What should Christians do to be “salt and light” in this area?

I think that Christians need to seperate themselves from the world. Sadly, many girls’ attitudes have become, “I should not have to change the way I dress because the GUY has a problem [with lust].” Meaning, they are not willing to change because they think that the problem is with the guy. This directly contradicts Paul the Apostle, who, in regards to eating, said, “It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.” Romans 14:21

I think that all Christians, male and female, need to break away from the culture in regards to dress and should, in all things, be modest. This includes men as much as women. I am a bit nervous when I see Christian guys, for whatever reason, wearing tight, pink shirts. (Usually, I would imagine, trying to be funny–though it’s becoming a fad.) The early church has very interesting thoughts on the subject, though sadly I do not have the quote in front of me.

God bless bro!

Marshall

Women don’t normally dress for men. Women dress for other women. They feel a need to prove their worth, and since we have been taught that beauty and fame and fortune are valuable, we try to prove ourselves in those areas.

Most women who dress immodestly have a false idea of value and worth. Their hearts and minds are not set on things above but are set on things of the world. Until their hearts and minds change, their clothes will stay the same or get worse. They aren’t taught to serve others in love and humility. They aren’t taught to store up treasures in heaven. They’re taught that worldly success is the only success. Since most of them don’t think they have a chance at fame or fortune, they strive for beauty. It is a very futile effort and only serves to make them feel worse about themselves, but it’s the only way their shown by most of the world.

Christians need to counteract that by teaching them to value the things that God values: honesty, integrity, humility, submission, service, love, compassion, kindness, gentleness, etc.

Let me know!

I think there may be some truth to this, but my initial reaction is to say “no.” As a girl, I actually feel most feminine when I do dress modestly, and when I dress less modestly, I feel uncomfortable, on display, and “dirty.”

2) Would you agree that classical femininity is dead today? What is the most powerful evidence of this you have witnessed?

For the most part, yes. There really is no one thing that shows this, but rather a number of things. One is that men are no longer trained or expected to open doors for women. Another, that many women are just as crude and vulgar as some men. And the list goes on.

3) Do you think things are going to get worse or better in regards to women’s dress?

I think things will be worse for a little while, but that they will gradually get better. I was pleased to notice that long skirts came back into style this summer and last winter I read an article that said that women’s jeans are gradually moving away from the low-cut fad.

4) What should Christians do to be “salt and light” in this area?

One of the most obvious actions, of course, is for Christian women to dress modestly.
I agree with Mary when she says that “most women who dress immodestly have a false idea of value and worth.” One step that women can take to be ” “salt and light” in this area” is to reach out to those girls who dress immodestly and let them know their worth in God’s eyes.

First of all in Alex’s last couple of posts he has been talking about how media is pushing the trends. This is a major factor in the way girls dress. Media is telling you what clothes are “cool” to wear and what clothes are “uncool” to wear. Fore example Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle and Arapostle are just a few of the many trendy places to shop. Since these are the places to shop, these are the places that dictate what people are going to buy. Today in science class we were talking about Abercrombie and Fitch and one girl said “I bet if A&F told teens to stop breathing there would be lots of dead kids in the next couple of days.” These popular clothes stores are telling kids to wear short, tight skirts and blouses. The sad part is, is that kids do exactly what these shops are telling them to do. Now since shopping is more of a “sport” for most girls, they want to win which means buying cute clothes and showing up other girls in what they wear. There are countless girls in my school that take this challenge. Its sad that I go to a Christian school where no one cares about what they wear as long as they look fashionable. Girls really do care more about what girls think of them rahter than guys, because they want to be popular and be excepted by the popular girls for their dress instead of who they really are. I know, I have tried to dress to impress popular girls to fit into the crowd. Through the past couple of years I have come to realize that I shouldn’t be trying to impress other girls or guys, but try to impress the Lord with modest dress that will be pleasing to Him and that won’t make my guy friends stumble.

As for the 3rd question…
Surprisingly I think it is getting better. The clothes stores are deffinatley not encouraging it, but rather the schools. Maybe its just Colorado Springs, but all of our major public school systems have been tighting up on the dress code. Even a couple of public schools have gone to uniforms! There are some schools that are stricter in dress code areas than our school is =(

This doesn’t solve the problem though. It does not change girls attitudes about how they dress. Girls can still dress poorly outside of school…and they do. Our local news interviewed girls from Doherty Highschool. Some of them were swearing about how they hated the new enforcment and how girls need an outlet to express themselves. Girls have to buy whole new wardrobes because they have nothing to meet the dress code. I think we as Christians need to set an example for our fellow peers. One obvious way is to dress modestly. Girls may say “we can’t because the clothes stores don’t make modest clothes that are cute.” Trust me, I know there are clothes that are modest…I have

Another thing we need to do is explain why modest, feminine clothing is actually better than the alternative. If we show the problems with immodesty, we also have to show the benefits of modesty. We have to fill the void of sin with the superiority of the promises of God.