LADIES please take my Holiness Test Thanks

[Cindy]

Originally Posted by hnhisle

I'm HAPPY!!

[off topic]
You should be BUBBLING with that bundle of joy around you. He sure brightens my day when I just hear him talking to you.

He is my rock in this house sometimes. And he LOVES his granny. You should see his eyes light up and his face brighten when I pick him up from school. He calls me his baby too. Okay I am gonna cry I am so happy just thinking about him.........lol

[The Mrs]

Originally Posted by StMark

modesty is according to the culture around you ????
what if you lived in a heathen culture? Have you seen the cultural norms in Miami and Los Angeles??
So we go by culture only not by the bible...you learn something every day.

.

If we are not influenced by our culture around us, tell me, WHY is it that women are no longer wearing dresses down to the floor?

If floor length dresses were the rule of thumb for modesty, I think you'll have a whole lotta apostolic ladies in a heap of trouble!

btw...does the Bible dictate what IS modest? What style our clothing should be in???

NO...it says simply to be modest. To be moderate. That would require you to take your culture into account and fall in line with the middle ground. Not to be extreme one way or the other. I guess you'll have to look past Miami and LA to guage what would be middle ground in American. I do.

[AmazingGrace]

Originally Posted by cneasttx

He is my rock in this house sometimes. And he LOVES his granny. You should see his eyes light up and his face brighten when I pick him up from school. He calls me his baby too. Okay I am gonna cry I am so happy just thinking about him.........lol

Thats just too cute!!!

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by AmazingGrace

Its not always a peer group that gives those convictions!!! Some people actually have convictions that are God given... are you discounting that??? Oh yea I forgot... we are in the non apostolic part of the forum right now!

AG to be fair to the Mrs., I do believe there have been occasions that many of us have faced and we did do things to "fit In". Only to realize later, when we were no longer around a certain group, what we told were convictions was something else, and the pressure to "do" certain things was no longer there.

I would have to agree that peer pressure is a powerful thing. But it's in every circle and is expressed in many ways like houses and cars ect. I do not believe that the only thing and the only place that experiences peer pressure is the UPC church, it is in any and every social group there is-imo.

Not everyone succumbs to peer pressure or social expectations, but I do believe it is in most of us to want to "fit in".

[The Mrs]

Originally Posted by Jeanie

AG to be fair to the Mrs., I do believe there have been occasions that many of us have faced and we did do things to "fit In". Only to realize later, when we were no longer around a certain group, what we told were convictions was something else, and the pressure to "do" certain things was no longer there.

I would have to agree that peer pressure is a powerful thing. But it's in every circle and is expressed in many ways like houses and cars ect. I do not believe that the only thing and the only place that experiences peer pressure is the UPC church, it is in any and every social group there is-imo.

Not everyone succumbs to peer pressure or social expectations, but I do believe it is in most of us to want to "fit in".

Thanks for this Jeanie...I had forgotten about AG's reply and had wanted to respond to it as well.

When I got into the church, it took me less than a month to conform to the standards. I never did feel pressured to conform, or feel like I was doing something against my will. I thought that's how I needed to live to be pleasing to God, and I wanted to do that with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I never looked back. I loved it because I thought God loved it.

If you were to ask me then if it was a God-given conviction I would have fought you tooth and nail and told you that yes, it was indeed. Just as many have done here on these forums.

Now that I'm on the other side of things, I can look back and say that I doubt it was indeed a God-given conviction because if it were, why would things have changed? Why are so many making changes to their God-given convictions? I would have thought God-given would be akin to 'set in stone'. If God loved it then, he must surely love it now, why would anything change???

And my situation was not just a case of 'leaving the Mothership' and making changes because I didn't have the peer pressure anymore. In fact, I lived the same standards for over two years after leaving my home church. My exposure lines ended at my elbows, knees, and collarbone. I never wore make-up of any kind, not even that skin-toned face lotion that so many were favoring. I wouldn't even curl my hair for fear of it breaking off! It wasn't until I did some MAJOR studying and came to realize that God does not require these things, along with intense prayer and seeking God, before ANY changes were made.

Sooooooooo just WHO did God talk to???

And now you know...the rest of the story...

Originally Posted by dizzyde

I'm sorry sis., but you keep making such broad statements, there are loads and loads of apostolic women you have never met. You can't make judgements on people you have never met. I know that you have had a bad experience, but many people haven't had that experience. Many people are happy.

In my experience, in day to day life, very few women who aren't apostolic look happy. It is the world we live in, the pressures on women to work and be a mother and take care of the home. It is called life.

Hey sis don't take offence...if you will read all of my post you will see I said "in my experience"...and truly sis the ladies I know out of the church are just not having the same problems...so my comment was not a general statement it was about the ladies I know in the UPC.

Originally Posted by StMark

modesty is according to the culture around you ????
what if you lived in a heathen culture? Have you seen the cultural norms in Miami and Los Angeles??
So we go by culture only not by the bible...you learn something every day.

.

OH my look at cultures where the men and women wear virtually nothing...they in their culture do not feel immodest...we would feel very uncomfortable around them, but they would think we were strange so yes culture........culture...the Bible even speaks to our culture of the day!

[LaVonne]

Just a thought here, but the Jews have always blended in with the culture in which they lived...and they are God's chosen people...

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by CareyM

Just a thought here, but the Jews have always blended in with the culture in which they lived...and they are God's chosen people...

That's a good point.

When you said that, my mind thought of India and how the women look there. Much of the culture in India hasnt changed in centuries and much of the dress is the same. In India there is a blend of the new and old--and it's funny how the Indian pentecostal woman really look no different than anyone else yet they are very modest.

[LaVonne]

Originally Posted by Jeanie

That's a good point.

When you said that, my mind thought of India and how the women look there. Much of the culture in India hasnt changed in centuries and much of the dress is the same. In India there is a blend of the new and old--and it's funny how the Indian pentecostal woman really look no different than anyone else yet they are very modest.

I believe it Jeanie!