Why Is It Acceptable for Christians to Dress Like Slobs to Church?

[StevenBelievin]

People also went bare feet in Jesus time. They also wore rags.

Do you think they dressed up to go hear His preaching? Do you Think He complained if a scruffy, poor person Sat listening to Him?

Jesus welcomes EVERYONE.

I would imagine that if someone was in rags it's because they couldn't afford the nice bed sheets. I did say that if someone couldn't afford clothes it was a different story. And yes, Jesus welcomes everyone. I don't disagree with that.

 

[rturner76]

One more thing,I think it also depends what the church does. Like the churched that are mission based are more casual and you will see peopleinshorts because they have so much outdoor services in missions and in a more traditional or Southers church youwill see more suits and ties etc.

 

[Goatee]

Even if someone could afford the best clothes it's not about what's showing on the outside. No, it's about what is in the inside!

 

[Dave-W]

Or an alb.

I had to look that one up. It seems to be generally the same garment.
Is it worn only by clergy?

 

[Paidiske]

No, not at all. An alb is historically a baptismal garment. It can be worn by right by any baptised Christian.

These days they're generally only worn by people leading or assisting in worship, but it's by no means restricted to clergy.

 

[Lee Stuvmen]

I recently moved to a new city and I've been checking out a lot churches in the area and I'm curious why it is acceptable to dress like a slob at so many of them. People wear flip-flops, pajama pants, sweat pants, graphic tees that make them look like a billboard, athletic shorts, or shirts that actually might be parachutes I'm not sure. Stuff that doesn't even fall into the casual dress category, just straight up lazy slob.

Clearly it is not a money problem. Everyone has a $2-600 cell phone in their pocket they pay ~$60 or more a month for data, they can afford to go buy a collared shirt and some nice pants. Even designer stores have really nice clothes for ~$20-30 during their seasonal clearance sales which seemingly go on all year round these days.

I can only guess it's a respect problem? I mean I can't imagine these people dress like that all the time, do they? I know anyplace I've ever worked will tell you to go home if you dress like that, and I know if I was on a date with a woman and she showed up in sweats or flip-flops and we weren't going to the beach I'd just shake my head and leave. I can understand visitors, but why is it acceptable for Christians to dress like slobs to church?

I am REALLY surprised no one brought you into remembrance of Scripture!

Better now than at the last day, right?

James 2:2
For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

You can click James 2:2 to get the rest of that story.



If a man attended your "church" that was know to have several wives and even many concubines, would he be looked down upon by you?

Luke 1:69
And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

2 Samuel 5:13
And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.



You can click Matthew 7:1 to get the rest of that story too.
Matthew 7:1
Judge not, that ye be not judged.


Perhaps those that sit next to you, being judged by you, are no different than you.

 

[Dave-W]

No, not at all. An alb is historically a baptismal garment. It can be worn by right by any baptised Christian.

These days they're generally only worn by people leading or assisting in worship, but it's by no means restricted to clergy.

Ah. I see. The Kittel is worn by observant Jewish men (and also in some communities by the women as well) during the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (which we are between right now) as a symbol of everyone's equal footing before God. It is plain white cotton and unadorned in any way.

Some communities also wear it for the feast of Tabernacles; and in some communities grooms wear it during their wedding ceremony.

 

[AlexDTX]

And the state of person's heart is inevitably evidenced in how they behave (which includes how they dress).

Which is a 2 sided coin and can mean one thing or another. Yes, it can mean wanting to give God your best, of which I have stated several times. It can also mean keeping up with the Jones and showing off your wealth.

No, these things are not the same. But I wasn't drawing a parallel between these things. I was pointing out that what one believer does has an effect on other believers. Our conduct and beliefs ripple outward to affect others. This is what Paul makes very clear in 1 Corinthians 5.

Yes, our behavior affects one another, but, again, you are equating how we dress to a clear sin. Our dress is not sin.

He seems to care very much about our worship of Him and our defense and dissemination of His truth. All of these things happen in a Sunday morning worship service which suggests to me that they are important to Him. Should I be amused that you don't see this? Or would that be patronizing and annoying?

Really? Jesus said the Father wants us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. I don't see how listening to one man's opinion and singing songs fulfills that requirement. Samuel told Saul it is better to obey than to sacrifice. That suggests to me that true worship is obedience to God, not singing songs. Participating in any church format barely fits obedience. The exhortation for us to not forsake the assembling of our ourselves in Heb. 10:25 has no format stated. God cares about how we treat one another. Staring at the back of someone's head in a pew demonstrates no love for one another.

Oh, really? And if that format includes, say, a peroxide blonde in a skin-tight leather tube dress singing a pop-rock song and gyrating her form suggestively as she does, would that be okay with God do you think? If a worship service format was just one long nightclub party, with dancing and fog, and deafening music, would God be pleased? I've witnessed both "worship" formats in a Sunday service and I doubt very much God was anything but offended and angered by them. In the OT, God seemed to be very concerned about the format of a number of things associated with the Israelites' worship of Him. There are exhaustive - and exhausting - details about how and what to sacrifice and when, what priests should wear, who could enter the temple and who couldn't and so on. It seems to me that God has not just thrown wide the doors to how we might worship Him. I see format constraints on the meetings of God's people laid out in both Old and New Testaments. Here are some from the New Testament:

Well this is why you are confused. We are not under the Old Testament and never have been. The Mosaic dispensation had two major purposes: to magnify our sins to show Israel their need for a Savior, and to show how the Savior would save mankind.

What we do reflects where we are with him. I would have nothing to do with a night club gathering in the name of Christ, but, if such a group were truly Christian, they are in a process in knowing God. God uses all things for his glory, even your stuffy format to reach out to people.

 

[Ronald]

White robes, apparently. Rev. 6:11; 7:9.

Right, not a suit and tie. If God really valued the suit and tie look, then we would be wearing that in heaven.

 

[Halbhh]

I recommend finding a church with a strict dress code such as this one:

"Clothing is perhaps the most important thing about being a Christian. If one is not properly clothed and fully representative of what God would want them to appear like... well then, that person is probably not saved. Our motto is "get saved, get to a Christian Clothing store, and get fitted for the kingdom." A man should dress and act like a man, and a woman should dress and act like a submissive female helpmate. That about sums it up. Anyone who does not conform to the dress code at Landover Baptist will be fined no less than $300.00 a violation. It is a privilege to be a Christian and we believe that it is about time folks started acting like it!" - What We (God) Believes

Wait a minute. Is that real!? Like is the whole site just a joke? Can't tell!

".... beards are not allowed except with special permission from Pastor Smith himself, long earrings on women, use of tampons is strictly prohibited, men with earrings or jewelry of any kind, hugging, possession of inappropriate contentographic material (except for widowed or single men over the age of 65), failure to identify oneself to a church authority, failure to answer a call slip, witchcraft, dancing and/or skipping...."

?"hugging"? skipping? lol

Ok, this is funny, scary....

Is it actual?

 

[ViaCrucis]

Wait a minute. Is that real. Like is the whole site just a joke? Can't tell!

".... beards are not allowed except with special permission from Pastor Smith himself, long earrings on women, use of tampons is strictly prohibited, men with earrings or jewelry of any kind, hugging, possession of inappropriate contentographic material (except for widowed or single men over the age of 65), failure to identify oneself to a church authority, failure to answer a call slip, witchcraft, dancing and/or skipping...."

Ok, this is funny, scary, etc.

Is it actual?

Landover Baptist is a satirical website.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Neostarwcc]

Yeah, it isn't real. It's just a joke.

 

[Halbhh]

Thank goodness that's satire...

Landover Baptist is a satirical website.

-CryptoLutheran

hah hah. Still laughing.

 

[Halbhh]

And many may have not experienced what you did in other places. What's more, we have only your perspective on your visit to the Texan church. I wonder what those you condemn were actually thinking. You can only guess, really, make assumptions, which is never a good way to get at the truth.

It's 100% right that we each and all must forgive those who have offended us, even long ago in some church.

Definitely. And frankly, what happened to many -- being ignored, not welcomed at times in some places -- is profoundly serious.

Life and Death serious even.

That's because of Christ's Words to us in Matthew 25:31-46, not at all because of me saying so....

This is not something to sweep under a rug. We have an obligation to teach what He said.

But, forgiving -- that's 100% the thing to do.

 

[aiki]

I wrote:

No, these things are not the same. But I wasn't drawing a parallel between these things. I was pointing out that what one believer does has an effect on other believers. Our conduct and beliefs ripple outward to affect others. This is what Paul makes very clear in 1 Corinthians 5.

You replied:

Yes, our behavior affects one another, but, again, you are equating how we dress to a clear sin. Our dress is not sin.

You don't seem to be comprehending what I'm writing. Let me repeat myself: I was not drawing a parallel between dress and the sin with which Paul dealt in 1 Corinthians 5. My point in citing chapter five of 1 Corinthians was to illustrate that what we do as believers has an effect upon the larger body of believers. That's it. I did not make any comparison between the incestuous sin of chapter 5 and the matter of dress for Sunday worship. You are the one drawing such a parallel.

Really? Jesus said the Father wants us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. I don't see how listening to one man's opinion and singing songs fulfills that requirement.

If the preacher speaks God's truth in the power of the Spirit and the singing is done in the Spirit and with sincerity, then John's requirement for true worship is quite fulfilled.

That suggests to me that true worship is obedience to God, not singing songs.

This is a false dichotomy. It does not have to be one or the other. True worship can encompass both obedience and singing songs.

Staring at the back of someone's head in a pew demonstrates no love for one another.

Who does that? When I sit in church on a Sunday morning, I'm watching and listening to the pastor, or I'm reading Scripture, or taking notes. I've never just stared at the back of the head of the person in the row ahead of me. Bit of a Strawman you're using here, I think.

Well this is why you are confused. We are not under the Old Testament and never have been.

Where did I say we were?

What we do reflects where we are with him. I would have nothing to do with a night club gathering in the name of Christ, but, if such a group were truly Christian, they are in a process in knowing God. God uses all things for his glory, even your stuffy format to reach out to people.

God is glorified in rape, is He? Serial killing is a means by which God glorifies Himself, is it? God uses carnal, worldly antics to lift Himself up before us? I think not.

You have no idea what the format is of the Sunday worship I attend. Calling it "stuffy" is obnoxious - especially since this is a characterization that has no foundation in knowledge whatever.

 

[aiki]

Right, not a suit and tie. If God really valued the suit and tie look, then we would be wearing that in heaven.

Would this not also apply to more casual clothing people wear? Yes. Yes, it would. God does not value shorts, sneakers, and t-shirts either, it would seem.

 

[Phil 1:21]

You don't seem to be comprehending what I'm writing. Let me repeat myself: I was not drawing a parallel between dress and the sin with which Paul dealt in 1 Corinthians 5. My point in citing chapter five of 1 Corinthians was to illustrate that what we do as believers has an effect upon the larger body of believers.

Does that include causing strife by complaining about how others are dressed in church?

 

[aiki]

Does that include causing strife by complaining about how others are dressed in church?

No more, I think, than disrespecting God and offending other believers by casual dressing for corporate worship of Him.

 

[Phil 1:21]

No more, I think, than disrespecting God and offending other believers by casual dressing for corporate worship of Him.

Still waiting for your source that God is offended by people's attire.

 

[Catherineanne]

Experience my sister. I only know that my phone never gets a return call, my home is never visited, even though I try and visit them and I am seldom (although by a few) greeted with a smile even when I recognize a brother or especially a sister on the street, and that all of these people have a fixation with one day a week and the 2 or 3 hours of meeting.

I have also turned up at the meetings and time and time again the leadership and the favored are in the prime positions at the front of the meeting with their backs to everyone else, whereas the down and out, the scruffy slobbish ones disappear in the darkness at the back.

I am well aware of Jesus warning but I am also aware of Pauls admonishment to the Corinthians: What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

I suspect I have been expelled in some way but for what offence, I know not. Is it because my dress is to slobbish?

Your church has a lot of problems, it would seem.

I doubt if you are one of them.