beards are a sin would be in error.


Again, the churches I've visited/attended included beards in the dress code for ministry/platform. Most of those churches had men in attendance who wore beards. The Pastor of the UPC church I currently attend includes beards in its dress code for ministry/platform. It's a relatively small church (approx 70 or so) and there are a few men who attend who grow either a full beard or mustache. I asked him about it when I first began attending and was told he doesn't believe it to be a sin, only a preference for those in ministry.


You're not understanding what I posted. The context was in regards to a Pastor adopting a dress code for ministry/platform. Don't try to twist this into something else.


Wrong. You're twisting what I posted and taking it completely out of context.


First, I'm surprised that you would be interested in attending an institutional church at all, what with your previous posts against them. Second, how a person responds shows the condition of their heart. So when a man will shave without a word for the dress code of a secular business, but whine and throw a tantrum over a dress code for ministry in a local church - it shows a lot.


As stated above, I agree that any minister who claims growing a beard is a sin is wrong. I do not believe it is the same as false doctrine, by simple definition.


Back to context. This is regarding dress code for men who wish to be involved in the ministry/platform. If the church I attended had a dress code stating I had to wear a tinfoil hat and purple polka dot suit to be used in the ministry/platform, I would find another church in which to minister.

See how easy that is?


Modesty isn't only about a dress code.


That's untrue.


Which seems odd to me, considering the previous posts made against institutional churches.

Originally Posted by n david

Modesty isn't only about dress.

What I have seen used for ministry/platform guidelines includes more than just dress, so perhaps my calling it a dress code is confusing you.

Very cool posts

Anymore questions concerning this thread should be directed to these postings by ndavid.