{"id":32974,"date":"2012-05-18T21:02:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-19T02:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=32974"},"modified":"2021-03-04T21:28:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T03:28:00","slug":"is-a-man-immodestly-dressed-with-his-shirt-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-a-man-immodestly-dressed-with-his-shirt-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a man immodestly dressed with his shirt off?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t
Question:<\/h2>\n
Is a man immodestly dressed with his shirt off?<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
“I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing<\/em>” (I Timothy 2:8-9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When man was created we were told, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed<\/em>” (Genesis 2:25). The reason this is given to us to emphasize that man and woman at the beginning were innocent. They did not have the concept of good and evil. Just like a small child delights in running around naked after a bath, so too Adam and Eve were free from any thoughts about the possibilities of evil. But Satan led them into sin, and with that sin came the knowledge of good and evil. “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked<\/em>” (Genesis 3:7). Their knowledge of their nakedness tells us that they lost the innocence they once had.<\/p>\n
They tried to make clothing from fig leaves tied about their waists, but they both knew that this wasn’t enough. When God came to visit the garden, they tried to hide from God. But God called them out and Adam explained, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself<\/em>” (Genesis 3:10). Despite their attempts at making garments, they knew they were still naked. That tells us a number of things, but one is that everything worn on the body is not necessarily adequate clothing, even if it covers critical areas.<\/p>\n
Before sending them out of the garden, God makes clothing for Adam and Eve. “Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them<\/em>” (Genesis 3:21). A tunic is a knee-length shirt.<\/p>\n
Modest dress doesn’t call attention to the wearer. While I Timothy 2:9 is directed at women, Paul says “in like manner,” so the discussion can also apply to men.<\/p>\nThere are three words used to describe how women are to adorn themselves:\n
\n
“Modest” (komios<\/em>) refers to things that are orderly, showing good behavior, or respectable.<\/li>\n
“Propriety” (aidos<\/em>) refers to having a sense of shame, bashfulness, or reverence.<\/li>\n
“Moderation” (sophrosune<\/em>) refers to sobriety, having good sense, soundness of mind, and a display of self-restraint.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nMost of us use this passage to argue against clothing that reveals too much flesh and it is a good verse to use. The word aidos<\/em>\u00a0hits at the core of the problem of clothing designed to be sensual. Neither male nor female Christians should be dressed in provocative ways to arouse the passions of those seeing them.\n
\n“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:17-24).\n<\/blockquote>\nNow it may not bother you to see a man’s bare chest, but is it likely that that same can be said for other people?\n
Calling attention to yourself in a sensual way is a reason why clothing that exposes your nakedness is immodest. Costly jewelry or elaborate hairstyles can also be immodest. People should notice a Christian because of who he is and not because of what he is wearing or not wearing. Therefore, the clothing that I wear should fit the occasion so that my attire does not distract from my Lord, whom I represent.<\/p>\n
Now with all that said, I’ve been looking for definitive passages that would clarify whether a shirtless male is properly dressed or not. I have not found one to this date. There are situations where, because of potential sensuality, it would definitely be wrong. But I can’t say with certainty that it would always be wrong.<\/p>\n
Looking for historical depictions of what people wore in ancient Israel isn’t necessarily accurate because people could be dressed in violation of what God taught. However, here are some to consider:<\/p>\n\n
Photograph of a mural from Beni Hassan<\/p><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
Photograph of a mural from Beni Hassan<\/p><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
Drawing of the Beni Hassan mural. Notice that Hebrew men tended to have beards and wear patterned clothing. Tunics were more favored, but some men only wore kilts.<\/p><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III depicting Israelites bringing tribute to the Assyrian king.<\/p><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III<\/p><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
Israelite Men from Lachish being taken captive<\/p><\/div><\/figure>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Is a man immodestly dressed with his shirt off? Answer: “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing” (I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[208,365],"class_list":["post-32974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-clothing","tag-modesty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33281,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-should-i-do-when-there-are-immodestly-dressed-women-around-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":32974,"position":0},"title":"What should I do when there are immodestly dressed women around me?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What should I do when I'm in an environment where seeing immodestly dresses women isn't possible to avoid? At college, for instance. Answer: \u00a0 \"I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?\" (Job 31:1). When people don't have the sense\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/notLooking.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2363,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-adam-and-eve-not-know-they-were-naked\/","url_meta":{"origin":32974,"position":1},"title":"Did Adam and Eve not know they were naked?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it true that Adam and his wife did not know that they were physically naked before sin? I.e. the terms 'naked' and 'clothed' did not exist unto then. Answer: \"And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed\" (Genesis 2:25). Adam and Eve were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19127,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-kind-of-skin-did-god-make-for-adam-and-eve-after-their-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":32974,"position":2},"title":"What kind of skin did God make for Adam and Eve after their sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 15, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I found\u00a0this article\u00a0interesting and informative, but wished to correct one piece of information. God didn\u2019t kill any animals to clothe Adam and Eve, that Bible quote is referring to Him creating our skin. Because after eating from the forbidden tree, Adam and Eve realized they were naked -- so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9929,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-man-go-shirtless-to-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":32974,"position":3},"title":"Can a man go shirtless to church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 28, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it acceptable biblically for a young man to attend church in just shorts? And if not, why not? Answer: I was asked a similar question a while back:\u00a0What do you think about people wearing shorts to church? I don't know if you are extending this to mean attending\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32406,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-men-and-women-who-dress-immodestly-urged-toward-promiscuity\/","url_meta":{"origin":32974,"position":4},"title":"Are men and women who dress immodestly urged toward promiscuity?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are men and women who dress immodestly urged toward promiscuity? Answer: Webster's Dictionary defines immodest as: not modest; not decorous; indecent; not shy or humble; bold; forward. Immodesty doesn't necessarily go hand in hand with promiscuity.\u00a0 It can lead to promiscuity,\u00a0but it is not a given.\u00a0 A person can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50505,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/modest-dress\/","url_meta":{"origin":32974,"position":5},"title":"Modest Dress","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Timothy 2:9-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Some people seem to be resistant to the idea that God is concerned with matters in this physical life. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They hold a nebulous idea that God only deals with spiritual matters \u2014 ideas such as love, joy, and righteousness. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32974\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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