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suits
mmijares:
Appropriateness is the key. It is not about feeling righteous because you dressed yourself with suits, etc. It is what is appropriate.
In Babylonian church we used to dress our Saturday's or Sunday's best because it was appropriate and not because we felt more righteous or holy. Did you? Even Christ in one His parables talked about wearing appropriate dress.
In JW and in WCG, they wear suits because for them it is the appropriate dress. Me, when I was in Pentecostal, I wore at least a formal dress because it was appropriate.
Now that we are out of this Babylonian Church's "standard", we should be careful not to judge others on what they think is right in their own church. Hey, we were there before!
Shawn Fainn:
I'll stick with my 'holy' jeans
Samson:
--- Quote from: santikos on November 05, 2010, 08:25:11 AM ---"Contrary to popular opinion, medieval Christians had no common practice of dressing up for church because nice clothes were only afforded by the wealthy. Prior to the industrial revolution, society was polarized into the “haves” (the landed aristocracy) and the “have-nots” (plebes, serfs, peasants), with a minimal merchant class in between. Fine clothing was hand-made and far too expensive for common folk who maintained their living through subsistence farming.[1] Common folks had only one or two sets of clothes, made of coarse, drab fabric. One set of clothes was for working in the field, thus getting dirty and tattered; the other was for going into town, and therefore was kept cleaner to avoid public revulsion.[2] In other words, “dressing up” for anything was never an option for anyone but the wealthiest nobility. In fact, social codes enforced by fines mandated that this class distinction be honored by individuals of every rank.[3] Distinctions of dress have functioned to maintain social hierarchy since the beginning of civilization.
Hi Forum,
Firstly, I just wanted to say that I really appreciated the above Post of Santikos, it really drives home an important point, that many of these things are influenced by the Culture and the particular time in History and location as to a "dress code." In regards to the wearing of Suits, I have allot of experience in this area, mostly the "Religious" influence from My 20 years of being a JW. If directly presented with the Question of Whether or Not a member has to wear a Suit, they will say that You don't have to, because they know that they can't prove it with the Bible. It's a uniformity type thing with Them and another means of subtle control. This is often the case with Extremely Legalistic Denominations. Besides having Laws or Rules that could lead to Expulsion(Fornication, Adultery, accepting Blood transfusions, Interpreting anything different than Them, working in a factory that produces a component that will eventually be used in a weapon, being a Police Officer, Admittedly Celebrating any of the Worldly Holidays to any degree, joining a Political Party, occasionally purchasing a lottery ticket(considered a greedy person) and list continues; etc.
I remember going to Conventions in Philadelphia at Veterans Stadium wearing My nice dress slacks, shoes, nice shirt and Tie, then proceeding to take my Tie off(The Temperature was 95 and Humid) and told by certain ones that I should keep my Tie on. It didn't matter that I was nicely dressed, but I should wear my Tie. This experience was mentioned to illustrate that there are many Unofficial "Rules," that although don't warrant expulsion, certain ones, sometimes including the Elders will Nag and counsel You for these Unofficial Rules which include: No Beards, too much makeup and/or Jewelry, missing Meetings(even though you NEED to work extra hours for Family needs, joining a play or Sports team(if in High School), Choice of Movies, Television, Computer games, viewing Bible Sites like this one( ;D), Dating without a Chap perone(Adults will usually try to hide this from everyone and sneak their Dating until close to Marriage), etc, etc; ::).
Spiritually speaking( the person of the Heart), Galatians. 5:22,23; could be Filthy and Carnal, with no Love, Mercy or Justice, but as long as an appearance of Righteousness is presented, you are accepted and in good standing. Reminds me of some of the Scriptures mentioned at Matthew Chapter 23. Admittedly, some of the dress requirements are related to presenting a Sales or Business image in the House to House Ministry, also so as to not stumble any Householder by Your appearance when presenting the message. Now, I'm not advocating that anyone dresses like a slob, but what's wrong with dressing with clean pants, a clean buttoned shirt with clean Non-Sneaker shoes, but excluding wearing a Tie and Dress Jacket. Not all Sales and Business Men do these days in all areas, although some do. Now, do you see the Legalism(It has to be Either one way(their way) or no way), but if I go to the Local Buffet and have five full plates of food, that's okay. That's the basic mindset with these types of Religions. We(The Legalistic Denomination) will ignore or look the other way regarding certain Sins, but chastise You for the Sins that We feel are important.
Kind Regards, Samson.
--- End quote ---
markn902:
very well put samson :) also a good point was given by mmijares not to judge the way a person is dressed good or bad (perspectively) or worse yet judging why they are dressed that way. Our brothers and sisters in Babylon are deceived and blind (for now) but so were we. a nice point indeed kudos to both of you ;)
daywalker:
--- Quote from: markn902 on November 05, 2010, 12:10:59 AM ---I would like to point out that John the Baptist was not what one would call well dressed :D
--- End quote ---
Lol... apparently there are many churches that would've cast him out onto his buttocks...
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