Uncut hair in church history

[missourimary]

Originally Posted by onefaith2

So was that an actual belief in 1927 or just a folk song? Obviously caught on with some people for it to be popular.

"Bobbed" hair was hair cut to chin length (or less) in the 20s--flapper style. It doesn't mean "cut at all".

[missourimary]

Originally Posted by On The Wheel

So far it's been interesting. I'm hoping to learn from the accumulated knowledge on this board. I'm beginning to wonder if anybody really knows how people saw the "uncut hair" vs. "long" issue in the past.

I would like to walk in the old paths. It would be great to know just what those really are.

Might be difficult to find out... if there wasn't an issue for most people.

Though this article leans to the ridiculous, I assume it might be real, since it was published by the Letcher Co Historical Society (It might not; you'd have to call a local library and see if they had anything from the original date on microfilm to truly confirm it):
http://wright-bates.com/bobbedhair_scandal.htm
Notice that in the entire article, there is only one statement that might indicate criticism of CUTTING hair. That one statement was written some 40 years after the incident, in 1964/5.

There is also this leaflet: http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Books...ossy_wives.htm
Keep in mind this was a very strict Fundamental Baptist preacher. More about his leaflet and the general situation of the time can be found here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/...1.html?start=2

[On The Wheel]

Originally Posted by missourimary

Might be difficult to find out... if there wasn't an issue for most people.

Though this article leans to the ridiculous, I assume it might be real, since it was published by the Letcher Co Historical Society (It might not; you'd have to call a local library and see if they had anything from the original date on microfilm to truly confirm it):
http://wright-bates.com/bobbedhair_scandal.htm
Notice that in the entire article, there is only one statement that might indicate criticism of CUTTING hair. That one statement was written some 40 years after the incident, in 1964/5.

There is also this leaflet: http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Books...ossy_wives.htm
Keep in mind this was a very strict Fundamental Baptist preacher. More about his leaflet and the general situation of the time can be found here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/...1.html?start=2

Very interesting stuff. I have to run in a minute, but will give this information a more thorough reading later tonight. Thanks so much for this information.

[commonsense]

As a child in the 50's my sister and I both had bangs (and my father did the trimming).
My mother went to a beauty school for a trim and color rinse when she was first getting grey hair. ( 1959 or so)
From what I recall at camps.....hair was long enough for pony tails or updo's but not always uncut.

Hair was worn down more often in the 50's and 60's. Perhaps the beehive of the 60's caused the directive.

I have umpteen photos that show shoulder length at church functions.
And a huge collection of ABI yearbooks from 50's & 60's.

[Scott Hutchinson]

http://sowersofhope.blogspot.com/201...1_archive.html

[pelathais]

Originally Posted by On The Wheel

Thanks for the above responses. They have are indeed a help.

I'm also interested in the historiography of the theology of uncut hair. Most commentaries and bible word dictionaries seem to define the Greek word keirō translated as "shorn" in I Corinthians 11:6 (KJV) as sheering as a sheep or to cut off or cut short. I'm wondering if there have been any actual translators or theologians in bygone eras who have interpreted this word to mean "to trim" only or "to cut, no matter how little".

Bauer's has about the most complete listing of documents which cite a particular word or phrase in ancient Greek. There is nothing that equates "being shorn" with "trimming one's hair..."

Originally Posted by On The Wheel

I realize that arguments from silence are not always the strongest, but in my study of this issue I found something interesting. Rather I did not find something. M.D. Treece, the celebrated conservative apostolic theologian, does not even address the "uncut hair" issue in his translation of 1 Corinthians chapter 11. He discusses the need for long hair, but does not address in detail the linguistic reasoning for teaching a totally uncut hair doctrine, though I'm sure he supports such a doctrine. I found it curiously lacking in his otherwise exceedingly detailed discussion of this chapter. Why would he neglect to take on such an important issue, since there is such heated debate over it? Why not settle the issue by a thorough explanation, citing the major scholars or linguists who agreed with him?

My goal with this thread is simply to find out for certain who else, if any, have ever taught the totally uncut hair doctrine throughout history.

Of course, there are those who have taught against everything, including marriage. I'm looking for more balanced views. I thought this discussion would be useful.

"Long" hair on women is pretty much the norm throughout the ancient world. "Uncut" hair was almost always mentioned in the context of a vow - such as the vow of the Nazarite, however, this applies to BOTH men and women and usually for just a prescribed period of time.

[Michael The Disciple]

I would be interested in even one Old Testament reference where a Woman trimming her hair was considered sin. Can anyone produce one?

[Sam]

Originally Posted by commonsense

As a child in the 50's my sister and I both had bangs (and my father did the trimming).
My mother went to a beauty school for a trim and color rinse when she was first getting grey hair. ( 1959 or so)
From what I recall at camps.....hair was long enough for pony tails or updo's but not always uncut.

Hair was worn down more often in the 50's and 60's. Perhaps the beehive of the 60's caused the directive.

I have umpteen photos that show shoulder length at church functions.
And a huge collection of ABI yearbooks from 50's & 60's.

I was not brought up in a Pentecostal church.
I got saved in 1955 and joined a Baptist Church.
I was later baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, joined a UPC church in Racine, Wisconsin and then later was baptized in the Spirit.

The girls and women in the UPC church in Racine wore their hair in various ways. The older ones wore it in buns or wrapped around something (don't remember the name) close to their head. The younger ones wore it down and curled. It seemed about shoulder length.

I spent one year at ABI (1956/1957) and the girls there wore their hair rolled or curled and usually about shoulder length.

I came to Ohio and attended a UPC church from 1957 to 1963 or 1964. Older women usually wore their hair in buns or a French twist. Younger women and teenagers usually wore theirs down in a page boy or curled and it was around shoulder length. They later adopted the oatmeal box also. Little girls who were not teenagers had quite short hair.

I attended an ALJC church from 1963/1964 until 1978 (or maybe 1979). The women there had a variety of hair styles, mostly quite short and dyed.

During the sixties and seventies some ladies (and some teen age girls) began to use hair pieces to add height to their hair. Some used rolls of toilet paper or oatmeal boxes to make their hair taller.

At various times in the 60's and 70's I visited African American Churches (PAW, PCAF, etc) and the women wore their hair quite short.

What limited fellowship I have with UPC folks now it seems the women keep their hair short enough to manage but long enough to fix into a "Pentecostal do." Some pin on hair pieces to go to church.

[pelathais]

Originally Posted by *AQuietPlace*

I'll have to look it up again. I can't remember exactly where it was, but I can probably find it.

The fact that the commandments of the Law are pretty detailed but for some reason omit any mention whatsoever of a woman being forbidden to cut her hair would be a strong indication of just how the Jewish people, particularly Jewish women, understood this issue.

[pelathais]

Originally Posted by Sam

I was not brought up in a Pentecostal church.
I got saved in 1955 and joined a Baptist Church.
I was later baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, joined a UPC church in Racine, Wisconsin and then later was baptized in the Spirit.

The girls and women in the UPC church in Racine wore their hair in various ways. The older ones wore it in buns or wrapped around something (don't remember the name) close to their head. The younger ones wore it down and curled. It seemed about shoulder length.

I spent one year at ABI (1956/1957) and the girls there wore their hair rolled or curled and usually about shoulder length.

I came to Ohio and attended a UPC church from 1957 to 1963 or 1964. Older women usually wore their hair in buns or a French twist. Younger women and teenagers usually wore theirs down in a page boy or curled and it was around shoulder length. They later adopted the oatmeal box also. Little girls who were not teenagers had quite short hair.

I attended an ALJC church from 1963/1964 until 1978 (or maybe 1979). The women there had a variety of hair styles, mostly quite short and dyed.

During the sixties and seventies some ladies (and some teen age girls) began to use hair pieces to add height to their hair. Some used rolls of toilet paper or oatmeal boxes to make their hair taller.

At various times in the 60's and 70's I visited African American Churches (PAW, PCAF, etc) and the women wore their hair quite short.

What limited fellowship I have with UPC folks now it seems the women keep their hair short enough to manage but long enough to fix into a "Pentecostal do." Some pin on hair pieces to go to church.

The old "rat." The pressures we put upon women and especially girls is just plain silly.

I came into the UPC as a teenager and into a church that had a similar history that you describe. By the time I joined (1979) the idea of uncut hair was a doctrine. This proved to be a real problem with the ladies coming out of the Apostolic Assemblies and other Oneness groups.

The girls in the pastor's family had all cut their hair in the past. The younger girls had that "page boy" style of bangs until they got into their teens. Then it was a competition to see how high they could pile it up. They also all wore slacks at different times - even the pastor's wife.

By 1979, "uncut" hair and "dresses only" had become the creed - though it was obvious that this was a new "consecration" that they were still trying to implement. Thus, upon my arrival, there was an atmosphere of increasingly harsh demands for conformity.