UKC

Why do so many religions seem to regard the wearing of beards as an important article of their faiths ? Moslems ,sikhs,orthodox Jews,orthodox Christians etc

I can understand the practical reasons for their rules on diet, and sex and even clothes but what is it with beards ?

In reply to Postmanpat: hasn't god got a beard? it could just be that

In reply to Postmanpat:

In general terms, the more unkempt the beard - the greater the piety, as they see shaving and grooming as a personal vanity, which is not to be encouraged.

Apparently if they were to shave it off, their maker would not be able to recognise them when they turn up at the pearly gates.

In reply to Postmanpat:

Ask censored, he should know

In reply to Alan Stark:
Is that specifically moslems ?

In reply to Postmanpat: It is because they are too busy posting letters through people doors to shave. And maybe they think they lool sexy like that?

In reply to happy_c:

Do Jehovah's Winesses wear beards ?I don't let them as far as the door .

In reply to Postmanpat: ...and geography teachers (well, at the school I went to anyway)

In reply to Postmanpat: not sure , they wear a coat i think , and tend to be scared of dogs. Im guessing they do wear beards and probably pink shoes

In reply to Michael Woods:

What about the modern trend of trimming under-arm and
pubic-hair ?

I find masses of pubic-hair very off-putting !

My girl-friend appreciates 'my prickly-pubes' !

In reply to Michael Woods: Not to mention physics teachers..

Beards, coats and dodgy dress sense to boot!

Cx

In reply to Postmanpat:

Judaism:

The Bible states in Leviticus 19:27 that "Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard."

Islam:

The Prophet Muhammad said, "Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Keep the beards and cut the moustaches short."


Sikhism:

Sikh males are required to keep beards as stated in the 5 K's of Sikhism.

In reply to Postmanpat: women have no say

In reply to Jon Hemlock:

All good stuff but I still don't see the practical logic behind it ?

In reply to Postmanpat:


Seems unlikely - don't muslims have to cleanse themselves before their main friday prayer service?

By way of contrast, supposedly early christian monks used to refer to ticks and lice as "gods pearls" - a sign of how much disdain the infestee had for worldly matters.

In reply to Postmanpat:

I'm pretty sure that logic and practicality don't figure that highly in dictating religious practices.

Don't really think that's the point...

In reply to Postmanpat: Hang on. You don't see the logic of religious doctrin?! Where would you like me to start?

In reply to Postmanpat:

didn't jeebus have a beard?

In reply to Jon Hemlock:

I think , in their historical context, there is a rational basis for most religious doctrine - they try and give social stability , exert social control, give some sort of spiritual comfort etc .

In reply to Morgan Woods:

I think rich was right , God has a beard.

In reply to Postmanpat: God has a beard, but Jesus s(h)aves

In reply to Postmanpat:

which God ?

In reply to Anonymous: thought there all the same?

In reply to Postmanpat:

They make people look wise and thoughtfull,and they can be twiddled when the wearer of the beard is thinking.

It's why a lot of engineers had beards in the industrial revolution,they were always thinking up new ideas and they needed something to twiddle.

()

In reply to Timmd: I thought they were busy twiddling knobs. And pulling levers.

In reply to Anonymous:

By an amazing coincidence it seems every God .Who'd have thought that eh ?

(well actually ,not the hindu Gods althought the holy men seem to go the beard route )

In reply to prana: The Assyrian Earth goddess, Klam, is bearded.

In reply to Postmanpat:I half seriously do think it's because it can make people look thoughtfull,or have an air of dignity or being serious,if you're following a religion you're serious anyway,and a beard just finishes it off,like wearing something on your head,it's a part of the ritual,,not that that means it shouldn't be respected by other people. It's just an idea though.

In reply to Postmanpat:Maybe it comes from when some of the religions developed in a society where women had a lower status than men,it ment that women could never be seen as being as devout as men were,because they couldn't grow beards,it happened as a result of women having a lower status?

In reply to Michael Woods: And geologists and archeologists.

In reply to Postmanpat:

Its just to store scraps of food in for the long winter months

In reply to Postmanpat: i thought BMC stood for 'Beardy Mountaineers Club'

In reply to dominic_s: and trad is a religion, isn't it?

In reply to thebigfriendlymoose:

Not just befre Friday Prayers. They are supposed to cleanse themselves, (hands, feet, mouths, nostrils, ears etc before they go to pray. All mosques have a communal ablution area near the entrance for this purpose. They are not supposed to then dry themselves with any cloth, as this may not be clean. As a result, most ablution areas (and public conveniences in the Arab countries in which I have lived) resemble a swamp, liberally running with water.

The desert nomads are supposed to cleanse themselves with clean sand if no water is available.

In reply to Postmanpat:


A number of prominent scientologists also have beards.

In reply to Jon Hemlock:

An orthodox Jew's beard and facial hair is supposed to be symbolic of the harvesting of a field.

A charitable landowner would not harvest the edges and corners of his fields, but leave some for the gleaners, the homeless and outcast who would follow the "official" harvest gatherers. This is a central point of the story of The Book of Ruth.

"Charitable giving" is also a central tenet of Islam, much more so than in Christianity, in fact.

Many mosques and Islamic associations in places like Bradford do an enormous amount of 'social work', particularly amongst older members of the asian immigrant community who would otherwise be even more lonely and isolated than they are. Needless to say, you don't tend to hear much about all this ...

The world's religions are are different historic attempts to plot a path to the same destination. That so much conflict and misunderstanding is based upon them is tragic, and stupid.

CJ.

In reply to Anonymous: (CJ)

It is also due to Men usurping and maniupulating what are essentially worthy and benign religious teachings for their own political ends.

What is really stupid is the way in which mankind repeatedly gets taken in by the rhetoric of somone who has generally returned from spending an extended period of time alone in the wilderness and claims that God has spoken to them.

In reply to Postmanpat:
Presumably Jesus only had a beard as razors had not been invented at the time when he was strutting his funky stuff on this planet. I assume that all other males at the time also sported facial fuzz due to the lack of gillette Mack3's

In reply to Postmanpat:

My form tutor in high school was a Jehovah's Witness. She had a moustache.

In reply to brothersoulshine: did she wax it?