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Strength and Dignity are Her Clothing
I made my first overseas flight without my parents in my twenties. I had just finished graduate school, and stayed with them until I could afford my own place. My parents had left for India weeks prior, and I would soon join them. I had visited India twice as a child—oblivious to the cultural differences between India and the US. No worries. My mother prepared (translation: warned) me via written “what to pack” instructions she left on a note taped to the bathroom mirror. “Lots of long dresses. Nothing sleeveless. No short skirts.” (Meaning nothing that showed my knees). I sighed when I saw the…
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Teaching Teens about Rape Culture and Modesty
Today I'm happy to feature a guest contributor, Laura Hercher, one of my students, talking about something that has certainly been in the news—rape culture. Her thoughts address the intersection of rape culture and what churches teach teens about modesty and personal responsibility: As someone in a ministry position and involved in a church, I find there are many ways I can work to combat rape culture. The biggest way is to prevent it from continuing into the next generation by teaching youth how to think about these issues. I think one of the most powerful ways we can do this is by changing the way we teach youth about…
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“Not with Braided Hair…Or Pearls”
Ever wondered why Peter had a problem with pearls (1 Peter 3:3) and why both Peter and Paul took issue with braids? In 1 Timothy, Paul wrote, “I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as befits women making a claim to godliness” (1 Tim 2:9–10). Let’s start with the pearls. Contemporary access to affordable costume jewelry and cubic zirconia combined with the matronly image of pearl-draped Barbara Bush make it difficult for us to imagine what a strong class statement a first-century woman made when she publicly…