Fifty years ago...

[marthaolivia]

If I remember correctly, fifty years ago, (and yes I was around then!) at least in UPC & ALJC, it was a sin to watch or own a tv, to go to the movies, for women to wear slacks, to dress out for gym at school, to dance, to go to ball games, to "arch" your eyebrows, for women to cut or trim their hair, to wear open toed shoes, to wear any make-up (except for Vaseline), to go swimming in anything other than your everyday clothes, to listen to certain radio stations and there are probably some more deadly sins that I forgot to mention.
My question is.."Did God change His mind about these things through the years or were they man-made from the beginning?"

[StillStanding]

Originally Posted by marthaolivia

If I remember correctly, fifty years ago, (and yes I was around then!) at least in UPC & ALJC, it was a sin to watch or own a tv, to go to the movies, for women to wear slacks, to dress out for gym at school, to dance, to go to ball games, to "arch" your eyebrows, for women to cut or trim their hair, to wear open toed shoes, to wear any make-up (except for Vaseline), to go swimming in anything other than your everyday clothes, to listen to certain radio stations and there are probably some more deadly sins that I forgot to mention.
My question is.."Did God change His mind about these things through the years or were they man-made from the beginning?"

God never changes, but cultures and opinions do!

[dizzyde]

Originally Posted by Pianoman

God never changes, but cultures and opinions do!

[marthaolivia]

I know God doesn't change but did He tell most of the early ministers that they should lay down those rules back then & tell them something different a few years later? I am still trying to figure all this out in my mind.

[ReformedDave]

Originally Posted by marthaolivia

I know God doesn't change but did He tell most of the early ministers that they should lay down those rules back then & tell them something different a few years later? I am still trying to figure all this out in my mind.

That is THE question. Were the rules correct back then?

[Newman]

Originally Posted by marthaolivia

If I remember correctly, fifty years ago, (and yes I was around then!) at least in UPC & ALJC, it was a sin to watch or own a tv, to go to the movies, for women to wear slacks, to dress out for gym at school, to dance, to go to ball games, to "arch" your eyebrows, for women to cut or trim their hair, to wear open toed shoes, to wear any make-up (except for Vaseline), to go swimming in anything other than your everyday clothes, to listen to certain radio stations and there are probably some more deadly sins that I forgot to mention.
My question is.."Did God change His mind about these things through the years or were they man-made from the beginning?"

marthaolivia-

1. I am under the impression that the ALJC has never taught that it was a sin to own or watch TV.

2. I also don't think that "holiness" standards were the same across all areas of the country. Much of your list is foreign to me but for exposure on the board.

3. I would suggest that man got too involved with institutionalizing their prefences and competitive holiness and that is how we got things written in stone that aren't in Scripture or written on the hearts of the people.

[Pragmatist]

Originally Posted by marthaolivia

If I remember correctly, fifty years ago, (and yes I was around then!) at least in UPC & ALJC, it was a sin to watch or own a tv, to go to the movies, for women to wear slacks, to dress out for gym at school, to dance, to go to ball games, to "arch" your eyebrows, for women to cut or trim their hair, to wear open toed shoes, to wear any make-up (except for Vaseline), to go swimming in anything other than your everyday clothes, to listen to certain radio stations and there are probably some more deadly sins that I forgot to mention.
My question is.."Did God change His mind about these things through the years or were they man-made from the beginning?"

In some areas of the country, these things were NOT preached against. Of the list above, only going to the movies and dancing were taught against in the UPC church my mother attended.

And yes, they were man-made from the beginning.

[marthaolivia]

My mother got the HG in Ga in 1941, in ALJC, and believe me, all the things I mentioned were taught to to us be a sin. I had to sit in a classroom while other kids went to folk dancing recess. On Saturday mornings, we waited until our neigbors got back from the double feature at the local theater. Tv was taught against and we never owned one. Rather than take PE in a dress, I stayed inside school and took art classes. I guess the rule was...If it was entertaining or fun..it was taboo. I think all of the "don'ts" kept me from being interested in church for many years. My mom is long gone now but her teachings never left me and at the age of 60, God drew me back to Him. I thank Him every day for His mercy toward me. I am certainly not against anyone.. I just could not understand then, nor can I now, understand all the rules..

[James Griffin]

Originally Posted by marthaolivia

My mother got the HG in Ga in 1941, in ALJC, and believe me, all the things I mentioned were taught to to us be a sin. I had to sit in a classroom while other kids went to folk dancing recess. On Saturday mornings, we waited until our neigbors got back from the double feature at the local theater. Tv was taught against and we never owned one. Rather than take PE in a dress, I stayed inside school and took art classes. I guess the rule was...If it was entertaining or fun..it was taboo. I think all of the "don'ts" kept me from being interested in church for many years. My mom is long gone now but her teachings never left me and at the age of 60, God drew me back to Him. I thank Him every day for His mercy toward me. I am certainly not against anyone.. I just could not understand then, nor can I now, understand all the rules..

It was still the case for all of the above as late as the 60's to early 70's in some area. Let's no forget don't go to secular college lest you backslide.

[pelathais]

Originally Posted by marthaolivia

My mother got the HG in Ga in 1941, in ALJC, and believe me, all the things I mentioned were taught to to us be a sin. I had to sit in a classroom while other kids went to folk dancing recess. On Saturday mornings, we waited until our neigbors got back from the double feature at the local theater. Tv was taught against and we never owned one. Rather than take PE in a dress, I stayed inside school and took art classes. I guess the rule was...If it was entertaining or fun..it was taboo. I think all of the "don'ts" kept me from being interested in church for many years. My mom is long gone now but her teachings never left me and at the age of 60, God drew me back to Him. I thank Him every day for His mercy toward me. I am certainly not against anyone.. I just could not understand then, nor can I now, understand all the rules..

I share some of your feelings. Consider, on the open toed shoes issue: what in the world was that about? I mean, c'mon guys! Toes?

Then one time I was digging through some old books at a garage sale and found this small Dale Carnegie type booklet from the 1920's. It detailed how a person should "dress for success" in the business world. Of special concern was the way that women would present themselves, since it was very new to have women out in the workforce.

The "rules" for business dress given in that booklet read almost word-for-word like the standard Apostolic dress code- right down to the no slacks on women and NO OPEN TOED SHOES!

When Apostolics were first organizing there wasn't a lot of Apostolic material available for distribution. So, as churches grew material was sought that would be suitable for getting everyone "on the same page." One big concern (too big, in my mind) was the image of Pentecostals being a bunch of barefooted hillbillies who didn't know how to "dress right." So someone seems to have begun circulating tracts like the one I found and eventually it all just sort of merged into the movement. That's my best guess about the open toed shoes edict. Nothing else even makes any sense.

We're still a young movement in many ways. We still battle with the perceptions that we have of ourselves being somehow "inferior" or from "the wrong side of the tracks." I attended a church once where, for a time, people with new cars were encouraged to park along the street and people with older cars parked on the side- out of sight from the main road.

There's a lot that's silly. But that's just part of being human. Every group has some sort of silly out of date "standard" or taboo. Most states still have "blue laws" that don't make any sense today. In my state it's illegal to sell a car on a Sunday. When the legislature tried to clean out that old law all of the car dealers rose up in protest. "We need one day off!" they cried. They realized that among themselves, competition was so fierce that if it wasn't illegal they'd all be selling cars on Sunday whether they wanted to or not. So the law stands. I can't even sell a car out of my driveway on a Sunday unless I back date the bill of sale!

It's weird, but it's human.