tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123966.post4727812785691324231..comments2023-08-07T05:58:59.078-07:00Comments on Random Musings: Of beaches and bikinisRebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01847552432061325769noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123966.post-79911783239090108232013-05-31T14:59:27.137-07:002013-05-31T14:59:27.137-07:00Thank you for this! I have three boys and have bee...Thank you for this! I have three boys and have been waiting for someone wise to respond to the article. It seems to me that if people are really serious about not wearing something so they won't cause lust they would need to only leave the house wearing baggy clothes that cover every part of their skin.Julie Daniellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11162499312302593916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123966.post-58699348854010495422013-05-31T11:50:39.117-07:002013-05-31T11:50:39.117-07:00Great post, wise post, and I appreciate your views...Great post, wise post, and I appreciate your views as a mother of many sons! But I must say I will have to bookmark your blog to read later (or maybe through feedly) because I am a coffee addict who is currently giving up coffee, and your background is bringing about thoughts of hauling out my coffeepot again! (I say this lightheartedly but yes I think I did have an actual physical craving a minute ago!) But you should feel free to go right on ahead and enjoy your coffee. :) I get it! Elizabethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123966.post-22385624087518565542013-05-31T08:27:30.291-07:002013-05-31T08:27:30.291-07:00Matthew: I am raising a glass (non-alcoholic) to y...Matthew: I am raising a glass (non-alcoholic) to you today. Thank you for pointing out that the crazy doctrine doesn't do men any favors, either.<br /><br />Also a glass to Rebecca for posting this in the first place. :)<br />LMcChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13817127803392735484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7123966.post-63411941395321023042013-05-30T13:35:08.296-07:002013-05-30T13:35:08.296-07:00I'm going to weigh in here as a guy who was ra...I'm going to weigh in here as a guy who was raised in an ultra-conservative Christian bubble and now live in LA surrounded by Hollywood (minister there).<br /><br />The ultra-conservative Christian movement takes the responsibility for lust out of the men and blames it on the women. This is both anti-woman and anti-men. It reduces us men to animals who are unable to control our physical urges. It reduces women to sex objects who must cover up as their true worth is in the eyes of a man who will make her his Proverbs 31 woman, provide for her needs, and keep her pregnant (this extreme isn't prevalent everywhere but is out there).<br /><br />Modesty is cultural and guys will lust no matter what. As men we must learn how to gain self-control over our flesh. There is a picture that I like as it proves a point. Two Arab men are rubbernecking (looking behind them) at two burka clad women who are passing by with their ankles exposed due to their gait. It would take a miniskirt here in LA to get that kind of attention. There are tribes in Africa that remain almost nude except for a strand of beads around the waist. Take those beads off and you will cause a scandal. <br /><br />Growing up in the ultra-conservative bubble anything that showed cleavage was provocative. Anything that showed off the figure was titillating. It was quite an adjustment going to college where women dressed like normal human beings with short shorts and tank tops. But I reigned in my hormones and controlled my thoughts. <br /><br />I'm now surrounded by the culture of this world. If I go to a pool party or the beach most of the women will be wearing bikinis. It's what is socially acceptable in this day and age. Since I've broken free from this puritanical/hypocritical culture that I was in as a youth it doesn't bother me. There's no "forbidden" aspect of hanging out at the pool with a group of friends who might be wearing a bikini. Growing up it was treated as if they were topless which just added to the potential for lust. I actually believe that the ultra-conservative movement increases lust by focusing so much on it and by making the women the culprits.<br /><br />Besides, we are called to engage and transform culture. We are to be the Jews to the Jews and Greeks to Greeks. I shouldn't be able to spot a homeschooled family in public simply by how they dress. Believe me, I can spot them at the beach. Let's engage the hearts and minds of our culture by eliminating the hypocritical ultra-modesty that in fact draws more attention to the ones living it out. Modesty is a heart attitude more than what one wears. A woman can be more provocative in a tankini then another woman in a bikini. It's all about the heart attitude and the spirit in which she is operating.<br /><br />Yes, I appreciate women who dress modestly. But it's not their fault if I have a problem with lust. There's been times in my life when I've avoided the beach and other times in which I've hung out there a lot. But each of us are answerable to God for our actions. Not the actions of our brothers who lusted because they saw a bit of cleavage or naval. Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15637518040641887385noreply@blogger.com