Seriously, I don't think there is any justification for men who give in to sexual (or other) temptation. But there is enough scripture which promotes modesty in women's appearance to indicate that there is responsibility on the part of women as well.
as if the women of the world are single-mindedly going about the business of tempting men to fall into sexual sin.
It's difficult, however to frame a reasonable response in the middle of bible study or sermon or casual conversation. So here's mine, framed during a quiet space:
Why I object to someone's throwing in the first quote: It's the interjection of "but." It's the idea that a discussion of women's dress or appearance can't take place without that warning. It shows up again in statements like this one,
I'm talking about dressing without regard for how it affects others.
as if a woman needs reminding that our society (and others) spend a whole lot more energy on the outside of a woman than they do on the woman herself.
The constant warnings are like a constant parent message, like listening to your teenagers vent about school, and then ending the conversation with a stern warning about their behavior.
When parents do that, they send the message to their children that they weren't really listening, that they weren't in tune with the conversation, that, in the end, it doesn't really matter what the kids' day was like, how they felt, how they percieved events. All that matters, they tell their kids, is that the parent gets to hammer them on their behavior.
In this instance, I'm saying, why in the world would you think that I'm asking for the right (?) to dress provacatively? Why in the world would one assume that the run-of-the-mill woman is not aware of her 'responsibility' to dress appropriately?
To put it into very personal terms, think for a minute what it might be like to live in an environment that cannot have a conversation about women's appearance without the accompanying warnings about responsibility, pride, temtation, the overburdened 15-year-old boy, etc...
...as if women are not acutely aware for every second of their pre-teen to last gasp existence that they are not trusted in matters of their own appearance?
for lots of comments on the overall topic, click on the title.
2 comments:
Ok, Ann, here I go again; I don't think God created Eve to get man out of his supposed jam of guilt/nastiness. I always thought God created Eve because Adam was lonely in his human-ness, i.e. someone to talk to and help him move the dumb tree that just fell into his camp and all that innocent stuff. Sex was the bonus, if you have to include it at all. I know, i know, all the junk about go out and populate the world, but how does that turn into lewd behaviour or blame??
the title is a joke, like sarcasm with a bad pun. (bad puns are the best puns :-)
i'm not talking about God here, i'm talking about the spew we used to hear in church and still see on Websites.
my argument is that that's humans screwing things up, not God.
An orginal definition for you to ponder:
Church: A perverted understanding of God's will for His people.
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