Saturday 28 April 2012

Beards

“The beard is a masculine ornament, given to us by God not for any practical use, but for our dignity" - St. Augustine
"Over the course of history, men with facial hair have been ascribed various attributes such as wisdom, sexual virility, masculinity, or a higher status; although beards may also be perceived to be associated with a lack of general cleanliness and a loss of refinement." - Wikipedia!!
In Greco-Roman antiquity the beard was "seen as the defining characteristic of the philosopher; philosophers had to have beards, and anyone with a beard was assumed to be a philosopher."   - John Sellars (1988). The art of living: the Stoics on the nature and function of philosophy. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Limited.
Earlier this month a friend submitted an Advertising Standards Authority complaint over offensive advertising, encouraging ridicule, bullying and intimidation, by Wilkinson Sword.
The Bible tells us that a man should have a full, untrimmed beard, while trimming the hair on the head to an acceptable length. Much of this centres on the verse in Lev. 19:27 which should be translated:
'You must not shave or cut the corners of the hairs of your head and you are not to trim (mar or clip off) the edge (corners) of your beard.'
Does this mean that any man who claims to be a bible believing Christian and does not have a beard is a fake and fraud!

"This, then, is the mark of the man, the beard. By this, he is seen to be a man... It is the token of the superior nature....It is therefore unholy to desecrate the symbol of manhood, hairiness." St. Clement of Alexandria
 

No comments:

Post a Comment

chitika