Sermon of retired pastor of Pentecostal

A YouTuber criticized a sermon given by Stephen Buxton, a retired pastor from Hilltop Tabernacle, a Pentecostal church in San Diego. (Photo by Sergey Zolkin from Unsplash)

A sermon given by Stephen Buxton, a retired pastor from Hilltop Tabernacle, which is a Pentecostal church located in San Diego, sparked criticism from a popular YouTuber, Mike Winger.

The focus of Winger’s discussion has been Buxton's opinion on facial hair.

“We Don’t Need Beards”

In a report by Church Leaders, it was stated that Buxton gave a sermon at the First Pentecostal Church of Arkansas, which was recorded and shared on Facebook by Berean Holiness.

The video was then shared on various platforms.

During the sermon, Buxton expressed his opinion on facial hair, stating that it is not apostolic and a form of compromise.

He also mentioned that even if a person's leader allows them to wear a beard, it is still a sign of pride.

According to Buxton, people should focus on seeking more of the Holy Ghost and emulating King Joash from the Old Testament, who restored the temple in Jerusalem.

That said, he called for more people to pray and seek God rather than worry about facial hair.

Confusing Logic

Winger responded to Buxton's sermon and expressed concern about his statement that facial hair is a sign of pride.

Winger said that this kind of reasoning could lead to strange rules in Christianity and advised caution when listening to Buxton's ideas.

Winger also pointed out that many men in the Bible had beards, including Jesus himself.

It added that shaving or plucking out portions of a person's beard was a tactic used by conquerors and oppressors to shame their victims, as described in 2 Samuel 10:4-5.

According to a commentary on 2 Samuel, the Israelites took great care to preserve their beards and did not shave them because if they did, they would look ridiculous with only half a beard.

Shaving a man's beard, either partially or completely, was considered a severe punishment and a great insult.

For instance, the Lacedemonians used to shame soldiers who fled from battle by shaving off part of their beards and leaving the other part to grow long.

Similarly, the king of the Indians would order the worst offenders to be shaved as the most severe punishment he could inflict on them, according to an ancient writer cited by Bishop Patrick.

The same commentator quotes a similar situation to the one described here by Tavernier.

He recounted in his travels in India that the Sophi of Persia ordered the beard of an ambassador of Aurengzeb to be shaved off, claiming that he was not deserving to have a beard.

This insult, which was directed towards the ambassador, was greatly condemned by Aurangzeb, just as David was offended by the insult made to him.

That said, Winger, referring to Buxton's statement, expressed confusion over the pastor's reasoning.

Winger emphasized how absurd the pastor's argument was, stating that it did not make any sense that having a beard and not shaving it would make someone arrogant.

Having said that, he suggested that Buxton might have a personal issue with not having a beard, which was leading him to project his pride onto others.