5:56 PM Is Nudity Modest |
The dress question has probably been the most sensitive area in which to draw lines based upon biblical principle. Disagreement over definition of terms has frightened many ministers away from the subject. What is modesty and immodesty? Other concerned church spokesmen have been troubled by the angry charge of liberals that dress critics themselves are obsessed with evil minds.
Some have even made a gross misapplication of righteousness by faith and have taken the position that any discussion of external conduct constitutes a legalistic denial of Christ’s imputed righteousness.
Does this subject merit a few specific observations? Has it been overemphasised? How many books have rolled from our church presses on the subject? No one can say that it has suffered from overexposure. Hardly a tract or leaflet has expounded on the matter, and few of our books give it any appreciable recognition as a spiritual problem.
But is it spiritual problem? Listen to this statement from Testimonies, Vol. 4, p. 647: "Fashion is deteriorating the intellect and eating out the spirituality of our people.Obedience to fashion is pervading our Seventh-day Adventist churches, and is doing more than any other power to separate our people from God.” If this could be said of the dress problem over a hundred years ago, what could be said about it in these days of unisex, the bikini, and toplessness?
Although the miniskirt comes and goes on the fashion scene, there will always be an element of nudity in prevailing styles that needs to be recognised as immodest and unchristian. Lest some should quibble over that word "modesty” let us not try to define it precisely here. But there can be no debate over the fact that anything which hurts a fellow Christian is wrong. And certainly any kind of dress which causes our fellowman to commit sin must be classified as wrong.
Then let us be honest enough to admit that the exposed human body is quite capable of stirring up sin in both thought and action. Too many have acted very na
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