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Is A Mohawk Sin?


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Oy, i need to comment on this thread.

To those who have stated that a child should only have a high and tight haircut I would like to clarify one thing to you. A high and tight is a military haircut. Men with these haircuts have killed more people in the last 100 years than we have accounted for in all other history. It was originated by the U.S. military during the American Revolution and more formally the Indian wars. Technology had not advanced enough to allow for haircuts constantly and people didn't seem to care until they were being scalped. This new haircut made it very difficult for Native Americans to scalp people while they were still alive. As time progressed the U.S. military adopted this hairstyle originating from that purpose. Armies all over the world have adopted adaptations of this very haircut for their own military. Most notable, the Nazi party.

Now, I must disagree with about 90% of you who have posted. I do not believe that a Mohawk is inherently a sin. I do, however, believe that judging a person based only on their haircut and not what is in their heart, what they say, and their testimony is a sin. We are warned against these types of judgement throughout all scripture and even Christ dealt with them.

"Who is that?"

"He says he's the son of God."

"Well, he doesn't look like the Son of God! He MUST be blasphemous."

"But he knows more about the laws than you."

"Well then, lets shut him up quickly!"

 We, as Christians, are called to be held to a higher standard but we lower ourselves by this constant judgement that really only does one thing... it removed us for the real purpose we are in this world. To Glorify God and spread Scripture. If we want to get into how a fashion statement is going to hurt us as Christians I think that it should start with you first. Those plaid shirts, button up shirts, ties, suits, blouses, boots, jean skirts, stockings, bras, boxers, etc... Those would all have been considered heresy to the pharisees. We are adorning ourselves with patters, colors, excess, etc. Before you comment on the splinter make sure you don't have a log.

Don't judge people by tattoos, piercings, clothes, or haircuts before hearing their words, speaking to their heart, and listening to their testimony. While I don't see an issue with tattoos, piercings, or haircuts I do believe that modesty is important with Christian lifestyle. Having a tattoo of a naked girl on our forearm seems to very easily be a stumbling block. Lets also consider that that Christian with a naked girl tattoo found Christ after having fallen into depression in his 30's 40's 50's etc. That tattoo, while immodest, is now part of his testimony and you just ignored that person based on their looks being too 'worldly.' This is the biggest hypocrisy I see in today's fundamental churches and one that i take very seriously.

Now, to the parents of the child. This is your decision. This is not the child's decision and if your child doesn't agree with you than sparing the rod may not be an option but this is a young child who wants something he likes. I do not see an issue with it but you may see an issue with it. 100 years ago marrying someone you loved instead of who your parent's decided was right for you was considered a sin and now we think it's crazy to be any other way. Don't think that because the child wants something it isn't okay for them but don't think it is either.
Let me ask this. What do you feel about this hairstyle? Have you actually sat down, read Scripture, and prayed about what you felt was the best outcome for this situation?

If you feel that your child needs to grow up more before making that decision than that is great! Let the child make the decision when YOU feel they are mature enough and spiritual enough to do so. If the child is diabetic and wants a candycane do you allow it? No, because the child would not be mature enough to understand why not.
Do not, and i repeat, do not make a decision because of what people tell you is right and people tell you is wrong. There is only one thing that can tell you what is right and what is wrong and that is God. If God decides to speak through the voice of a pastor, a friend, a relative, etc then listen but TEST THE SPIRITS and make sure that it is from God and not a Christian who can not come to terms with the fact that we are human. If you make a mistake and change your mind later, so what? We are all sinners and we make unknowing mistakes. That's one of the best things about being a Christian. Even when we try our hardest we still make mistakes and sin unknowingly because we are not perfect but God is so merciful that those don't matter. What matters is our life, our actions, our testimony, and our salvation.

So, all that said.... To the people who are saying this haircut is a stumbling block to them I say to you:  You are a stumbling block to me for making a haircut a bigger issue than it needs to be. I can forgive that but it's my duty as your brother to let you know that your actions are hurting me and I know I would not be the only one.

I always felt that when Paul was writing to the different churches the ones who did not nitpick the small things he seemed to call the 'strong' churches. Those who nitpicked the small things, went to court, had prOBlems seemed to be the churches who were weak. These issues were not of the world but their own issues that they forced onto everyone else. Those who focused on God, were not luke-warm, ministered, reprimanded outrageous sins, and forgave those who repented were the strong church and that is the example I am willing to follow.

Looking at these comments; I'm happy I'm not a member of many of the churches you attend. Let that sink in.
 

Edited by jocuserious
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To the OP:

Many things in life will not be chapter and verse, but you will have to use principles to determine how your family will operate.  For example, are electronic games sinful?  I know some families who will not let their children use electronics for games and others who will.  Each has a principle that they use for their family.

I think the bigger question is "Am I capitulating because I want to keep my kids happy since I always say no, or am I allowing this because I truly find it childish and harmless and it will be a fun time for my son and me.?"

You indicated both are true for you.  Then your parents call you out on it, seemingly ironically.

You need to decide what works for your family and go with that.  You do need to consider the testimony value, as well as the understanding your child has about your family rules and the faith from which they stem.  (At this age your child may not even be saved and should just OBey because it is your family's rules rather than in OBedience to the Bible principles about worldliness.

For our home, and our community, the mohawk style is definitely part of the "I need to stand out" "I'm different than you" "I don't conform" culture, so the Mohawk would not be a hairstyle we would be sporting or supporting.  You need to consider where you live and how things are perceived.

 

As to the brother with the mohawk, welcome.  I'm glad that you are doing what you feel is a Biblical reminder of your inner man.  We have young people in our community who tattoo themselves with Scripture references and phrases for the same purpose as your hair.  While I don't feel either is the best approach in my area of the country, I at least can say these people are trying to be spiritually alert day to day which is a great start.

I have to commend you. Thank you for being grounded in your beliefs and being willing to understand that others may not feel the same as you, without making a big deal of it. Your comments made me smile and I appreciate your stance

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Troops go into combat wearing helmets. The enemy isn't seeing their haircut.

 

How can you say a military man who wore a Mohawk did it out of rebellion? They wore them because it made them appear more intimidating to the enemy.

 

Wrong, troops wore it as Airborne because most were generally special forces. Some are required to have different haircuts not synonymous with the military in case they are captured by an enemy they could deny their involvement in the conflict or action.

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Oy, i need to comment on this thread.

To those who have stated that a child should only have a high and tight haircut I would like to clarify one thing to you. A high and tight is a military haircut. Men with these haircuts have killed more people in the last 100 years than we have accounted for in all other history. It was originated by the U.S. military during the American Revolution and more formally the Indian wars. Technology had not advanced enough to allow for haircuts constantly and people didn't seem to care until they were being scalped. This new haircut made it very difficult for Native Americans to scalp people while they were still alive. As time progressed the U.S. military adopted this hairstyle originating from that purpose. Armies all over the world have adopted adaptations of this very haircut for their own military. Most notable, the Nazi party.

Now, I must disagree with about 90% of you who have posted. I do not believe that a Mohawk is inherently a sin. I do, however, believe that judging a person based only on their haircut and not what is in their heart, what they say, and their testimony is a sin. We are warned against these types of judgement throughout all scripture and even Christ dealt with them.

"Who is that?"

"He says he's the son of God."

"Well, he doesn't look like the Son of God! He MUST be blasphemous."

"But he knows more about the laws than you."

"Well then, lets shut him up quickly!"

 We, as Christians, are called to be held to a higher standard but we lower ourselves by this constant judgement that really only does one thing... it removed us for the real purpose we are in this world. To Glorify God and spread Scripture. If we want to get into how a fashion statement is going to hurt us as Christians I think that it should start with you first. Those plaid shirts, button up shirts, ties, suits, blouses, boots, jean skirts, stockings, bras, boxers, etc... Those would all have been considered heresy to the pharisees. We are adorning ourselves with patters, colors, excess, etc. Before you comment on the splinter make sure you don't have a log.

Don't judge people by tattoos, piercings, clothes, or haircuts before hearing their words, speaking to their heart, and listening to their testimony. While I don't see an issue with tattoos, piercings, or haircuts I do believe that modesty is important with Christian lifestyle. Having a tattoo of a naked girl on our forearm seems to very easily be a stumbling block. Lets also consider that that Christian with a naked girl tattoo found Christ after having fallen into depression in his 30's 40's 50's etc. That tattoo, while immodest, is now part of his testimony and you just ignored that person based on their looks being too 'worldly.' This is the biggest hypocrisy I see in today's fundamental churches and one that i take very seriously.

Now, to the parents of the child. This is your decision. This is not the child's decision and if your child doesn't agree with you than sparing the rod may not be an option but this is a young child who wants something he likes. I do not see an issue with it but you may see an issue with it. 100 years ago marrying someone you loved instead of who your parent's decided was right for you was considered a sin and now we think it's crazy to be any other way. Don't think that because the child wants something it isn't okay for them but don't think it is either.
Let me ask this. What do you feel about this hairstyle? Have you actually sat down, read Scripture, and prayed about what you felt was the best outcome for this situation?

If you feel that your child needs to grow up more before making that decision than that is great! Let the child make the decision when YOU feel they are mature enough and spiritual enough to do so. If the child is diabetic and wants a candycane do you allow it? No, because the child would not be mature enough to understand why not.
Do not, and i repeat, do not make a decision because of what people tell you is right and people tell you is wrong. There is only one thing that can tell you what is right and what is wrong and that is God. If God decides to speak through the voice of a pastor, a friend, a relative, etc then listen but TEST THE SPIRITS and make sure that it is from God and not a Christian who can not come to terms with the fact that we are human. If you make a mistake and change your mind later, so what? We are all sinners and we make unknowing mistakes. That's one of the best things about being a Christian. Even when we try our hardest we still make mistakes and sin unknowingly because we are not perfect but God is so merciful that those don't matter. What matters is our life, our actions, our testimony, and our salvation.

So, all that said.... To the people who are saying this haircut is a stumbling block to them I say to you:  You are a stumbling block to me for making a haircut a bigger issue than it needs to be. I can forgive that but it's my duty as your brother to let you know that your actions are hurting me and I know I would not be the only one.

I always felt that when Paul was writing to the different churches the ones who did not nitpick the small things he seemed to call the 'strong' churches. Those who nitpicked the small things, went to court, had prOBlems seemed to be the churches who were weak. These issues were not of the world but their own issues that they forced onto everyone else. Those who focused on God, were not luke-warm, ministered, reprimanded outrageous sins, and forgave those who repented were the strong church and that is the example I am willing to follow.

Looking at these comments; I'm happy I'm not a member of many of the churches you attend. Let that sink in.
 

 I have only seen what you believe and not what the word of God says would you post scripture backing what you believe

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To the OP:

Many things in life will not be chapter and verse, but you will have to use principles to determine how your family will operate.  For example, are electronic games sinful?  I know some families who will not let their children use electronics for games and others who will.  Each has a principle that they use for their family.

I think the bigger question is "Am I capitulating because I want to keep my kids happy since I always say no, or am I allowing this because I truly find it childish and harmless and it will be a fun time for my son and me.?"

You indicated both are true for you.  Then your parents call you out on it, seemingly ironically.

You need to decide what works for your family and go with that.  You do need to consider the testimony value, as well as the understanding your child has about your family rules and the faith from which they stem.  (At this age your child may not even be saved and should just OBey because it is your family's rules rather than in OBedience to the Bible principles about worldliness.

For our home, and our community, the mohawk style is definitely part of the "I need to stand out" "I'm different than you" "I don't conform" culture, so the Mohawk would not be a hairstyle we would be sporting or supporting.  You need to consider where you live and how things are perceived.

 

As to the brother with the mohawk, welcome.  I'm glad that you are doing what you feel is a Biblical reminder of your inner man.  We have young people in our community who tattoo themselves with Scripture references and phrases for the same purpose as your hair.  While I don't feel either is the best approach in my area of the country, I at least can say these people are trying to be spiritually alert day to day which is a great start.

would you give scripture from the word of God proving what you believe

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As it is evident by my profile picture, I have a mohawk. I can also assure you that I'm a Christian, living to the best of my knowledge in a life pleasing to God. That's not to say I didn't initially receive a lot of negative feedback, particularly from church folk. I don't tell many people this, but for the sake of conversations and reasoning, I'll let you in on a secret. I have a mohawk because to me, it's a symbol of warfare. My ancestors wore their hair in this manner to signify they were warrior. It signifies the very real spiritual warfare that I am caught up in, and am struggling in. Ephesians 6:12 depicts a spiritual battle, and my hair reflects that in an outward act of symbolism. I don't have one to "be cool" (I'm from a small town that can be very judgmental, so it kinda defeats the purpose) or to "show an act of rebellion". As far as appearance goes, it can be no more a sin to have a mohawk than to shave your face. Each is an altercation to the natural way your body makes hair, and there's actually a scripture that says not to cut the corners of your beard (Leviticus 19:27). Therefore, in a moral sense, it's no more a sin to have a mohawk than to shave. I understand that the Holy Spirit may convict other people differently, which is why it is always best to pray, seek godly advice from wise people, search the scripture, and think it over long and hard before coming to a  decision. 

lets search the scriptures together my friend I think you will find a lot of what you say is wrong , what you have posted does not prove your point and you have misunderstood Gods word.

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I'm not trying to change the thread but I've been reading a lot of the post here and have a question to ask ''

 

How many here do not believe that the Entire word of God the Holly Bible '' the old and new testaments are written for our us today ?

.

Just a bit concerned of what I'm reading. I'm seeing a lot of what one believes and not what the word of Gods Says.

 

God bless

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Hi, Jo-welcome to the group.

 

I appreciate your thoughts on the issue at hand. Its an issue that I think begam on a somehwat light note, but it has brought about a great deal of good intelligent and surprisingly respectful discussion. I don't now if you have actually gone over all the posts on it, being pretty long, but I would encourage you to do so.

 

As was mentioned before, you gave many things to chew on abut the subject, but you really didn't give much Bible on it.

 

The Bible does give some words of what would be considered as extreme hairstyles, both in length and style. The length issue is covered in 1Cor 11, while the issue of styles is mentioned when dealing with modesty. I put up a post on this earlier, post # 70, so I am not repeating myself. Extreme hairstyles are considered immodest, as would be the peircings and tattooing that are all means of getting people's attention to yourself. Now, I suspect most would disagree with that, and insist 'No, I do it for myself because I like it!', but then, there's really no point. I will be a little transparent here about myself: when I was in the Navy, I got a tattoo-it is a small 'fish' with a cross in it, above it is a little banner with my wife's name, and below it is a banner with "Eph 5:25" I thought, Oh, a nice 'Christian" tattoo declaring my love for my wife!  My wife who left me a bit later, by the way. And for all the good feelinges behind it, it was all about being seen of men, for men to see how 'christian" i was and how much I loved my wife. It WAS to be seen of men. And all tattooing is such, despite what people may say otherwise, because if it was just to be private, why cover one's self in them? No, they are a message. The message may change but its still a message and its still immodest because it says "Look at me!". As Christians we should not seek to be conformed to the habits and fads of the world-I did it and have regretted it since almost the time I did it. I have kept it now truly for myself, to remind myself how stupid I can be and to not repeat such a mistake.

 

If a mohawk is designed to reflect one's culture, well I ask, isn't it Christ and our NEW nature we should seek to reflect? Rather than wearing a symbol of my natural warrior people, why not live as a symbol of my Saviour, the Prince of Peace? That's not to say that one must wear a high and tight-I wore that in the military but don't anymore-I just keep it short and combed, and my wife wears hers long and brushed, usually up so the goats don't get hold of it.

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We can learn from both Testaments. But the Mosaic Law is not for the Gentile Converts. see Acts 15 & Acts 21

 

Hold on now brother, if God thought these 'rules' were good back then,

what has changed in God that he would not still see some of these things

 still good for us.

 

This is where a lot a 'lost' people see us as 'stupid' when we carry around a 'book'

that has 'useless' stuff in it that we do not follow anymore.

 

What God thought and told mankind was wrong, is still wrong.

 

Now the different 'sacrifices' were fulfilled in Christ, but the other 'laws' are still good advice

for us to learn about and from as to health, government, and 'legal' teachings'.

 

Jesus said he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. (Not to destroy the what God

counsels man in God's ways of us 'living', 'thou shalt nots', but he fulfilled the commands of sacrificing

in OBedience, the critters he required.)

 

I know I might fall short of my 'thinking' here, but I ask for mercy and not condemnation for what I just said.

 

I don't believe we 'have to' keep the law, but it is proper wisdom in taking heed to what the Lord wanted man to 'live' like.

Edited by Genevanpreacher
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According to Acts, Gentiles are not to be taught to keep the Law. According to Romans, one is committing spiritual adultery if one goes to the house of the Law while married to Christ. According to Galatians, one is a fool to place oneself under the authority of the Law after one has been saved. According to 1 Timothy, the Law is not for the righteous it for the ungodly.

Best to look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith,& walk in the Spirit than to choose the path of an ungodly foolish adulterer, IMO.

Edited by Standing Firm In Christ
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According to Acts, Gentiles are not to be taught to keep the Law. [Yes, like circumcision, and keeping 'temple' service, etc.]  According to Romans, one is committing spiritual adultery [Is this possible for a born again child of God?] if one goes to the house of the Law while married to Christ [Paul went there many times himself, and so did others.]. According to Galatians, one is a fool to place oneself under the authority of the Law after one has been saved [Hello? I never said one 'had to', as a command, force himself to OBey, it comes natural to a child of God]. According to 1 Timothy, the Law is not for the righteous [this is where we get the idea of the laws of our land help to keep crime away from society, where is that at odds with what I said?].

Best to look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith,& walk in the Spirit than to choose the path of an ungodly foolish adulterer, IMO. [so I guess you think I am a spiritual adulterer in this last statement, since I OBviously don't think it is wrong to keep the word that God himself wrote out for his people to follow as his directives for a successful way to serve him in this life?]

 

I must be saying this wrong.

I do not think it is 'natural' for a lost man to 'want' to follow that which is right. hence, we in society use the 'law' to keep crime at bay.

I do believe it is in the mind and will of a saved man to follow that which is right. That is why the 'law' is not for the saved.

And we know what is right, by what God commanded, to Moses [as well as other prophets of God].

Those things that God wanted man to do, were what pleases him, - and what God did not want man to do, the 'shalt nots', are what displeases God.

 

That is how we should live our daily lives, knowing what things in the past that the Lord commanded man, are a good source for us to 'follow' to have a peaceful and healthy existence.

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