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Is A Mohawk Sin?


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My 5 year old son wanted a mohawk. My wife and I are not lovers of the hairstyle. We have 2 girls and 2 boys. While they are living at home, we are rearing the girls to have long hair and the boys short hair. The mohawk is definately short. We wanted to say no, but didn't. Why didn't we? Our children are very good at hearing the word "no" and obeying with very little whining. The problem is, we say "no" alot. Just going to Wal-mart, our children see alot of the "world" and we have to frequently say "no" and usually give an explaination. So when it came to the mohawk, we didn't just blurt out a "no" because I wanted a Biblical explanation as to why I was saying no. The only thing I could come up with was separation from the world. Just one problem, my world and my children's world doesn't have any mohawks. Two years ago, my neice's hubby got a mohawk and kept it for a couple months. He lives 4 hours away and is supposedly a Christian so I didn't feel this fell under worldly separation. That is the only place I can think of that my son has even seen a mohawk. He is not trying to fit into a group. He is homeschooled and there aren't any mohawks at church.

So my 5 yo has a mohawk. Problem. My parents saw this and immediately told him they didn't like his hair; they were quite blunt. The other night, my dad said it was sad my son had a mohawk since he didn't have any choice in the matter. My dad thinks I wanted my son to have this mohawk and that it is sad I am forcing such a "worldly" haircut on him??? This is the same man that pokes fun at me because we live so conservatively, in his eyes we might as well be Amish. So now both my parents think I am pushing worldliness on my son. Now I am wondering if I should cut my sons hair because it might be a stumbling block for my parents. Isn't "falsely accusing" me of pushing worldliness on my son, when I am not, a sin? Do I need to cut my son's hair because I am causing my parents to sin? If I tell him he is going to have to get rid of the mohawk, I want my Bible in hand to explain it to him. Do I need to do this and how do I do this? Any thoughts??

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The Mohawk hairstyle is often associated with punk culture. The punk culture has rebellion as a key component to it. There are plenty of verses that speak against rebellion as I'm sure you are aware of.

Proverbs 17:11 An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.

Also, one must ask if having a Mohawk honors God. Also, does it hurt your witness to unbelievers when they observe your family?

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My 5 year old son wanted a mohawk. My wife and I are not lovers of the hairstyle. We have 2 girls and 2 boys. While they are living at home, we are rearing the girls to have long hair and the boys short hair. The mohawk is definately short. We wanted to say no, but didn't. Why didn't we? Our children are very good at hearing the word "no" and obeying with very little whining. The problem is, we say "no" alot. Just going to Wal-mart, our children see alot of the "world" and we have to frequently say "no" and usually give an explaination. So when it came to the mohawk, we didn't just blurt out a "no" because I wanted a Biblical explanation as to why I was saying no. The only thing I could come up with was separation from the world. Just one problem, my world and my children's world doesn't have any mohawks. Two years ago, my neice's hubby got a mohawk and kept it for a couple months. He lives 4 hours away and is supposedly a Christian so I didn't feel this fell under worldly separation. That is the only place I can think of that my son has even seen a mohawk. He is not trying to fit into a group. He is homeschooled and there aren't any mohawks at church.

So my 5 yo has a mohawk. Problem. My parents saw this and immediately told him they didn't like his hair; they were quite blunt. The other night, my dad said it was sad my son had a mohawk since he didn't have any choice in the matter. My dad thinks I wanted my son to have this mohawk and that it is sad I am forcing such a "worldly" haircut on him??? This is the same man that pokes fun at me because we live so conservatively, in his eyes we might as well be Amish. So now both my parents think I am pushing worldliness on my son. Now I am wondering if I should cut my sons hair because it might be a stumbling block for my parents. Isn't "falsely accusing" me of pushing worldliness on my son, when I am not, a sin? Do I need to cut my son's hair because I am causing my parents to sin? If I tell him he is going to have to get rid of the mohawk, I want my Bible in hand to explain it to him. Do I need to do this and how do I do this? Any thoughts??


I would never allow a son of mine to have a Mohawk hair cut, its all about rebellion. To teach your children right from wrong you will have to say no many times. If you start now, you will have to say no less later on. If you let him keep doing things of rebellion now, later on the word no will never stop him.
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A Mohawk, as with earrings on men, long hair, and other "styles" are representative of a rebellious lifestyle. It is also a "brand" of sorts, showing worldliness even if they don,t realize it. those whom you usually may not wish to be companions with are drawn to that sort of thing. It puts tempts one to "join the crowd" so others will think them "cool".

I would not say it is a sin, but it is very unwise.

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The Mohawk comes from a heathen, a Godless culture of people. In western society it's a sign of rebellion. There's also a verse about order and decency. Folks do those types of things to draw attention to themselves, they want people to look at them. Too much pride, not enough humility, lack of self-confidence. Keep cutting and start out with a GI crew cut!

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This has already been answered very well. The Mohawk haircut is a rebellious hair style. This style has been used for a long time as a sign of rebellion, a sign of rejecting cultural and societal norms. When most folks see this style haircut they immediately think rebel, or worse.

As mentioned above, in the #2 post, we must ask if the haircut honours God. I can see no way such a haircut could. However, such a haircut will certainly cause most folks to view the one wearing that haircut as a rebel, or worse. Such a haircut absolutely doesn't say "Christian" when people see it.

You have already witnessed the reaction of your parents (remember, we are to honour our parents even after we are grown) and the reaction of many others (whether they express it or not) who see him with that haircut will be similar.

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Rom 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Though this refers to the eating of meat, the last line holds true:

"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin."

If you have to ask, maybe its better not to do it. That verse, fully explained, should suffice with your child.

Proverbs 21:4 "An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin."

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Thank you for your replies. After being accused by my dad, I knew I had to seek counsel. I can read all these replies to my son so he (and I) can have a good understanding to the reason he is getting rid of his mohawk. Thanks again.

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Thank you for your replies. After being accused by my dad, I knew I had to seek counsel. I can read all these replies to my son so he (and I) can have a good understanding to the reason he is getting rid of his mohawk. Thanks again.


It is wise of you to seek counsel. As a father of 2 I hope I am as wise to do the same when I'm unsure of what to do.

Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
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I really like the fact that not being able to give a Biblical reason made you stop and think about it.
By the way, another reason for kids to NOT do something is because it does not please their parents and loved ones.

Interesting opportunity to be blatantly honest and Biblical. Making the right decision on this issue sheds loads of light on other correct and Biblical decisions you make. But, since this is not a major deal breaker with God, one way or another, maybe you can simply tell "Johnny", that you aren't sure what The Bible says about it because Mohawks weren't mentioned just like a lot of stuff isn't mentioned like saggy jeans, hats worn backwards, pink hair, ear rings being worn in the nose, and what night is the best night for the midweek church service; Wednesday or Thursday.

mohawk-indian.jpg?w=101&h=150

You might want to explore the issues with your son.
- What is a Mohawk and who started it?
- Who else is sporting a Mohawk today? By what other identifiers are they known; clothes, habits, type of friends?
- Why do you want to look this way? "I don't know" is not an answer. It might be that "Johnny" doesn't get to have a Mohawk if he can't sell you on the idea.
- Who else did you see have a Mohawk lately?
- What does a good Mohawk hair cut look like?
- What does a bad Mohawk haircut look like?
- If you knew that something that you wanted to do wear identified you in a bad way with people you love, would it still be important enough to you to do it anyway?
- Have you ever thought of starting a new trend and cutting your hair in a diagonal Mohawk and calling it a Myhawk?
- Let's try it for a week and see if we like you like that.
- What if it stays that way, would you be ok with that for 20 years?
- Lets Google images of people with Mohawk haircuts and see what else shows up around it and see if it glorifies The Lord.
- Do you want a real Mohawk where the rest of the hair is shaved off, or just a fake Mohawk?

An argument stopper that only works on kids who are close to their parents and don't want to hurt them; "Ya know Johnny, this is one of those things that I can't find anything in writing about but that I feel might not be a good idea, and here's why. (Tell him why, and it needs to be real and convincing. If it does not sound convincing to you, it won't to him either.) Now, if you still trust me, let's do this; we'll try a Mohawk on you for the weekend. But after Sunday night church, we'll even your hair out and talk about it, and go from there."
As a parent of kids who are now grown with kids of their own, these are the thoughts that went through my head.

Hope it helps.

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1. I would never let my kids have a Mohawk.

2. The kid is 5 - isn't it possible that he is naively asking for something he doesn't understand, and it actually has nothing to do with rebellion on his part?
Only Dad can assess that - no-one here can make that assessment remotely.
Dad - you must determine first what is at the heart of the issue and then the appropriate way of dealing with it becomes apparent.
Some good advice already given here, depending on the cause.

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