Why Are Fundamentalist Obsessed By Appearance?

This church has a membership of about 2700 right now. It's the largest one I've ever gone to, but it's great. There was a group of young people this morning who came and did a little drama thing (about being too busy to really know God), and music with the sign language movements. They were all in jeans and Christian t-shirts. Just the peaceful look on their faces and the smiles they had brought tears to my eyes. If they had been at that IFB church, they probably would've been asked to not go up front, or else, talked about after they left, because of how they were dressed.
I wore a dress today - but not because I HAD to, because I wanted to. Tonight, I'll probably wear my bell-bottomed jeans and brown boots, and nobody there will even take a second look, or care. And, on top of this, the preacher is just about the best I've ever heard and is full of the Spirit. Sort of reminds us of 'John crying in the wilderness'.

 

My hubby wore dress slacks and dress shirt - no tie. Probably will wear jeans tonight. Dr. Bob, no bow tie? Are you serious? LOL!

 

It was storming today and my current S/S class is held in a plantation home on the church property. Since I'm the class secty, I have to go and pick up my paperwork before going to S/S. THEN I park my Vue in a dirt parking lot and walk a little ways to that house then move my car over to the church parking lot and walk a distance inside there. No sense in dressing up today! Plus, many, many Sunday's I'm called out of service to help in Children's church.

Dr. Bob, we have a young banker who wears bowties. He finds some really colorful ones too.

Our pastor took off his tie today and gave it to the mentally retarded brothers who are church members. Billy and Ray are mid 50's and always tell Bro. Alan how they like his ties. Today was his last service with us and he told them how much he loved them during his sermon and told them he was going to give them his tie to remember him by. The older brother cried... Now I'm crying again. I sure am going to miss them.

Diane

 

Dr. Bob,
You do know that if you were right with God you would be in a black wheelchair!!!
Is your foot healing well?
Take care, Swordsman

 

Um, excuse me, but I hope you are aware that the purpose of the cape on the cape dress required by all the Amish and other conservative Anabaptists, is specifically to hide the chest.

And you can really find jeans brand-new at the Dollar Store (hence, I assume for $1)? Do they have men's jeans?

 

Sir, the ladies I knew quite well in Cleveland, Ga. wore dresses that fit very tightly at the waist and their chests and hips were most noticeable. The cape was over one shoulder but folded back over the other.

The dresses were bright colors with tiny floral print and the ladies wore dark socks or some type full leg covering. However, their chests and hips were well defined in their fitted dresses. These ladies drove mini-vans and their children were in 'A New Beginning' Christian Pre-school with our youngest. Several owned businesses including a wonderful bakery and a furniture/ toy store. The wagon I bought from there actually says Amish made.

Diane

 

Dollar General has good quality jeans for children, men and women for $8.00. I have some that have lasted many years. They also have docker looking pants for $8.00 for children. I buy them in tan and navy for Nick to wear to church. With a nice shirt, he looks as good as the children who have on very expensive clothing.

Diane

 

You may be aware that many conservative denominations do or did oppose neckties as worthless ornamentation on biblical principles. They call them "cloth jewelry" and consider them symbols of worldliness.

Skirts below the knees? How far below the knees? If you can see much of a woman's leg below the knee when she sits and crosses her legs, I know many who would severely question the modesty of her skirt. And it's a sad fact that today, when only the most loose-fitting of pants are modest on women, almost all pants are more modest than most skirts.

Why dress slacks and dress shirts? I generally do wear those for church, but what on earth is wrong with wearing flannel shirts and jeans? Flannel shirts are more modest than dress shirts, because of the heavier material, and more durable and less expensive (thus better stewardship) and the jeans are just as modest as dress slacks if they are of proper relaxed fit.

Long shorts are still shorts and by definition immodest, and as for culottes....

I also am concerned by another statement you made. Are you saying that you would not want to see (an unsaved) man in your church wearing a (clean, neat, perfectly modest) flannel shirt and (crisp, creased, modestly fitting pair of) jeans, nice leather vest, and (what you consider to be) long hair (that in another time and place might have been considered unusuially short), where he might hear the gospel and be saved? I can see a man in his situation, were any such feelings about the way he was dressed expressed or made clear to him, how he might leave that church and never darken its doorstep again, and walk away with a not-very-good-feeling about Christians. I know a Christian lady who visited a church wearing one of her best dresses, where she was stared at by various people during the service; she never returned to that church, and also refused to visit any church in its denomination ever again. The problem? The church didn't approve of the color of her dress.

If I have misunderstood anything you have said, please forgive me, and clarify what I've misread for me. Thank you.

 

Whew, well at least you've shown they weren't Amish, since the Amish don't permit patterned fabrics at all. But if they were Conservative Mennonites, I'm still startled, because I've never heard of capes on cape dresses that didn't cover the whole chest in front.

Anyway, it sounds as if I'd agree with you that in this particular instance here is a group whose dress standards don't meet the modesty level of the katastoles the NT requires women to wear.

Sir Tauf

 

For those that weren't aware, there are different flavors of Mennonites, just as there are different flavors of Baptists.

WyGal said: "In my opinion (probably not other people's opinion), but I think that people who are so obsessed with how they dress, and how other people SHOULD dress, are more concerned with what men think of them, and not with God."

I'm saddened that you think so little of people. Romans 14 explains this situation very clearly:

13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.
14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

And then tops it off with Romans 15:1-2 --

We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.

It is NOT that we think so much of people's opinions of us; it's that we should all be striving to ensure that we put our own wants and desires to the side, and concentrating on building up and being a blessing to others.

In other words, don't worry about what others think of you, but make sure "I" isn't your motivation, either.

 

I will put the same reply as in the other one in this forum,

For all the churches who have more respect to those who dress according to there standards, ie; women in dresses/ men in pants, and how you treat those who come in to your church, and you have more respect to those who dress as you do, you are SINNING, James ch 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
Keep your eyes on things in heaven, not on the things of the earth.

 

Agreed.

 

From a former Independent fundamentalist
and I'm gratefull to say a former in my opinion the IFB that I have been involved with are a member of are just terriblr allmost cult-ish so much of there doctrinal stance is not biblical but rather man made. No wonder there are support groups popping up for former IFB members I dont believe that most former preachers that the IFB call there own would agree with alot thats going on except of course one of there heroes
jack Hyles an adulteres easy believeism preacher, but hey he was a KJO thats the most important thing and of course he wore a suit and tie thats very important up there with some of the things that are Lord and Savior taught.

 

I am reading this forum for 10 minutes and I have already found 50+ posts that are trying to make fun about dress codes. There are some regulations NEEDED(yes I used caps lock on purpose), I am not saying what exact regulations, but you should for sure take into account these verses for example:
Matthew 5:27-30

If you are a women and you wear immodest clothing you are the reason men are tempted to sin. What is wrong in regulations that make women dress in a manner they will not attract the opposite sex by their body? Well I dont know but some of you guys probably is far more intelligent then I am because you know the answer, since you are laughing about the "dress code". If a women is wearing tight pants, it will make men sin more often then they would if women would dress more modestly. Now do you understand that wearing pants is not a good idea? Read what I wrote as many times as you need but you will understand it after some time because it is logical in 100% percent. Why? Because dressing in a modest way has a Godly purpose.

There might be some elements of the "dress code" that are for no evident purpose, and I would say - it is not right BUT the idea of a dress code is very appealing to me (too bad my church is more "liberal" as some people say).
God Bless!