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DEATH OF MODESTY

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DEATH OF MODESTY

5 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

A reprint from the Watchman-Examiner of New York, issue of December 22, 1955

Continued from July 15th issue

The most outstanding admission of the secular press which we have seen may be found on page 88 of the December 1954 Readers’ Digest. That page ought to be digested by every Christian. The article is by Lois Long in the New York Times Magazine. We quote: “After the terror of the French Revolution, all hell broke loose. Women cut their hair first, then took off most of their clothes. They tossed away their corsets, and to quote James Laver’s Taste and Fashion, “The disappearance of corsets is always accompanied by two related phenomena—promiscuity and inflated currency.”

And where is that thing called modesty today? It is almost a memory of yesterday. Modesty is no longer considered necessary to the protection of virtue. What place can it find in all the present freedom, in “sex-appeal,” and in the free mingling of the sexes in nearly all situations in life? Scanty clothing is considered a mere matter of choice. “Sex-appeal” is regarded legitimate for both non-Christian and Christian. A minimum of clothing is deemed sufficient for both sinner and saint, Near-nude “queens” are encouraged by half-nude church members.

FBI statistics for the United States state that in the first half of 1954, forty-eight rapes were reported to police every twenty-four hours. Is not half-clothed female society an encouragement to the licentious urge of the rapist, the subtle advances of the seducer, and sexual awareness in man in general?

Basic Bible teaching is found in the Genesis account of creation: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female created he them … And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew (were conscious of the fact) that they were naked … Unto Adam also, and to his wife, did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them.” It is true that we were created male and female, but God expects us, having become conscious of the fact to clothe our bodies and make our differences of body as inconspicuous as possible. If we want men to see the image of God in our faces, we shall have to keep our bodies clothed.

Time to Speak Out

Roman Catholicism has spoken on the subject through the American Quartely of Papal Documents, third quarter, 1954, p. 289ff. We quote: “The current mode of dress constitutes a serious offense against decency, and decency is the companion of modesty, in whose company chastity herself is safer.”

Greek Orthodoxy has spoken indirectly through its organized youth. The secular press states that an attempt was made to stage a popular bathing-beauty contest in Athens. Cries of “shame, shame” from the Orthodox youth actually caused the contest to be called off.

The feeble voice of Protestantism has scarcely been heard, but there are some exceptions THE WATCHMAN-EXAMINER has spoken emphatically on the immodesty of bathing-beauty contests. One Baptist State assembly has for years enforced these rules, printed this year as formerly under the heading of “Christian Conduct”: “Shorts are not to be worn at any time. Mixed bathing is positively prohibited. Everyone must wear a cape going to and from the pool.” But in most religious circles the issue is entirely untouched. Criticism of the existing order is not wanted, and the existing order is that of “the world.”

Let professing Christians drop the naive assumption that the bare human body no longer rouses a response in the bodies and minds of the opposite sex, or the equally naive assumption that if the body does rouse such response, it is a legitimate and harmless thing to do so.

Having admitted that here is an issue, each Christian can have a part in striving to rectify the wrong. Knowing that, if Christians, our bodies are temples of the Holy Ghost, we can keep from wantonly exposing our bodies to public view. Let us who have seen this insidious change take place help our youth in their organizations to formulate standards consistent with their Christian profession.

Is it not time that our pulpits broke the unholy silence which has allowed modern undress to be adopted by a large part of the constituency of our churches? Let us hear some sermons from that text in Revelation: “Blessed is he that keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”

Let the religious press give space to an effort to stem the tide now flowing against the restraint of proper dress standards.

Certainly, our preachers and religious journals can speak as emphatically as the Pope, and certainly our Protestant youth can have as emphatic an opinion as Greek Orthodox youth. The prohetic voice, whether from the pulpit, the press, or the pew, should have no uncertain sound.

The history of moral movements shows that public opinion, in its tolerance of evil, has swung like a pendulum, and that an awakened conscience in the church can start the swing toward the right in any issue. Let us no longer leave this issue untouched.

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Bekijk de hele uitgave van vrijdag 1 augustus 1958

The Banner of Truth | 8 Pagina's

DEATH OF MODESTY

Bekijk de hele uitgave van vrijdag 1 augustus 1958

The Banner of Truth | 8 Pagina's