Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America

by Jeff Pollard

Book Overview

The Church is being destroyed by sacred cows. A ''sacred cow'' is an untouchable subject that we are not supposed to discuss. To do so impinges upon another's ''Christian liberty.'' Certainly, there... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1929241348
• ISBN13: 9781929241347
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: Vision Forum
• Length: 76 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Should be read by every Christian

This book is so needed in our time. The immodesty in our churches is ridiculous, and getting worse every year. If you say anything you are considered a legalistic, radical, a Pharisee, etc., just as Mr. Pollard states. It was a blessing to my heart to read his Scriptural stand in this topic, especially about bathing suits, as I seem to be the only weirdo that has a problem with them Biblically. It encouraged my stand. Very thankful for his love of God and His Word, his bold stand, and tackling a topic no one touches in the pulpits in America.

Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America

Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America, by Jeff Pollard, is a small book (the author often refers to it as an article), and could be a very quick read. However, there is a lot of thought-provoking information contained in just 74 pages! So, I took a little extra time as I read, because I wanted to really think through some of the ideas and challenges to modern thinking presented in this little book. Even within the church, controversy and confusion surrounds the issue of Christian (biblical) modesty. And, as the author acknowledges, some will judge this book to be far too conservative, or legalistic, while others will say that it is too liberal, and does not go far enough. While that may be the case, it is the stated purpose of this book, not to add to the confusion, or to stir up controversy, but to provoke fellow believers (men and women alike) to "love and good works" (Heb. 10:24) in this area, and if read with a heart that desires to conform to God's Word, it does just that. Pollard begins by carefully defining Christian modesty in this way: "Christian modesty is the inner self-government, rooted in a proper understanding of one's self before God, which outwardly displays itself in humility and purity from a genuine love for Jesus Christ, rather than in self-glorification or self-advertisement. Christian modesty then will not publicly expose itself in sinful nakedness." (pg. 22) The first few chapters deal with the history of clothing, and modesty in general. Pointing to God as the "Originator and Designer of clothing" (pg. 23), he looks to several biblical examples which, he says indicate "the purpose and function of clothing and the approximate area of the body that clothes were designed to cover." (pg. 23) He uses these examples (ranging from the good nakedness of man at creation, to the need for covering man's shame after the fall, to priestly garments, to the clothing that Christ himself wore on earth, to the robes of those already in Heaven) to illustrate that while Scripture may not offer a black-and-white command in regards to style of dress, "It appears then that the Bible does offer us a standard for covering the body....The Old and New Testaments reveal that God's earthly and heavenly people wore garments that covered them from at least the neck-to-below the knee." (pg. 28) Using this principle (of covering the body from the neck-to-below the knee) as a guide, the rest of the book deals specifically with the evolution of modern swimwear, and how it is connected to our changing perceptions of modesty and immodesty. "Exposing the male or female body, which should be covered, is out of harmony with the Biblical model. Moreover, since exposing the privates is shameful, it seems obvious that clothing which emphasizes or purposely draws attention to these areas of the body is likewise shameful and immodest. And modern swimwear is the epitome of these things - by design." (pg. 34) He carefully chronicles, us

Invaluable Scripture Insights

Having given this topic a good bit of thought as a husband, father and follower of Christ, I found Jeff's book to be invaluable in the Scripture insights he cites, and the demonstration of our shift through the evolution of bathing suits. This is 76 pages so Jeff is not seeking to address everything modest and immodest. What he does is to be very relevant and convicting. A great point about this book is is brevity and yet sufficiency to alert one to the core issues. Highly recommended. Thanks you for this valuable addition for the Body of Christ. ********************** Reading the negative reviews, I believe that the criticisms are spurious in that Jeff never did intend to do a comprehensive treatise. It's as if I gave a you $5 at the gas station when you forgot your wallet so that you have enough to get home, and then was criticized for not giving $45 to fill up your tank. The power of Jeff's work is precisely that it is so sharp and concise. Incisive. Incidentally, one example of spurious criticism is the assumption that Jeff places the responsibility on the women. For exammple, he writes: "Guilt for this decaying and debauched state must not be laid entirel at the feet of women, as it often is. The problem lies squarely with the men in the pulpits and homes of the nation...." p.59

Excellent "call to arms"!

I just finished reading this book and it communicated to my heart a vivid burden that furthur emboldens us to enter a realm that relates back to the creation account, namely that of covering Adam & Eve after they sinned. This concise book on the subject, though apparently not designed to be exhaustive, is an excellent "call to arms" that burdened my own heart to broach this subject more in our ministry of Biblical creationism. EVERY area of our lives MUST be brought into the realm of the design of God our Creator, and Brother Pollard does an excellent job at bringing the subject of dress (particularly the failure in our society) into the realm of "where we are now" and "how we got here." As a result of reading this book, we are adding it to our ministry materials! See creationfamin.com for more. We must help Jeff Pollard make this a "call to arms" to all for a "covering up" of America...and WHY, starting with professing Christians! THANK YOU, BROTHER POLLARD!

A Dynamic That Christians Need to Restore

I am disgusted at hour our society regards everybody who dresses modestly as a "fuddy duddy" or "uncool." I even know some people who are like this. The Bible gives us plenty of guidelines for modesty in the way that we dress. (1) We are all ambassadors for Christ (II Cor. 5:20), (2) that a person should dress in a manner that is different from members of the opposite sex (Deut. 5:22), (I Tim. 2:10), (3) that we should strive to maintain a decent appearance before the world (Col. 4:5), (4) that we should show our worth by not conforming to the styles of those who are without God in this world (Rom. 2:12). Sadly, this has been abandoned in favor of being "trendy" and "fashionable." This book is highly reccomended for anyone concerned with this issue.

Nothing but the Truth!!!

Jeff Pollard has, indeed, taken on the "sacred cow" of our culture - the swimsuit, essentially, but more importantly, he has shown by the sources he quotes from outside the Christian church, that the agenda of the fashion industry has been to progressively "undress" the American public. He moves on to show what the Bible teaches concerning modesty, and how the Christian believer has been duped and deceived into believing that this is "normal behavior," when in fact it hasn't been.This is a powerful tool in the hands of anyone who wants to shed light on this subject, especially to a youth pastor who goes swimming with his group, and the kinds of swim wear which the young people put on. Or even to the Christian who has held that "there is nothing wrong with this," or that "everyone is doing it," or that "I'm not naked in front of anybody." This is not a "put down" or a call to condemnation, but an appeal to examine ourselves in light of biblical teaching as to how our behaviors are impacting our culture, and how we are called to be "separate" and not be conformed to our world and its falleness.Towards the end of this book, Jeff Pollard reveals what the connection between the undressing of America and the current states of affair are in pornography, and how easy it has become to see how the swimsuit and pornography have led to the complete undressing of our culture and what the "uncovering of our nakedness" has produced and what it means from a biblical point of view. Ultimately, it has been rotten fruit, and we need to capture again the essence of modesty in dress if we are to avoid the judgment of God.Compelling reading, and SOBERING!!! Highly recommended!!!