Here is some fodder for any antagonist out there. I would only ask that you come up with a creative, original, or never-before-heard-by-me argument against the following passages of Scripture.
Long-haired men.
1 Corinthians 11:14-15 "Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering."
Buying and Selling on Sunday.
Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
Tattoos.
Leviticus 19:28 "You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord."
Smoking. Gluttony. Tanning Beds. (And anything else that is obviously harmful to our physical bodies).
1 Corinthians 3:16 "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"
Immodesty.
1 Timothy 2:9 "...likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire..."
Okay, fire away!
(All Scripture is from the ESV because I am not cool enough to use "The Message.")
The Whole Henry Family
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About Me
- Jared Henry
- Lexington, KY, United States
- I have been happily married since May 25, 2002 and enjoyed fatherhood since January 15, 2007. I am an ordained elder (pastor) in the Church of the Nazarene.
8 comments:
This was more of a curiosity for me, but that passage you mentioned about long-haired men is also sorta against short-haired women.
How does that work in Africa, where women's hair can't grow long without breaking off? What would be her glory?
I love you Jared. I was thrilled when I heard you were doing youthfest!
This in no way implies that I disagree with you on any of the points you mentioned. I just don't think it's that cut-and-dry.
Long-haired men (1 Corinthians 11:14-15) - Nazarites never cut their hair (a.k.a. Samson), and this was the express command of God. I guess every Israelite who made the Nazarite vow to God was actually being disgraceful . . . or maybe God changed his mind since then. Also, the verse right before the one you mentioned speaks of the disgrace of women who pray with their head unveiled/uncovered. Why not stress this verse instead of the next one and demand that all women wear head coverings and more accurately veils (as Paul is probably referring to veils here).
Buy and Selling on Sunday (Exodus 20:8-11): This verse says absolutely nothing about "buying and selling." It only speaks of "not working" on the Sabbath (a.k.a. between Friday-Saturday). Assuming that this still applies rigidly to us (and many think it doesn't, using Romans 14:5), the question would be: Could one buy-sell without working? If someone came up to me and told me they'd buy my bicycle for $50 dollars. Would it be work for me to take their money or for them to ride off with my bike (particularly if they enjoyed riding a bike). I don't think work is involved at all in this case.
Tattoos (Leviticus 19:28): This verse specifically states that one shouldn't pierce or tattoo one's body "FOR [the benefit of] THE DEAD" which implies some kind of witchcraft (see a few verses later - verse 31). Exodus also referred to piercing one's ear as a sign of affection, the love-slave (21:6). Genesis 24:47 also speaks positively of putting a ring on/in the nose (although I'm not sure how you would put a ring "on" the nose).
Smoking. Gluttony. Tanning Beds (1 Corinthians 3:16): First, Paul is saying that the Corinthian church as a whole is the temple of God (not necessarily one individual person) - note the 2nd person plural ("Y'all all together are the temple of God . . ."). Second, How far does one take this? I was surprised you didn't add not-exercizing regularly (which is definitely more harmful to one's body than occassionally visiting the tanning bed). Also, one should probably cut deserts out of one's diet altogether as they're harmful. I guess Christians shouldn't perform hazardous jobs either such as being fire-fighters, police officers, the military, etcetera. These jobs are definitely more harmful to one's body than other jobs. I guess you get my general drift.
Immodesty (1 Timothy 2:9): I'm tired, so I'll just ask you a question back in return: Do you think it's a moral sin for women to braid their hair . . . isn't most hair quasi-braided when put into a bun? What about wearing a gold wedding ring? What about costly attire? Does a $100 or $150 suit count (not to mention a moderately priced suit at $400) . . . I saw your profile picture over there. Also, why not continue Paul's logic. He states a couple verses later that "I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent" (12). Do you prohibit woman teachers . . . not just in church but in everyday life?
Once again, I'm not arguing against anything you've stated. I just don't think everything is as cut-and-dry as you make it out to be.
Brett:
I have only ever met one woman who was born in Africa. She was a United Methodist pastor I met in Georgia (and a good preacher). Her hair length was just below her shoulders.
I look forward to seeing you in a few days in revival!
Jared
Caleb:
Remember, I said "original" arguement. This is the same old stuff. But, for the sake of argument, and the mine field I purposely walked into let me illustrate the way you are making arguments.
If you join any debate team you know that, even if you are wrong, you can still argue your point. And to be offensive in your arguments you need to find the inconsistencies, loop holes, etc in the other persons arguments.
So, while I am not saying I disagree with you at all...
Let's pretend that you posted on a blog and said:
"I believe murder is wrong. In fact you will find in Exodus 20 that it is one of the ten commandments."
At that point I could do a number of things.
1) Point out some verse in Exodus that, outside of its context, and without much background, sounds absolutely absurd. This verse could be used to discredit the verse that talks about murder.
2) You could point out "the exceptions to the rule." In other words, what if you are watching your neighbor's son and they are bitten by a rattlesnake? Are you a murderer? (That would take a lot of clarifying questions to get to the bottom of it.) Or what if your grandmother is living with you, you go off one day to work and she falls and breaks her neck? Are you a murderer? What if you were backing out of your drive way ran over a neighborhood kid? Are you a murderer?
3) Change the understood object of the commandment. In other words, rather than applying this commandment to humans, apply it to bugs... big juicy ones. Then you can ask: If you were driving down the highway and a bug went 'splat' on your windshield wouldn't you be guilty of murder?
4) Question the legitimacy of the standard like questioning whether this is not a personal imperative, but rather a coporate imperative. In other words ask the question: Isn't this talking about humanity as a whole and issues such as war and genocide?
5) Then say: "It just isn't that cut & dry." (Any post-modern/ emergent in the room will love that!)
But still, I would post: Thou shall not murder. And I wouldn't even answer petty, unoriginal responses!
I have fun responding to intellectual heavy weights!
Haha, I'm not an intellectual heavyweight (nor merely an intellectual or a heavyweight), but I do appreciate the compliment anyway.
Here's my brief response:
1) I think you equivocated women braiding their hair to murder, and I'm not sure that's a very fair analogy.
2) My argument was that there remains a diversity of opinions on these issues . . . even for those who take Scripture seriously. I merely tried to show that such verses were complicated, could be read in tension with other verses, and were by no means clear, particularly when appropriating them to our culture. In other words, it would be hard to maintain their universality and absoluteness which you seem to likewise concede with your statement concerning "exceptions to the rule."
3) In response Brett's point, the woman you mention from Africa had to have used artificial, human-made products on her hair. During Jesus-Paul's era (and probably up to 18th/19th/20th century A.D.) Africans were unable to grow their hair out "long" because they lacked such artificial products. I guess it's a good thing she lives in our contemporary society as opposed to a couple centuries ago . . . that way she can have glory instead of disgrace.
Jared called Caleb fat.
Brett, you must have mis-heard me. I said:
"Caleb is phat." not "Caleb is fat."
Big difference.
Phat is an acronym! it means "Pretty Hot And Tempting!"
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