Long Hair and Body Hair
From: Survivor Rites ~UNBROKEN: Evolution of Rules for Women in the 2×2 Workers’ Church with Cherie Kropp and Crystal Stiles Mandt, June 17, 2026
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fODnM0J8C4A
My name is Cherie (Berry) Kropp. I was born and raised in the 2×2 Church, third generation. I inherited my beliefs from my parents without question and professed at age 13. I grew up on the Jackson, Mississippi convention grounds and attended meetings in California, Mississippi, Texas and Oklahoma until I left in 1990. I’m married to Ex-2×2 Chester Ehrig and we currently live in North Texas.
My purpose in giving these interviews is to enable listeners to better understand the difference between the Commandments of God and the Traditions of Men. Commandments are doctrine; traditions are human rules.
In the previous two parts, I focused on 2×2 women’s requirements concerning makeup, jewelry, apparel, slacks, hosiery and black stockings. For this final Part 3, I’ll discuss long hair, and body hair.
1. Crystal — Tell us now we can determine which unwritten rules for women in the 2×2 church are Commandments of God?
Not every sentence in every biblical narrative or speech is necessarily intended as a direct instruction for us today. We use interpretation to discern which messages were for a particular audience, which principles are timeless, and which applications belong to our present context.
Some Bible narratives describe what happened in the early church; others also function as norms that prescribe what should happen in the ongoing church. Some passages simply describe events and speeches. They are history, and they provide context.
There are eight basic rules of interpretation that apply to speeches and writings, regardless of their content. Two of those are the Rule of Precedent and the Rule of Unity.
Rule of Unity: An interpretation of a New Testament passage must be consistent with the rest of Scripture. It must take into account what the whole Bible records about the subject. This is similar to the Old Testament two-witness principle, where conviction required corroboration. Likewise, a single passage needs corroboration before it can be treated as doctrine or used as a binding model. In other words: Let Scripture interpret Scripture.
This matters because several of the Scriptures Workers use as the basis for rules about women have no corroborating Scripture. I will be addressing those passages tonight.
Over the years, Workers encountered various new situations — gray areas where the Bible is silent. They had to decide: should we participate in this activity or not? As early Worker Ed Cooney said, they groped their way.
The Overseers deliberated and drew conclusions that became policies—Traditions of Men. In other words, they made rules as they went along and enforced them as though they were Commandments of God. Several of those gray area decisions concerned women’s hair, apparel, cosmetics and jewelry.
2. Crystal: Have 2×2, women always worn their hair long?
Cherie: Yes. Actually, women have worn long hair since the beginning of recorded history. The generations directly preceding 1900 were part of the Victorian Era, when a woman’s hair was considered her glory and women rarely cut their locks. Many women grew their uncut hair to their waists, knees, or even to the floor.
Hair: The 2×2 sect began during the Victorian Era, from 1837 to 1901. Like their queen, respectable Victorian women wore their hair long and smooth, often parted in the center. In public, they wore their long hair in neat updos, pinned on top of their heads. Every hair was expected to be in place; stray hairs were an embarrassment, aided by hairnets—this was before hairspray was invented.
However, it was not uncommon for some poor working-class women to cut their hair short. Long hair was not practical when working long hours in unclean conditions, and it could be dangerous for women employed in factories. Short hair was safer and more convenient. Some poor women, when short of money, cut and sold their hair to wigmakers. O. Henry illustrates this in his well-known short story, The Gift of the Magi, in which a wife sold her hair to buy her husband a watch chain, while her husband sold his watch to buy combs for his wife’s long hair.
How 2×2 girls and women think and feel about their long hair differs greatly, and the hair rules differ as well. What is normal for some is taboo for others. Some women love their long hair; others hate it. Many 2×2 women have said that the first thing they would do if they ever left the church would be to cut it off — and that is exactly what many women do today when they leave.
Also, women’s hair differs in color, texture, density, and curl pattern. It may be thick and strong or thin and delicate; fine, coarse, curly, kinky, or straight. Some women’s hair will not grow very long, while others’ hair grows to the waist, knees or floor. So there is a huge difference in women and girls hair.
3. Crystal: What reasons do workers give for women needing to wear their hair long?
Cherie [Long Hair]: Workers do not provide consistent explanations. They often point to 1 Corinthians 11, but they do not offer a satisfying explanation of the passage.
Many of their replies amount to this: follow our rules because we said so. Then those who do not comply may be labeled rebellious, lacking understanding, vain, or unwilling. Enforcement is possible because workers can restrict women’s participation in meetings, communion, and baptism for noncompliance—with the implied risk of not making it to Heaven.
Brother worker Morris Grovum, 2009 observed, If we become a rebel, it often becomes evident on the outside. And just one sign is what a man or woman does with their hair.
The mark of a rebel for a man was when he lets his hair grow long. If a woman is rebelling, she starts chopping off her hair.
Brother worker Ken Paginton declared, The Bible teaches us that sisters serving the LORD should have long hair, as a sign of submission…When women grow their hair long, they show they are willing to fit into GOD’s order of creation. When they start cutting it, they show they are not willing to fit in.
Well, you don’t think Jesus had to put his feet on Mary’s head for her to dry them with her hair, do you? Talking about John 12:3 when Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with costly ointment and wiped His feet with her hair.
Some say that a woman’s power of prayer is removed if she cuts her hair.
None of those explanations have biblical support. The comments from brother workers are attacks on the person asking the question rather than answers from Scripture. This is important: if there is a Scripture, they can provide it. A simple answer from Scripture is easy. If they cannot supply one, then the practice is a Tradition of Men — not a Commandment of God. When evidence is lacking, sling mud; that is, the response often becomes criticism of the questioner.
4. Crystal: Is it really essential for women to have long hair? Is there Scripture for this tradition?
Cherie: The reasons workers use for the long-hair rule come from phrases in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, specifically 1 Corinthians 11:1–16, regarding head coverings. They refer to phrases such as a woman’s long hair being her glory, short or shaved hair being shameful, honoring one’s spouse, and because of the angels. The chapter addresses respectable behavior for both husbands and wives. I’ll focus on the parts that have been applied to women.
I have to agree with Peter who said that Paul wrote: some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures (2 Pet 3:16 NKJV).
The first 16 verses in 1 Corinthians 11 about women and long hair are ambiguous and difficult to understand. Bible scholars and theologians have wrestled with this passage for years—and have not come to a united conclusion.
I had often heard it said, The truth is so simple a child can understand it. Yet I had turned 40, was no longer a child, and I still could not understand my faith. Furthermore, no one could — or would — explain it to me in a simple way I could comprehend, much less in a way that would convince a child. I resolved that I was going to understand this faith I was part of, if it was the last thing I did.
I would find out exactly why women had to have long hair, wear no jewelry, avoid slacks, and avoid makeup. I would discover what, exactly, commended a woman to God.
Armed with Jesus’ promises Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you, (Mat 7:7), I prayed for guidance, and firmly believed God wanted me to understand His will and ways, and that He would enable me to do so.
1 Cor 11:1-16 is the ONLY Scripture about women wearing long hair. I struggled to figure out how or if it applied to 2×2 women today. IF it was a universal prohibition that no professing women should have short hair.
For years, I thought if I could JUST read 1 Corinthians 11 in the original Greek language it was written in, it might shed some light—provide the answer to this mystery. Fat chance of that! I discovered no known original manuscripts of the New Testament have survived, due to the fragile nature of papyrus, heavy use and decay. The two oldest highly regarded surviving manuscripts found so far are dated 325 to 360 CE and are housed in the Vatican and British Libraries. Jesus and the Jews’ native tongue was Aramaic and Hebrew. The Aramaic Peshitta Bible claims their manuscripts are earlier than the Greek and are located in Patriarchs of the Church of the East.
So instead, I read 1 Corinthians 11 in every commentary I could find—hoping to find the key. And I could not find a commandment that long hair on women was required to get to Heaven. I did notice that verse 15 starts with IF a woman has long hair…like it wasn’t essential; wasn’t a MUST HAVE requirement.
I asked a worldly Christian friend what she thought the verses about long hair meant. She replied she believed they were meant for back then – not for today. That they were intended for those particular people at that time and place—I had never considered the possibility that Paul’s teaching was rooted in cultural norms of the time. That this passage was intended for and limited to that particular time. In Corinth, women were expected to be veiled/covered with a shawl in public and in religious settings.
5. Crystal: Is it possible the workers have mistranslated or misapplied the Scripture about long hair?
Cherie: Yes. That is exactly what I believe has happened. To see why, we need a little background about early manuscripts and Bible translation.
First, the Bible was not always divided into chapters and verses. Chapters were added in A.D. 1227; verses were added later in A.D. 1448 for the Old Testament, and in A.D. 1555 for the New Testament.
The original New Testament manuscripts (penned between 45–100 AD) contained only lowercase letters and no punctuation, no spaces between words, no paragraph breaks, periods, question or quotation marks! This writing style is known as scriptio continua. Corinthians and other letters were run-together text, beginning to end. How confusing that would have been!!
Translators and scribes introduced punctuation in stages over several centuries. It wasn’t until 1516 inErasmus’ printed edition of the Greek Bible that the modern punctuation system began to be incorporated into the text and made it readable. Because the placement of these marks involved editorial decisions, modern translators and scholars still debate how the absence of original punctuation affects the interpretation of certain verses.
6. Crystal: What does 1 Corinthians 11 actually say about women’s long hair?
Cherie: There is only one verse in the entire Bible that mentions women’s long hair, and it is in this chapter, verse 15: But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.
Background: The setting was a worship assembly where men and women were praying and prophesying. A head covering functioned as a sign of a woman’s marital status, similar to a wedding ring’s function today. Married Corinthian women were expected to be veiled or covered in public and in religious settings. Historically, a head covering was considered a form of dignity for a woman, and to have it removed was humiliating. In Corinth, some women who committed disgraceful acts were publicly punished by having their heads shaved or closely cropped.
We know that SOME of Paul’s epistles were written to answer questions his converts had asked. For example, he prefaced his remarks earlier in chap 7: 1: Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me…
Since Paul’s letter to the Corinthians was written in style of scriptio continua—translators would not have known for certain when one sentence started and ended. Or if a passage contained a quotation from another writing. In other words, there was ample opportunity or possibility that a translation did not accurately convey the original intent of the author. Years later, translators divided up Paul’s letter into verses and inserted punctuation of their choice.
Possibly verses 4-10 referred to a previous letter containing questions the Corinthian church or elder had written Paul—and Paul may have been quoting it, but the translators didn’t enclose it in quotation marks. If so, the Corinthians would have recognized that. Now 2000 years later, there is no way to know exactly what statements Paul made and what might have been quotations from a letter he had received.
Paul’s comments were tailored to the Corinthian culture. Since Corinthian residents included Jews and Greeks with different dress customs, it is possible Paul was addressing particular men and women in a particular worship setting — praying and prophesying. He did not intend his comments to become a universal custom or doctrine for all believers for all time. Paul himself said the other churches had no such custom. He was not dispensing rules to be universally followed outside that setting.
Let’s talk about the points Paul made in 1 Corinthians 11, one at a time.
POINT 1 [Shame and Honor]. The first verses about women in this chapter are verses 5-6:
5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved.
6 For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered.
These verses address respectable women’s appearance in a religious setting. Paul’s underlying principle is that women should cover or not cover their heads in a manner considered respectable in their culture, one that did not dishonor or shame themselves or their husbands. He was not making a rule that women must never cut their hair. He did not say it was a sin. He was encouraging respectability.
This was a cultural norm for women to cover their heads THEN that is NOT applicable in our culture today.
If the woman uncovered her head in public like the prostitutes (who were shaved), Paul could have been saying that she was giving others the impression she was a prostitute, which would naturally embarrass or shame a husband.
Paul summed up his guidelines in verse 13: Judge in yourselves: is it comely [proper in NKJV] that a woman pray unto God uncovered? He seemed to be saying: Follow the rules of decency for your culture and do what is proper.
The general millinery etiquette rule is hats off indoors for men and hats on indoors for ladies. Perhaps that was the basic principle for Paul’s comments. In other words, don’t use poor manners that result in behavior that is considered to be in bad taste
These two timeless principles for women of honoring and submitting to their spouse and not disgracing them transcends and transfer to present day Christian culture.
An example. The Mormon Church global headquarters is in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sometimes 2×2 women there are mistaken for wives of polygamist —they dress similarly—and consequently, at times when they are in public, they receive overt contempt and scorn (pointing, laughing, disgusting looks and snubs). This is shameful to them and their husbands.
If the principle Paul was encouraging the Corinthian women were followed in Utah, 2×2 women might cut their hair short to eliminate the disgrace/shame. This is the opposite of the action Paul recommended for the Corinthian women—and yet it accomplishes the same result: respectability, the same principle.
It’s important to keep in mind that much of what is stated in this passage is NOT found elsewhere in the New Testament and further, some of it is contrary to other scripture on the subjects covered. It is not corroborated.
Key Point: A good basic rule of interpretation is Let scripture interpret scripture. And when there is no other scripture to compare it with or to corroborate it, that confirms it is not doctrine or a Command of God.
7. Crystal: Isn’t there something about angels and hair in the Bible?
Cherie ~ POINT 2 ~ Angels: Yes — the phrase is because of the angels. Verse 10 says, For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. The margin explains that a head covering is a sign that she is under the authority of her husband. Scholars and theologians have offered many guesses as to what this verse means, but none are conclusive or entirely satisfactory.
In our world today, the Greco-Roman tradition of women wearing shawls/veils to indicate their married status does not carry the symbolism it once had.
Brother worker Larry Butler said: When a woman cuts her hair, even just cuts a little for bangs, it cuts off the ministering of the angels. Sister worker Crystal Lewsader said: Women cutting their hair hinders a woman’s prayers.
Key Point: There are no instructions or commands relative to angels in the Bible for believers’ behavior. It remains a mystery— an enigma – and is not Christian doctrine.
POINT 3 ~ Long Hair – Glorious Covering: 1 Corinthians 11: 15: But IF a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a COVERING (Greek: peribolaioin, Strong’s No. 4018).
Notice the word “IF” a woman have long hair! Some alternate wording found in other translations in place of long hair are:
Douay-Rheims Bible: But IF a woman nourish her hair, it is a glory to her;
Aramaic English New Testament: But for a woman, IF her hair is abundant, it is a glory to her.
Aramaic Bible in Plain English: And whenever a woman grows her hair, it is a glory to her, because her hair is given to her in place of a covering.
Key Point: These translations sure put a different perspective on whether long hair is a requirement for women! Also notice the word “IF” a woman – not a woman MUST!
The covered head of a woman IN CORINTH set her apart as being respectable, and as being under her husband’s authority through matrimony. Today a cultural parallel is the wife’s wedding ring and changing her surname to that of her husband.
Hair is sometimes said to be a woman’s crowning glory. It is claimed about some women that her hairdo makes or breaks her. Hair around a woman’s head enhances a woman’s natural beauty. Paul was making an IF—THEN statement—not a MUST, as in essential. It wasn’t a command. Some people think long hair is glorious and others don’t. There is no Biblical indication that God is displeased if a woman doesn’t have long hair.
It’s significant that the points Paul makes are not found elsewhere in the Bible. In fact, much of what is stated in these verses does not jibe with or is contrary to other verses in the Bible on the subjects covered! Nor are they are prescribed by Jesus or other New Testament writers. Paul doesn’t write them in any of his other letters to churches
POINT 4 ~ Contentious: The Bible is both descriptive and prescriptive. Christians must be careful to distinguish particular from universal and descriptive from prescriptive. We know for sure that Paul was NOT setting a universal precedent of long hair required for Christian women—because he summed it up with verse 16: If anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such CUSTOM, nor do the churches of God.
Alternate words for contentious, in other Bible translations are If anyone: argues, quarrels, disputes, challenges. Lamsa’s Aramaic translation uses the word precedent in place of custom: But if any man dispute these things, we have no precedent, neither has the church of God.
No wonder one can’t find any confirming scripture for what Paul wrote in first 16 verses of 1 Corinthians 11! He says there is none—no precedent! That his comments are unique to the Corinthian situation. Paul is advising them not to judge one another on non-essential matters: Who are you to judge…Unto his master he stands or falls (Rom 14:4). Each believer is responsible and accountable for their spiritual standing directly to God.
Some workers have said this verse means, We have no such custom of being contentious! Paul’s use of the word But in BUT, we have no such custom at the beginning of the verse indicates he was talking about what he said before that—not about the action of being contentious.
Unfortunately, these customs that men concocted and enforced pertaining to women’s hair have generated untold grief, suffering, discomfort, confusion for women for over 100 years.
And even today, using this ambiguous passage, workers often given the dogmatic, rigid interpretation that women MUST wear their hair long and that this rule is is binding on all women believers for all time.
Key Point: There is no biblical command for women to wear long hair. The long-hair rule is another Tradition of Men, not a Commandment of God. It takes a passage that is descriptive and presents it as prescriptive. It was particular, not universal. It is a misinterpretation and misapplication from faulty Bible study. So why should 2×2 women follow the long-hair rule today? There-is-no-good-reason.
8. Crystal: Why must 2×2 women wear their hair up now?
Cherie: That was my question for many years. Many 2×2 women wear their long hair pinned up without really knowing why. Some say it is a symbol or a sign — but of what? Symbols are meaningless if no one recognizes them. As Paul wrote, if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, what good is it?
Having long hair never bothered me UNTIL I was not allowed to wear it down in public. When I professed at age 13, I had to grow out my bangs and wear my hair up—and I continued to do so until I was 40.
Melanie (Evanson) WiIlams provided some insight into girls and woman wearing long hair in the Facebook Ex-2×2 Support group:
Sleeping on neck pillows so your hair didn’t get messed up
Before hair dryers, letting your hair air dry after pinning waves and poofs in place to dry
Tons of hairspray (not invented til 1960s)
Using a scarf on top of the hairspray to pat your poof into place
Having indents in your scalp from hairpins
The bald spots that developed from using tight rubberbands or a barrette under your bun
The collected hair from your brush (called a rat) to provide volume in the bun
Bobby-pins that lose their rubber tips and scratch your head.
Not being able to put your head back in the car while driving after they started using higher headrests in the newer cars
Cherie’s Additions to list:
Always wearing a scarf outside in public to keep your hairdo intact when windy
Painful combing out all the teasing for bouffant and beehive hairdos
Time spent drying hair naturally before hair dryers
Thank goodness for Dippity-do gel and AquaNet Hairspray (invented in 1960s)
Bobby pins, hair pins, curlers, wave clips, hairnets, scrunchies, hair jewelry, hair pieces, rag curls, bangs, spring curls around face, hot rollers, curling irons, hair straighteners
Broken off hair from ponytails with rubber bands–then formed into a bun
Perms and visits to beauty shops were no-nos
It wasn’t easy!!
Some reasons of workers for females wearing their hair pinned up:
Brother workerDale Spencer said. Some say it’s a covering for the HEAD—not the back.
Another worker: Long hair worn down is a glory to the woman—rather than to God.
Brother worker Walter Pollock told a reporter: There’s never rules about things like wearing hair up. The women just do it to identify with the group, to be a part of the family…
For the words broided, braided, plaited hair, in 1 Peter 3:3 and 1Timothy 2:9, many translations use the word elaborate, fancy, with gold interwoven. Plaiting or braiding in the New Testament referred to the act of interweaving hair in elaborate, complex, intricate hairstyles popular among wealthy women in Greco-Roman culture. Peter emphasized inward adorning—but did not forbid outward adornment. His point was that it’s what’s on the inside that matters most.
Some viewed 2×2 women who frequently changed their hairdo as a sign that she was not settled in the Truth. Guess it was obvious I wasn’t very settled in the system! I had so many hairdos that my classmates asked me if I planned to be a beautician!
In the Victorian Era, women never wore their long hair loose in public. It was scandalous. only took their hair down at home, usually at night, in privacy of their home. This is where the phrase letting her hair down came from.
In 1900, a girl typically put up her hair at age 15-16. This milestone marked her transition from childhood into young lady—a sign that she was mature enough to attend social events and to be courted. Hair down was a sign the girl was not of courting age. After marriage, Victorian women wore their hair up all the time in public.
2×2 Women: When Irvine started the 2×2 Sect, all respectable women wore their hair up on their head, and not down loose. It was normal, respectable.
Some workers have told young married 2×2 brides they should not wear their hair down in public anymore. Confirming this, in 1998, sister worker Bonnie Dahlin repeated the Victorian Era custom when she told a 2×2 woman she should never wear her hair down in public; only her husband should ever see his wife’s hair in all its glory.
This instruction is a holdover from the Victorian Era when Irvine started this church. Workers have continued to enforce the Victorian tradition ever since for over 125 years! Paul even states head coverings are NOT the custom of the other churches he planted — that they are not a precedent other churches follow. Because it’s always been done this way—is NOT a good reason not to change.
Key Point: Long hair pinned up is NOT a Commandment of God – ITS VICTORIAN! And it’s unreasonable! Unreasonable men who have never had deal daily with long hair are enforcing this manmade rule.
9. Crystal: When did women start bobbing or cutting their hair?
Cherie: Around 1914. In the early days, the length of 2×2 women’s hair was no different from that of women in the world around them. Their hairstyle followed the norms of society: long and worn up.
The Bobbed Hair Revolution was started byIrene Castle in 1914. She ushered in short hair styles for women. She was a respectable, married, ballroom dancer. In preparation for surgery in May 1914, Irene cut her long brown hair into a short bob. She resumed her professional career with short hair and bangs. Bobbed hair became the fashion story of the year. Newspaper headlines: Irene Castle Cuts Her Hair, and Women Accept Castle Bob.
Ladies’ magazines presented the question: To Bob or Not to Bob? In two years time, style-conscious women were rushing to their hairdresser for a Castle bob.
2×2 Women: When women of the world began cutting their hair short, Workers had to decide whether their women would bob or not bob. They decided, We don’t believe our women professing godliness should cut their hair.
Comment by early brother worker, Jack Jackson, indicated that some 2×2 women had indeed bobbed (cut/trimmed) their hair without the prior approval of the Workers:
Maybe another thing we could add today is that those that have had their hair bobbed since they decided, had best not take the bread and wine, unless you have decided in your heart to let it grow out again. Then we would encourage you to take it. People who have followed the fashions of the world to this extent have drifted to an awful distance. We hope you have decided in your heart to put aside the world’s fashions and all, and will be willing that your life should be broken for Christ’s sake
So the workers nipped in the bud short hair styles for women! Notice Jack didn’t give any scripture to support that decision—just fear of consequences. When women began bobbing their hair, it was a gray area. Presumably, workers dug into the Bible searching for guidance. There is only one place that long hair is mentioned. Since they strongly disapproved of following worldly fads, they read their reluctance to allow short hair into 1 Corinthians 11 (method called eisegesis) and ignored Paul’s summation that they had no such custom!
Women Trimming Their Hair: It wasn’t until I was in my early 20s that I met a 2×2 woman from South Dakota who believed women should never trim their hair! I was SHOCKED to put it mildly. My mother had always trimmed my hair and hers. That was our norm and that of our relatives. When I was little, Mom rolled my hair in rags and I wore shoulder length ring curls. However, beginning in my teens, I did not believe in long hair. By that I mean that I didn’t believe long hair was scriptural or essential to get to Heaven. I viewed the long hair rule as a misinterpretation or misapplication.
Even though I’d never heard of it, apparently, some Workers taught that 2×2 women’s long hair should never be cut or even TRIMMED and bangs/fringes were taboo also. Early in my marriage when my husband saw me trimming my hair, he told me that brother worker Joe Crane said, Shame on a woman who puts scissors to her hair. I told him, You work out your salvation and I’ll work out mine.
Some women could walk on their hair when it was down. The co-worker of a young sister worker in Hawaii had to help her wash her hair because it was so long it dragged three feet behind her on the floor when it was down. They trimmed her hair to floor length. Very possibly this was Mililani Hatada. Brother worker, Ben Tenniswood was outraged when he learned of her hair trim and said she was “out of line!” That a woman’s power of prayer is removed if she cuts her hair (misinterpretation of verses 5 6).
Some suffered painful migraines from the weight of hair on their head, self included. Some got around trimming hair with the devil’s scissors by burning the ends of their hair—accidentally and on purpose!
Key Point: Since there is no command of God about women trimming their hair, and the Bible is silent on the matter, the rule against trimming is merely a Tradition of Men — not a Commandment of God.
How Long is Long? Many a girl and woman have wanted to know: How long is long enough? What is long? Shoulder length, mid-back, waist, knee or as long as it will grow? Some workers have answered: As long as it will grow is safely long. Better to be safe than sorry.
Brother worker Harold Stewart taught, We are safe in saying, any hair or sideburns that is longer than the brothers’ in the ministry, would be long hair…Using the same standard for the sisters, we are safe in saying any hair that is shorter than the sisters’ in the ministry would be short; any skirt that is shorter than the sisters’ in the Ministry would be short. Here is the line between modesty and immodesty, as far as the people of God are concerned. We are not concerned where the world draws this line (Alberta, Canada*). (obviously Harold was ignorant about women’s hair—that it grows all different lengths!)
Some females wearing bangs/fringes were told they could not be baptized or take part in meeting until they grew them out. A sister worker said that cutting little pieces of one’s hair (bangs/fringes) was a sign of little bits of unwillingness. Another worker stated: It’s not cutting your hair that’s a sin—it’s the attitude behind it. Why would you want to cut your hair if you love God?
Remember If there is a scripture, Workers will gladly provide it. If they cannot supply a scripture – then the practice/belief is a Tradition of Men—not a Commandment of God. And they cannot supply a rightly interpreted scripture for long hair, how long it needs to be, for not wearing slacks, cosmetics or jewelry. There is none.
Key Point: So, over 100 years later, women professing godliness continue to wear their hair long and styled in an updo, just as they have always done since their beginning. As the Victorian ladies did. This practice will cease when the women take back their right to make their own choices regarding their appearance and grooming—and disregard the manmade rules.
10 Crystal: This chapter refers to covering the head several times. What can you tell us about that?
Cherie [Head Coverings]: Let’s talk about head coverings. In the broader world, the long-standing general millinery etiquette rule has been hats off indoors for men and hats on indoors for ladies. In its most basic form, that seems to be Paul’s theme in 1 Corinthians 11:4–7.
In the UK, until the 1950s, etiquette required women to partially cover their hair in public, as it was considered improper to appear bareheaded. Hats were a standard part of the dress code for being dressed up or for smart dress. Regardless of church affiliation, wearing a hat to a religious assembly was considered the proper thing to do. To fit in, some American women touring the UK would wear a hat to meeting there. It was not their habit in US.
Currently in the Windsor Era, UK royal women are expected to (MUST!) wear hats at all formal daytime events. Formal hats are taken off after 6:00 PM. For evening galas or state banquets, etc. they are replaced by tiaras, which are reserved exclusively for married royal women. UK citizens still (mostly) follow the latest monarch’s lead in fashion.
The abandonment of women wearing hats began in the late 1950s and accelerated throughout the 1960s and 1970s. However, the royal Windsor family chose to continue the hat tradition for formal daytime events. And I really enjoy seeing photographs of them wearing hats.
American women largely stopped wearing hats as an everyday accessory by the end of the 1960s when daily hat-wearing became highly impractical. Several causes:
Large hats were cumbersome to wear in low roof enclosed cars.
Elaborate hairstyles, e.g. the voluminous teased bouffant and beehive in the early 1960s did not accommodate hats, and ruined hairdos when removed. (I wore both of these styles)
Jackie and John Kennedy popularized hatless fashion.
Religious Reform in 1967, when the Catholic Church officially removed the requirement for women to cover their heads inside religious spaces.
Women’s liberation movement and burgeoning youth culture rebellion against dress codes.
2×2 Women: In their early days in the daytime, 2×2 women wore plain straw sailor hats with black bands. Their standards of dress and hat styles evolved over the years. It mirrored the style changes in the world—while lagging behind some years. However, hats were never compulsory for 2×2 women in the rigid way dresses/skirts or Black Stockings have been.
Sister workers continued to wear hats when they spoke at Special Meetings and Conventions in the US at least until mid-1950s. In some countries, 2×2 women continued to wear hats to Sunday Meetings up until around the early 1970s, e.g. UK, Australia and possibly other areas. Hats eventually disappeared from heads of 2×2 women in various countries at different times. Caribbean 2×2 ladies wore them much longer—into the 1990s in US, and some ladies still do in the Caribbean. It appears to be a part of their best dress culture.
Brother worker Jacob Kevelighan helped the demise of the hat in the UK. He directly applied Romans 14:3 to women’s hats in particular from a Northern Ireland convention platform. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.) Afterwards, many 2×2 ladies chose to not wear hats to mtg. anymore.
Key Point: Imagine the joyful women if the workers would announce at conventions, that from this time forward, they were applying that verse and giving the women liberty too groom their bodies as they see fit.
11. Crystal: What about body hair?
Cherie [Body Hair]: Researching women’s body hair turned out to be an interesting study. I had never really thought about a time when women did not shave.
2×2 Women: I was surprised to discover that some 2x2s considered women shaving their legs unbecoming to women professing godliness. That some 2×2 women don’t think hair removal is OK. I heard of some 2×2 ladies who did not shave their legs or underarm hair—because it was placed there by God.
It never entered my mind that there was any question about women shaving their body hair! But then I recalled my friend, the late Judy (King) Schilz, when she was becoming a young lady, and had just started wearing hose. Before she could shave her legs and pits, her father felt he needed to ask the workers advice. Thankfully, they said it was OK!
The Birth of Modern Shaving for Women. It happened like this: In 20th century America, body hair removal followed women’s fashion trends. During 1910–1927, first hemlines rose, revealing hairy legs. Then sleeveless garments bared women’s arms. Then hosiery became more translucent. Exposed limbs compelled women to shave their armpits and legs. To remove objectionable hair, as a fashion magazine so delicately put it.
1915, Gillette released the first razor especially manufactured for women. Advertisements promoted the idea that visible body hair on women was unfeminine, unhygienic and unsightly. Because term shaving was associated with males, marketers carefully did not use that term and encouraged women to smooth their armpits and limbs (not legs!)
By 1920, shaved armpits were considered essential hygiene. Also in the 1920s, depilatories came on the market in a product called Neet. A depilatory is a topical cream, lotion or gel, that temporarily removes unwanted body hair by chemically dissolving it just above the skin line.
1940s brought shorter skirts and more translucent stockings. During World War II (1939-1945), many women began going bare-legged due to a severe nylon shortage. Leg shaving became common. Some ladies drew a line up the back of their bare legs mimicking a seam. By 1964, 98% of American women were routinely shaving their legs.
The first full body wax, Brazilian wax, hit America in 1987. Next, electrolysis became available and produced lasting results by targeting individual hair follicles with an electric current. I had this done on my eyebrows in the 1970s. I was tired of plucking the strays. In 1997, the first FDA-approved laser hair removal devices hit the market.
A few points to ponder. Just because something is recorded does not mean it is commanded. Descriptions of what happened in the early church MAY be examples we can follow, but are not requirements we MUST follow. We must determine whether or not God intended particular instructions for particular people in particular circumstances to become a divine norm for all believers for all time.
This passage in 1 Corinthians11 is NOT one of those where Paul stated, the things I write are commandments of the Lord, as he did in I Cor 14:37. This passage IS one of those where Peter stated that Paul wrote: some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures (2 Pet 3:16 NKJV).
Throughout this maze in 1 Corinthians 11, the thread seems to be that Paul desired for the worship service in Corinth to be done decently and in order…without offense…and to the glory of God. These are the very points he made in the previous chapter, 1 Cor 10:31-33. Both husband and wife should act so that neither dishonors each other or Jesus, their head in their worship and culture.
Essential doctrinal teachings of the Scripture are confirmed by two or more passages. And there is no other New Testament scripture concerning women’s head coverings. Where the Scripture is ambiguous or silent, it is unreasonable for the workers to be dogmatic that ONE particular interpretation made by men is THE CORRECT one. Much less make it essential doctrine for all 2×2 women for all time.
Especially when Paul summed up his comments with: we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.
12. Crystal: What Last Words would you like to leave with our listeners?
Key Points: There are no teachings of Jesus or Paul confirming that a woman must be peculiar, wear her hair long, or put it up on her head in order to get to Heaven. That rule is not based in Scripture — It’s Victorian. If it were essential, surely Jesus would have confirmed it with a command. No, it’s a preference, a Tradition of Men, being portrayed as a Commandment of God. It has no heavenly value—will not bring a reward for obedience.
Jesus said: In vain they do worship – teaching for doctrines the commandment of men.
The Apostle Paul gave 3 simple rules for gray areas:
1) Is it helpful? does it edify?
2) Is it harmful? Is it something one might come under the power of?
3) Does it displease God?
IF ONLY workers used Paul’s simple criteria in making gray area decisions!
Ladies, your authority is Christ and Him alone – No mediator but Christ:
Paul wrote: For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5). Workers are not your mediator—not your authority.
These 4 verses indicate you are free to choose – it’s your perfect right:
1) All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient (1 Cor 10:23)
2) Why is my liberty/freedom judged by another man’s conscience? (1 Cor 10:29)
2) Who are you to judge…Unto his master he stands or falls (Rom 14:4)
History shows that countless authoritarian governments have collapsed when the ordinary people simply refused to comply any longer. Perhaps the 2×2 women could take a lesson from that.
IMAGINE ONE PARTICULAR SUNDAY…
When the women took a stand and refused to have men’s traditions forced upon them. When professing women worldwide appeared and participated wearing short hair, makeup, jewelry and slacks. Just imagine!! What do you think would happen?
When they lived solely being led by the Holy Spirit and their convictions?
Ladies: Take a stand. Be “The Change.” Say:
Since there is no scripture, there is no good reason for me to abide by these rules for women. From now on, I intend to allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide how I dress and behave. I will no longer submit to men’s unbiblical traditions and rules.
Fast forward several years: Perhaps the workers might look back and say,
Our not allowing women liberty over their appearance was a mistake
—just like some have said about insisting on the Black Stockings.
Start a Pending File in your brain. Put what I have said in that Pending File. That is where you suspend judgment and remain open-minded on a matter while you wait for more research or more facts to surface before forming a rational conclusion.
I highly recommend reading this short 61 page book.
Women’s Adornment: What Does the Bible Really Say?
by Ralph Woodrow. Very detailed and informative!
6 Chapters, one each for: slacks, jewelry, cosmetics, head coverings, cutting hair, apparel.
Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4dLQhcN
Two of my favorite quotes:
There are two kinds of people:
One to whom belief is more precious than truth, and
the other to whom truth is more precious than belief.
There is a principle which is a bar
against all information;
which is proof against all arguments;
and which cannot fail to keep people
in everlasting ignorance.
That principle is Condemnation before Investigation. (Herbert Spencer)
Go to Part 1 Makeup and Jewelry
Go to Part 2 Women’s Apparel—including slacks and black stockings
RESOURCES
Rules for 2×2 Women
Traditions: The Unwritten Rules, Chapters 34-35 of my book:
Preserving the Truth (order book here:)Author website: http://cheriekroppehrig.com
History of 2×2 Traditions: The Unwritten Rules
The unabridged version is posted on TTT at:
https://tellingthetruth.info/history_articles/rules-history.php
(condensed version is in my book)
Book: Women’s Adornment: What Does the Bible Really Say?
By Ralph Woodrow. EXCELLENT! Very detailed and informative!
6 Chapters, one each for: slacks, jewelry, cosmetics, head coverings, cutting hair, apparel
Available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4dLQhcN
Cherie Kropp’s Life Story
https://ex2x2.info/2020/11/08/kropp-cherie-berry/
Women Professing Godliness: Does God REALLY Care about Women’s Appearances?
https://ex2x2.info/2020/11/11/women-professing-godliness/
Expressions by Ex-2x2s Website: https://Ex2x2.info
Search Ex2x2.info for “Black Stockings” – read 3 memoirs
Black Stockings by Dot Berry
https://ex2x2.info/2020/11/11/black-stockings-by-dot-berry/
“On Holy Ground” by Dot Berry (life on Jackson, Mississippi Convention grounds)
https://ex2x2.info/2020/11/06/berry-dot/
Modern Millinery Etiquette (Delightful article!)
https://lady.co.uk/modern-millinery-etiquette
8 Rules of Interpretation
https://www.gcfchurch.net/resources/eight-rules-of-interpretation
Questions about Questioning:
Questioning: Is It Wrong to Question?
https://ex2x2.info/2020/11/12/is-it-wrong-to-question/
Questioning: Why You SHOULD Ask Questions
https://ex2x2.info/2020/11/12/why-you-should-ask-questions/
Before You Ask (how to recognize and confront fallacious reasoning)
https://ex2x2.info/before-you-ask/
Part 3-6-17-26.docx