Modesty a woman’s opinion?

Christian ethics and theology with an Anabaptist perspective
Soloist
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Re: Modesty a woman’s opinion?

Post by Soloist »

Bootstrap wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 3:30 pm
Soloist wrote: Tue Apr 18, 2023 5:31 pm
Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
Isa 47:2  Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
Isa 47:3  Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
What do you think "thy nakedness shall be uncovered" means in that verse? Do you agree with this?

https://www.gotquestions.org/uncover-nakedness.html
I have no problem with seeing it connected with sexual sin, but do you see the shame being illustrated with nakedness here? I think it’s pretty clear. What do you see the exposing thigh, hair and leg referencing?
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Re: Modesty a woman’s opinion?

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Soloist wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 3:40 pm
Bootstrap wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 3:30 pm
Soloist wrote: Tue Apr 18, 2023 5:31 pm
What do you think "thy nakedness shall be uncovered" means in that verse? Do you agree with this?

https://www.gotquestions.org/uncover-nakedness.html
I have no problem with seeing it connected with sexual sin, but do you see the shame being illustrated with nakedness here? I think it’s pretty clear. What do you see the exposing thigh, hair and leg referencing?
In the Old Testament, at least, there is a very strong association between nakedness and shame, which is why nakedness is used as a metaphor for the shame of sexual sin.

But I don't think this phrase is mostly about exposing the head.
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Re: Modesty a woman’s opinion?

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Bootstrap wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 4:30 pm
In the Old Testament, at least, there is a very strong association between nakedness and shame, which is why nakedness is used as a metaphor for the shame of sexual sin.

But I don't think this phrase is mostly about exposing the head.
Perhaps you should look into head coverings in the Old Testament. I never claimed it was about head coverings just that it mentioned it.
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Re: Modesty a woman’s opinion?

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Soloist wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 4:33 pm
Bootstrap wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 4:30 pm
In the Old Testament, at least, there is a very strong association between nakedness and shame, which is why nakedness is used as a metaphor for the shame of sexual sin.

But I don't think this phrase is mostly about exposing the head.
Perhaps you should look into head coverings in the Old Testament. I never claimed it was about head coverings just that it mentioned it.
In this context, I don't think this is about Israelite women at all, it is about Babylon. And I think that taking off the skirt may well be connected to either (1) wading through the streams, see verse 2, or (2) doing the work of a slave to grind flour with millstones, also in verse 2. That kind of labor is about as low as it gets in that time. This is a prophecy of the downfall of Babylon, as a result of God's vengeance.
“Go down, sit in the dust,
Virgin Daughter Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
queen city of the Babylonians.
No more will you be called
tender or delicate.
2 Take millstones and grind flour;
take off your veil.
Lift up your skirts, bare your legs,
and wade through the streams.
3 Your nakedness will be exposed
and your shame uncovered.
I will take vengeance;
I will spare no one.”
At any rate, I'll go back to letting this be about women's opinions about modesty now.
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Re: Modesty a woman’s opinion?

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So you agree with my point that God said it was shameful to expose those things?
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Re: Modesty a woman’s opinion?

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Soloist wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 6:50 pm So you agree with my point that God said it was shameful to expose those things?
I think I read this verse differently than you do. I see three kinds of shame in this passage, all involving Babylon, all involving the metaphor of nakedness.

1. The shame of slavery, working with a millstone to grind flour, and uncovering the hair like a captive or a slave.
2. The same of exile, crossing the waters, and needing to remove your skirt to wade through the streams.
3. The shame of sexual sin. This is the one that is associated with nakedness being exposed in that sense.

But I think I understand how you are reading it. And I'm happy to let this thread go back to women's opinions about modesty. (I'm not sure if I'm talking to Soloist the husband or Soloist the wife, but the very fact that I don't know makes me wonder if I'm talking to a duet rather than a soloist.)
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Re: Modesty a woman’s opinion?

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Bootstrap wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 7:40 pm
Soloist wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 6:50 pm So you agree with my point that God said it was shameful to expose those things?
I think I read this verse differently than you do. I see three kinds of shame in this passage, all involving Babylon, all involving the metaphor of nakedness.

1. The shame of slavery, working with a millstone to grind flour, and uncovering the hair like a captive or a slave.
2. The same of exile, crossing the waters, and needing to remove your skirt to wade through the streams.
3. The shame of sexual sin. This is the one that is associated with nakedness being exposed in that sense.

But I think I understand how you are reading it. And I'm happy to let this thread go back to women's opinions about modesty. (I'm not sure if I'm talking to Soloist the husband or Soloist the wife, but the very fact that I don't know makes me wonder if I'm talking to a duet rather than a soloist.)
Generally its just me. My wife will make it "the wife" or some clear way. She does give input on many of my posts.
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Re: Modesty a woman’s opinion?

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JimFoxvog wrote: Tue Apr 18, 2023 10:02 pm
I agree with Jesus that such sins as lust come from within. If I lust, I can not blame anyone else, no matter what she may be wearing or not.
Well put.
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Re: Modesty a woman’s opinion?

Post by temporal1 »

steve-in-kville wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2023 10:12 am
JimFoxvog wrote: Tue Apr 18, 2023 10:02 pm I agree with Jesus that such sins as lust come from within.
If I lust, I can not blame anyone else, no matter what she may be wearing or not.
Well put.
i agree.
and extend the formula to we women (and men) when we choose clothing, what’s the inward motivation?
when we choose bicycles, cars, houses .. ??

as (the women) were describing in the first pages, the spirit involved is central.
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Re: Modesty a woman’s opinion?

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Valerie wrote: Tue Apr 18, 2023 8:03 am I happen to appreciate that thought. If you were going to meet the king, would you wear your torn up jeans or sleazy looking clothing or short shorts on a guy etc or would you put on your best clothing? We have friends that are Orthodox Christian and the women in the family dress very much like Amish very covered and modest and they're very beautiful. I asked him if it feels awkward for them and say a store like Walmart where they go and he said if it causes people to think about God it may be the only thought about God they think all day
I have known Orthodox my entire life, including growing up in one of the highest concentrations of Greeks in the world. I have yet to meet any Orthodox who "dress very much like Amish".
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