I generally avoid the subject of Oneness vs. The Trinity because it didn’t have a bearing on why I left, which is what this Web site is about. That’s not to say I’ll never do an article on the subject, but debates about it tend to attract the type of people who like to do nothing but argue in circles. With that said, I couldn’t agree more with your statement. I thought you were right on.

In Christ,
Josh S.

Somehow, I believe when we come face to face with Jesus He will not be condemning us either way…unless….we somehow idolize our jewelry. But we can idolize anything. And sometimes not realize it. I was on a Christian cruise last summer and met some terrific people. A gentleman sitting at our dinner table shared something with us that I will never forget. He was talking about his son-in-law being minister of music at a church and how in love he (the gentleman) became with the music ministry. Sounds great, doesn’t it? He said he then realized that he was going to church looking so forward to the music that he felt convicted that he was beginning to worship the worship music instead of God! Wow! He said he repented and now he feels much better about his approach to worship music. But that made me wonder, how many of us do things like that? We don’t realize that we do. ANYTHING can be made “wrong” when our hearts are not right, or when we lose focus, or when we concentrate so much on those things we see (physical appearances) and things we cannot see (hearts).

I wish our lives and the world in which we live was so good that all we had to concentrate on from a biblical/world view was something so unimportant as wearing jewelry or not. People, there are so many more important things than this!

Josh, I know you do not want to discuss/debate the whole oneness/trinity thing so you may delete this entire paragraph. But frankly, it sickens me to read and hear all the debates and the animosity they (the debates) create about Matthew 28:19. Everyone argues over the literal meaning of…baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…..when seemingly completely ignoring what I think is the most important part of the verse: …Go and make disciples of all the nations…. Hmmm….we are instructed by Christ to deliver the Gospel to all parts and nations of the world and we don’t. We stay here, in our local churches, go to our scheduled services at a building and fight over who is right and who is wrong. Over things ranging from wearing jewelry, make-up, pants to what is actually said when one publicly professes his/her faith and symbolically dies and is resurrected with Christ. Hmmmm…..wonder how He feels about that.

Good thing He sees beyond what we wear and sees our hearts and forgives us so often and so much and so repeatedly…..

ANTI JEWELRY FOLKS, you made yourselves legalistics like the pharisees. Jewelry is in itself innocent. You condemn people TO BE SINNING WHEN THEY WEAR IT.
MY WHOLE POINT IS THIS THAT WE ARE COMPLETE IN CHRIST. WE DON’T NEED JEWELRY TO PREACH THE GOSPEL, WE DON’T NEED JEWELRY TO LOOK GOOD, WE DON’T NEED JEWELRY TO BE HAPPY, WE DON’T NEED JEWELRY TO LET PEOPLE SEE OUR RICHES.
WE ARE COMPLETE IN CHRIST. CHRIST IS OUR JOY,HAPPINESS,CONTENTMENT AND SATISFACTION. THAT IS WHY APOSTLE PAUL SAID IN COLOSSIANS 3 THAT IF YE THEN BE RISEN WITH CHRIST SEEK THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE ABOVE AND IN VERSE 2,SET YOUR AFFECTIONS ON THINGS ABOVE NOT ON THE THINGS ON EARTH.
BRETHREN THESE THINGS ARE GOING TO PERISH SO WHY CARE WEARING IT AND DEFENDING IT AS THOUGH YOUR LIFE DEPEND ON IT.

COLOSSIANS 3:10 PUT ON THE NEW MAN,WHICH IS RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE AFTER THE IMAGE OF HIM THAT CREATED HIM.

I appreciate the comments. It’s worth noting that the church in Corinth was composed of both Jews and Gentiles, and that the customs regarding hair coverings in worship were mixed. With some pagan religions the men wore them, with others the women wore them. Sometimes they weren’t worn at all, sometimes they were always worn. There’s also some debate over how the Jews of that era regarding head coverings. I’ve read some commentaries that say Jewish men always wore head coverings in worship and others saying that the custom hadn’t been fully established yet.

Corinth was a port city that attracted a tremendous range of cultures, religions, and gods. Because of that it’s not surprising that there was a division over head coverings. Paul’s commands to them were not based in any particular cultural view, though. He was not defending the culture of the Jews or of the Gentiles. The commands that he gave were not based in the Old Testament law either. Instead, he was laying down a new custom, one that he says all of the churches adhered to. It’s also important to note that he was not saying to not argue over things that have always been, because things had not always been that way. He was telling them that the custom he was instructing them in was taught by all of the early churches, and that they should not be contentious about it.

My complete opinion on the subject, flawed or accurate, can be found here: http://www.whyileft.org/what-does-the-bible-say-about/what-does-the-bible-say-about-hair/

In Christ,
- Josh S.