Posted on 04/11/2004 9:02:32 AM PDT by Willie Green
Although famed musical composer Irving Berlin thought them lovely enough to write a sonnet, nowadays few women are donning Easter bonnets.
In fact, you're more apt to see wrinkled khakis and rumpled polo shirts than pressed suits and pastel pumps at church on Sunday.
While Easter Sunday has traditionally been the day to show off your new spring finery, America has become a nation that dresses down, and not just on "casual Fridays" in the office.
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
Of course, according to Esquire's Things a Man Should Know About Style...
"No level of fitness justifies wearing a tank top in public. No level of fitness - or, for that matter, drunkenness - justifies wearing a tank top at home."
Good words...
As if you're practicing what you preach.
The difference is that I expressed my general opinion of the slovenly behavior of a generation, allowing exception for individual circumstances.
You, OTOH, pass individual judgement as a personal attack.
Truly bad form, but typical of your character.
Which time?
Once, at least, Moses was doing exactly what God told him to do when he "struck the rock" (Exodus 17:1-7).
Nonsense. You think you can insult and namecall as long as you don't name anyone in particular and it's OK. You are incorrect. And I'm not the only who called you on it.
You, OTOH, pass individual judgement as a personal attack.
More nonsense. Anytime someone calls you on anything it's a personal attack as far as you are concerned.
Was it personal when you called three people aethists? And hypocrites? By name?
Truly bad form, but typical of your character.
That is a personal attack in case you didn't notice. Very Christian.
Go dress up for church, but remember, you are only fooling yourself.
Christians who judge others based on what they wear to church need to get their own hearts and attitudes right. They remind me of the Pharisees.
Just remember, he didn't insult you when he made the first post of the thread, it was nothing personal, so it's OK.
I should hope not. I'm pretty much the exact opposite of a baby-boomer-hippie-atheist. :-D
I am not saying there is anything wrong with showing up to church in your sunday best....but alot of people put way too much emphasis on how we look and dress at church.
I have been to one too many services where someone walks in with a wrinkled shirt and jeans on and is given judgemental stares by fellow Christians who seem more pre-occupied with how they or that man are dressed than what the pastor/priest is saying from the pulpit.
Once again, I like to dress nice when I attend church, but it is by no means the be all/end all of my day.
This whole idea of we always have to wear our best to church seems somewhat foolish to me. Does anyone here think the Apostles or Jesus for that matter wore fancy clothes to their services/meetings?
I do however understand what you mean by dressing appropriately to show respect to God, but I view it to be much more important to have a honest heart and soul than to be properly attired.
Which time?
Once, at least, Moses was doing exactly what God told him to do when he "struck the rock" (Exodus 17:1-7).
Uhhh, the time referred to in Numbers 20:11. Hello?
I completely agree. It is indeed unfortunate for you that you have not come to this truth.
Abusus usum non tollit. Abuse does not nullify proper use. Just because some people dress up with the wrong reasons does not mean that there are not good reasons to dress respectfully and reverently in God's presence. The church I go to does not require this . . . .
Is your church infallible? Is this question (whether one should dress respectfully and reverently in God's presence) determined by what your church requires?
My boss wears jeans to work regularly.
Is the question (how should we dress in God's presence) determined by how your boss dresses to work? Is that how we do theology??
I don't think less of him when he does since I have a personal relationship with him.
So, since you don't think any less of your boss when he wears jeans to work, therefore it follows that God does not think any less of you when you come into His presence looking shabby. That's a non sequitur. The way you think of your boss when he comes to work in jeans has absolutely nothing to do with how we ought to dress in God's presence.
Having the same relationship with Christ is far more important than what your neighbor thinks of you.
Do you really believe that your personal relationship with your boss is equivalent to your personal relationship with your Creator? Don't you think that His being the almighty transendant creator of all things and the judge of all men, ought to merit some significant *asymmetry* in the relationship? Like I said earlier, much of this problem with regard to way contemporary Christians treat God stems from bad theology, i.e. 'God is my buddy' theology.
I'm in God's presence many times when I'm not in church. Adam and Eve got into trouble with that first fig leaf.
Given the Church-lady righteousness of your tone--exactly what theology, scripture, or what dictates a certain dress code for church attendence? What I find in scripture refers sometimes to "washing one's face" or donning sackcloth and ashes, but nothing about ties and pantyhose.
While I miss the dressing up of years gone by, just as I miss old hymns and the King James Version--I sure don't think it approaches the importance of getting there in the first place. I'd rather have someone wake up, put on the jeans, and arrive to partake in communal worship than miss because he doesn't have the suit cleaned.
And I'll warn you that it's much easier to manage smaller children than teens in this regard--you may live to eat your smug words and self-congratulation.
I'm not afraid of discussing it right now. I'm willing right now to compare the best reasons in defense of your position against the best reasons in defense of my position. This is a *very* important issue. How we treat God is extremely important. There is nothing more important. This is why martyrs are rightly willing to die before they deny God or blaspheme God. It is no accident that you think that how one acts and dresses in God's presence does not matter. That's why you think this topic is "insignificant". Look at my biblical examples in #356 and you'll see that form in worship is not insignificant.
Of *course* I desire you to know the truth on this matter, and I believe I know the truth on this matter. So therefore it follows that I want you to accept my position on this matter. If you believed you knew the truth on this matter, wouldn't you want me to know it too? Or would you not care that I continued on in ignorance and deception? You're a good samritan, I assume.
Since you are interested in my motives, here they are. On account of my love for God, I desire that God be worshipped and honored rightly. Anyone who loves God shares this goal. Anyone who loves God is deeply pained when God is dishonored, disrespected, blasphemed, etc. Just as it pains you (and me) to see people burn our flag, it pains me much worse to see Christians dishonor God with their irreverent and disrespectful manner of dress and behavior in church. My secondary motive, as I described above, is simply that you know the truth.
Not "unable"... it's just pure misery. One counts the minutes til one can get out of the clothes and has a really hard time thinking about anything else.
The medical term is "tactile defensiveness" and it presents in relatively mild to severe forms. Some autistics are *genuinely* unable to wear starchy clothing, but a great many ordinary folks with ADD, ADHD, or mild Asperger tendencies, are *able* to wear those clothes --only at the cost of suffering that can't be imagined by other folks.
The fact that "normal" people definitely do not experience the same sensations we do, is clearly demonstrated by the very fact that they willingly, often enthusiastically, dress up in clothing that we cannot bear. It's inconceivable to me that there's an alternate explanation -- they simply CAN'T be feeling what we feel, or those clothes would become extinct in a day.
Totally apart from the ADD/ADHD/mild autism question, there's also the fact that our Anglo-American "formal" dress code evolved in Northern Europe and is totally inappropriate for the much hotter climates of the southern half of the United States -- especially for people genetically descended ethnic stocks who lived in cold climates for millenia.
Most people are not in your condition.
Are you so sure of this? Ever stopped to wonder *why* so many people, who are otherwise the picture of faith, morality and respectability, resist this clothing issue so furiously? I won't deny that *some* people who dress sloppy for church, are indeed the disrespectful types you mention, but I've heard a LOT of people -- very righteous, holy people -- express sentiments similar to mine over the years.
All I'm asking of you, is that you give folks the benefit of the doubt when you see them dressed cleanly, neatly, but casually. You don't know WHY they do it. Please, just CONSIDER the POSSIBILITY that "nice" clothes might be a lot more uncomfortable for them, than they are for you.
Or, a way of making them hate church because they itch so much.
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