Often Christians ask questions like:
- Can Christians have dreadlocks?
- Are dreadlocks evil?
- Do dreadlocks mean you worship Satan?
- Whats the bible say about dreadlocks?
Well i want to answer these questions and more
The book of numbers 6:5 esv says:
All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long."
Many who grow dreadlocks do so for religious or spiritual reasons. Most religions embrace dreadlocks as a sign of holiness, of those who are most dedicated to the path, to the point of taking a sacred vow.
The book of judges 16:13 esv says:
Then Delilah said to Samson, Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound. And he said to her, If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.
To Samson, dreadlocks gave his physical strength, but also strength of spirit, and of conviction. His dreadlocks gave him strength to not be like other men weak and full of doubt and temptation. As he grew his dreadlocks as part of the Nazarite vow, his relationship with the devine grew stringer as did his resolve to remain pure and strong. Severing his locks was like breaking that connection to the devine reducing him to the status of the common man.
1 samuel 1:11 says:
And she vowed a vow and said, O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.
Again we see that the highest form of devotion would be to not cut or trim the hair but to let it grow free as in dreadlocks.
Leviticus 21:5 says:
They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body.
Bob Marley died of cancer, a very treatable cancer, but the treatment would have been the amputation of his toe. He had made a vow that included his dreadlocks, diet, and not cutting the body. If it was his fate to die, he would die whole, unscarred.
Judges 16:19 says:
She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.
Here we see Samsons dreadlocks that gave him strength and bound him by vow to god severed from his head, her torments could not affect him until his dreadlocks were cut and he became weak like any other short haired man.
Ezekiel 8:3 says:
He put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.
This is a common theme in many religions. Hari Krishnas shave all the hair except 1 little tuft at the top, to act as a handle, when they pass away they are supposed to be lifted up by that hair. in Christianity and Judaism, the tangled dreadlocks of the most devout are meant to tangle in the fingers of the creator as he rakes his hand across the land, lifting them to the promised land.
There are many more references. I am no biblical scholar, I'll leave it up to others to add more, I just wanted to answer those basic questions.
Can Christians have dreadlocks? Absolutely, its most likely a sign of the highest level of devotion.
Are dreadlocks evil? Only if you prescribe to the belief that everything is evil.
Do dreadlocks mean you worship Satan? Certainly not! For some, they mean nothing, but for others they may mean they have taken a vow to worship the god of their choice to a higher degree then even the priest/minister/pastor/etc.
What does the bible say about dreadlocks? Pay attention, you just read that. But its also interesting to note that Joseph, Jesus' earthly father was a nazarite with long dreadlocks to the ground, he raised his family this way as well. although theres no mention of jesus' diet, the rest of the family were strict vegatarians, which also is part of the same vow that had them grow dreadlocks. John the baptist also was a nazarite with long dreadlocks as well as ofcourse samson. Some scholars believe Jesus himself grew dreadlocks as well. The only mention of his hair was 'hair like wool" wool is high in lanolin, wich causes it to matt into dreadlocks extremely easily. In fact, once shorn, the wool must have the lanolin removed in order to make it combable. "Hair like wool" therefore most likely refers to its matted or dreadlocked state. Additionally it should be noted that there was no historical record of a town or region named "nazareth" at the time of Jesus birth, Although today it is the capital of the arab held Isreal, Nazareths origins were traced to several other sources far from isreal. In fact some scholars believe Jesus of Nazareth doesn't refer to a town or region at all, but jesus of the nazarites, the nazarites being a group wich take the Nazarite vow and grow dreadlocks, have a strict vegatarian diet including avoiding all fruits of the vine, as well as not having contact with the departed.
It has also been said that:
Only the nazarites may speak to the devine directly.
Only the nazarites are devout enough to enter the kingdom of heaven.\
So next time you ask "are dreadlocks a sin" remember that the man, john the baptist, who baptized Jesus, removing the original sin of the sinless ..was a man with dreadlocks.
i hope this answers those questions
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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1
updated by @soaring-eagle: 01/22/20 09:33:16AM
