Over the past several years, a number of Christians have taken to wearing attire which sets them apart from the rest of Western society.
Most of these rules concern women’s clothes, jewellery and hair. They generally pertain to members of Holiness and Pentecostal churches — pietist denominations.
However, pietist women did not always dress in a way which resembles a badly-styled Little House on the Prairie.
In fact, they dressed quite conventionally and were indistinguishable from other women. A case in point is a portrait of the Lundquist family (p.3 in the PDF). They are members of the Baptist General Conference, a pietist denomination comprised mainly of Americans whose ancestors emigrated from Sweden in the 19th century. Dr Lundquist, incidentally, is a former president of Bethel College and Seminary.
This photo most likely dates from the late 1960s. Note that the women’s hemlines are at the knee and that sleeves are short or nonexistent (the youngest daughter excepted). Their hair is also short. The women look stylish yet modest. They are presentable and fit in with the fashion norms of the time.
So, how is it that today’s Christian pietist female population in America has to look frumpy or homesteader-like? How many converts are they bringing to the faith?
Or is it that they — or church leaders — believe that they must be visibly set apart from other women and attract unnecessary attention?
As such, would that not be verging on a sin of pride?
Dressing modestly in a classic style to fit in with the rest of the population would win far more souls for Christ, it would seem. Worth considering, isn’t it?
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January 20, 2012 at 11:09 pm
vtheservant
Pretty good, friend. I agree with you that they’ve exaggerated in their efforts to be ” set apart.” I agree that immodesty is a huge problem in today’s fashion: cleavage, tight fitting clothes that leave nothing to the imagination, etc. but to dress like a nun? Christiany has to seem accessible, attainable, do-able in order for it to be effective. Great blog. Check me out sometime. God bless
January 20, 2012 at 11:36 pm
churchmouse
Thank you, V, for the affirmation! Sometimes, I think I’m all alone on this subject, so it was good hearing from you.
Have read your first post and am including the link here, too, along with a brief excerpt, as it’s highly pertinent. You are so right:
http://vtheservant.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/inadequate-love/
Yes, indeed — thank you, once again. In my grandparents’ time the saying was ‘Kissin’ don’t last, cookin’ do’.
January 21, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Clothes: Are we attracting or repelling … « lurking chihuahua
[...] Clothes: Are we attracting or repelling potential converts? « Churchmouse Campanologist | Makes some good points about the importance of how we dress and present ourselves. This applies not only to the religious realm but to any situation. A case in point being: if you enter a redneck biker bar dressed in your preppy best, don’t be surprised if you attract some unwanted attention. And of course I could cite myriad examples. But the point is that one should be mindful of how they present themselves to others and how the effect of their actions and appearance on those around them. Advertisement GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Origin", "other"); GA_googleAddAttr("LangId", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Tag", "clothes"); GA_googleAddAttr("Tag", "miscellania"); GA_googleAddAttr("Tag", "people"); GA_googleAddAttr("Tag", "psychology"); GA_googleFillSlot("wpcom_sharethrough"); [...]
January 21, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Clothes: Are we attracting or repelling … « lurking chihuahua
[...] Clothes: Are we attracting or repelling potential converts? « Churchmouse Campanologist | Makes some good points about the importance of how we dress and present ourselves. This applies not only to the religious realm but to any situation. A case in point being: if you enter a redneck biker bar dressed in your preppy best, don’t be surprised if you attract some unwanted attention. And of course I could cite myriad examples. But the point is that one should be mindful of how they present themselves to others and the effect of their actions and appearance on those around them. 39.320208 -77.200228 Advertisement GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Origin", "other"); GA_googleAddAttr("LangId", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Autotag", "religion"); GA_googleAddAttr("Autotag", "science"); GA_googleAddAttr("Tag", "clothes"); GA_googleAddAttr("Tag", "miscellania"); GA_googleAddAttr("Tag", "people"); GA_googleAddAttr("Tag", "psychology"); GA_googleFillSlot("wpcom_sharethrough"); [...]