Or rather is it at all? Sorry for the lack of effort-posting but we are in the middle of a heatwave right now. Yesterday my resolve broke down and I switched airco on for several hours, which cost me 4extra kwh. I'm still holding out as of now but probably, not for a long time:) And my husband is working shorter hours this week. Still, here it comes: hot weather always brings with it the issue of modesty, so I'm going to write a couple of thoughts on the matter. Please don't throw stones as I feel like I'm melting right now - it's close to +30*C in my bedroom where I'm typing this.
Why is modesty important? Or is it really? Many Christian (and all Islamic) authors approach this topic from the angle of immodest women provoking male passions. To this feminists scornfully reply that it's up to men to control themselves and how it only proves that men are pigs. Since most Western women, even Christians, are feminists at least to a degree they support this position and act accordingly.
Another argument is much less known, but I saw it put forward by some fundie Christians and others: immodesty hurts women first of all. Apparently, they believe and teach that when a woman wear pants and/or short/tight skirts and dresses instead of long flowing garments it can affect her fertility to the point of making her infertile and/or cause specific female problems. Those who are into energy healing and this kind of stuff may add that wearing long flowing skirts and dresses allow the woman to draw the energy of Earth or something to the point. Those who are more scientifically minded speak about hormone disbalance.
There is also a more sophisticated version of this argument. It goes like this: men and women exchange s8xual energy which ideally, should happen withing marriage where both get something out of the arrangement. When a woman goes around scantily dressed, she allows strange men to use this energy without giving anything back, while other women will get envious and take some of it, too. As a result, her female energy is depleted which leads to health and other problems. I know it sound heathenish but bear with me:)
Thus we have 2 arguments representing the dangers of immodesty from a male and a female point of view, but what if there is more to this issue? And here I'm going to write about a theory of mine. Please keep in mind it's just that, a theory.
What if the society as a whole is affected by female immodesty? You see, there is this Nephilim story from both the OT and the Apocripha about fallen angels lusting after mortal women and taking them as wives, which presumably, was one of the causes of the Flood? We then have the text from the Corinthians telling women to cover themselves (their head/hair) "because of the Angels". While it's commonly understood that if such unnatural unions ever took place, it's impossible now, the last text at least hints that female beauty somehow has a certain type of influence.
So it could very well be that half-dressed and sometimes nearly naked females which we all daily encounter basically everywhere, draw the certain kind of supernatural beings to them which then produce a nefarious influence on the world around them. And if we look around, there appears at least some truth to the statement. So here is food for thought: cover yourself going outside because you never know who may be looking.
I believe immodesty is a very great sin. Not because of men lusting - they lust anyway, think about victorian men and ankles- but because of vanity. Pride/vanity is deadly sin, and a woman who wants to flaunt her flesh is nothing but.
ReplyDeleteIt tells us sad story how deeply women dwell in this particular sin, when they fight modesty so bad. Remember, when feminists used to burn their bras and let their bodily hair grow and such? Now many of them go on and about looking like prostitutes, because "it is is self-expression" or something. They hate men, and jet they want those baaad male gazes so bad. It is double bonus for them, first they get the gaze and then they can whine that "this guy LOOKED at me!?!! Me victim!"
TLDNR: Immodesty is sinful, because it is done out of vanity. Vanity is sinful.
I also want to point out that vanity on many women is so great, they even want to compromise their own comfort. For example, in hot weather, loose, long and flowing clothing is MUCH cooler than skimpy little shorts and top. Also it protects your skin, so there is no need to poison yourself and seas with UV-filters (if one believes sun is harmful, I really don't, not in reasonable amounts on latitudes one is accustomed to.)
ReplyDeleteAnd in wintertime, they wear skinny jeans, which are as cold as it gets. Warm skirt is much warmer.
And when it comes to nephilim and other supernatural forces -well, all civilized cultures have favoured rather loose and covering clothes, often also headcovering -or option to cover your head with shawl or something, if need arouses. You can google ANY country or literate culture and "traditional clothes" and what you see is a well-covered body, even in very hot and humid climates.
ReplyDeleteAll married european women used to cover their heads for at least 1000 years, we stopped it at 1970's. Of course it often was very symbolic, coquette little hat, but still.
What I am trying to say it even pagans can apparently feel there is something going on, hence they started to cover their bodies more, when their cultures developed.
Maybe modern women are so crazy, because they are constantly under some sort of attack, due to their immodesty?
I actually started with a comment stating that modesty is important, because immodesty is vanity, and vanity is deadly sin, but that comment vanished.
ReplyDeleteBlanka, I'm sorry about your comment, it's Google doing it not me:)
ReplyDeleteI've seen women hiking/doing sports in very short shorts, I mean it can be quite dangerous if you fall, at least wear long pants which will protect your skin. I remember falling off a skateboard years ago, when I was about 12, my legs were OK cause they had been covered by pants, but my bare shoulder was a mess. I still carry a scar...
ReplyDeleteYes, even heathen women universally covered themselves. In fact, being naked/undressed was a sign of humiliation, something done to slaves in ancient world. It is/was also considered an insult to a free woman when a man not her husband uncovered his nakedness in front of her. And yet, I've seen it in a daytime talk show on Dutch TV! And, of course, Game of Thrones comes to mind which so many Christians love.
ReplyDelete