Tag: modesty

Morgan Olliges ft. Performative Christian Modesty

I’ve blogged about the Morgan and Paul Show before and my opinion of them (that they’re very unbiblical and steeped in secular conservative culture rather than Christ) remains unchanged.

However, Morgan is more palatable for me because she actually possesses self-control when it comes to her tongue i.e. “[a] fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” Morgan doesn’t spew every thought that comes to her mind online, nor does she repost every bit of conservative, secular drivel she sees on Instagram, which is more than I can say for Paul (sidenote: it’s ironic how Morgan, who is suppose to be led by Paul, regularly displays more wisdom and self-control than he does…). Plus, she has a really lovely voice.

That said, a while ago Morgan (probably) posted a picture of her in leggings with a sticker or whatever over her booty, which is probably why I took this screenshot. I likely intended to blog about this topic eons ago but clearly that never happened, and I don’t particularly feel like scouring the web for whatever she posted initially as I attempt to restart my whole “blogging at least once a week” nonsense.

So instead of a.) not posting the picture b.) taking the picture in loose-fitting pants or a dress c.)reading the Bible and realizing the female figure isn’t inherently sexual, or even d.) taking a front picture, Morgan chose to post a picture she views as inherently “immodest” and then draw attention to the fact that she’s immodestly dressed by blocking out her butt.

Performative modesty is at the heart of posting something like this. The doubling down by insisting she wears a jacket or shirt to cover her butt out in public indicates a prideful, rather than humble, heart.

If Morgan really believed leggings or tight-fitting jeans were inappropriate, she just wouldn’t wear them. Like why go through the trouble and discomfort of wearing something you inherently view as immodest when you could literally just wear something modest? The Bible says “[do] nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Posting a picture with her butt covered up (which inadvertently draws more attention to it) is an attempt at appearing modest without actually being modest (to be clear, leggings are not immodest but Morgan clearly things they are). It’s the opposite of humility. Again, someone who truly felt leggings were immodest would just not wear them, or at the very least just not post pictures in them. Like I doubt someone held a gun to her head and forced her to pose in and upload pictures of herself in leggings on Instagram.

There’s nothing wrong with modest clothing, nor is there anything wrong with promoting modesty on a public platform. The Bible says, (1 Timothy 2:9-10) “[l]ikewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.”

However, performative modesty isn’t genuine. It’s attention-seeking and born from a desire to to have “a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…” True modesty is born out of humility; it’s a desire to let yourself decrease so that others may be focused on God. After all, as Christians we are told to do all for the glory of God, not all for the glory of Instagram. Maybe Morgan should pick up her Bible and realize that true modesty isn’t about what you wear, but it’s a posture of the heart. One that desires to give all glory and attention to God.

Or she could just, ya know, not post pictures of her butt on social media.

Christian Influencer Thinks Assault Is Okay If You’re Dressed Immodestly

At what point are people going to start quoting the Bible and not their personal opinions?

Frankly, I find Solie Osorio sort of hilarious because she’s like not even 25, yet speaks as if she has some wealth of knowledge to share about marriage, children, etc. Job 12:12 says, “[w]isdom is with aged men, [a]nd with length of days, understanding.” Surely the Lord can and does empower young people with wisdom, but Solie is not wise, nor is what she’s saying backed with scripture. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but that wisdom will never contradict or add to the Word of God either.

And nowhere in the Bible does God put the blame of grape (lol) on what someone is wearing. In fact, God basically says stone rapists in Deuteronomy. Adultery was also punishable by death for both the man and the woman, and this would include looking at pornography, or lusting after a woman. Porneia is a Greek word that basically means any sexual activity and is used in the Bible several times. Since all sexual activity outside of marriage is forbidden, if Solie was truly interested in being Biblically accurate here and not just sexist, she would blame both the man lusting and the woman dressed immodestly equally in her post. Tellingly, she does not which reveals this is just another pick-me type post, or worst some sort of trolling attempt, which is not very Godly and not what Christians should be known for online.

The Bible is what our faith is based upon and when Christians are consistently preaching things with nay a Bible verse in sight, that’s a red flag. Scrolling through Solie’s Instagram, 90% of it is personal opinions with sporadic Bible verses out of context. Troubling that she has such a large following of Christians when very little of what she says is backed by Scripture. It’s why it’s crucial to read your Bible daily and familiarize yourself with the Word of God, so when people preach Biblical clownery you already know what God has said.

In Matthew, Jesus puts the blame of lust squarely on the shoulders of those who are lusting. Jesus says not once, but twice to pluck your eyeballs out if you have an issue with lust. I’m not against dressing modestly even though Solie and I would probably disagree on what dressing modestly means. But I do have a lot of sympathy (particularly as I’m a very visual lady myself and no cap, I like looking at shirtless, hot men lol) towards men who are struggling in our hypersexualized culture. So I agree generally that as women (and men) we shouldn’t dress provocatively – just not for the sake of man, but because rather to honor the Lord.

That said, modesty teachings are the lazy way out of fostering self-control, particularly in regards to male sexuality. This is none more evident than among Christian men who seem even weaker than their secular counterparts in this area. Jesus says they will know us by our fruits; Galatians lists “self-control” as one of the fruits of the Spirit. Thus, evidence that one is actually a Christian isn’t in how they dress, how closely they follow gender roles, how early they marry and have kids, but rather in the fruit they produce. This is why Jesus further warns against wolves in sheep’s clothing – those that look the part but underneath all their prairie dresses, sourdough breads, and Christianese are actually producing bad fruit. Consequently, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect Christian men, who are tasked as being spiritual leaders (and this includes leading in the fruits of the Spirit) to exhibit self-control. Not only is it an expectation, but it’s the clearest evidence that a person is actually a Christian and not just using religion to live a certain lifestyle.

Nonsense like this discourages men from fostering self-control and is frankly the opposite of what the Bible actually says – in fact, it feels very boys will be boys, which is a very secular attitude. Here, modesty and purity culture serve as a band-aid to lust, and inevitably we’ll see Christian pastors and other prominent Christian men falling to sexual sin again and again, and Christians are always shooketh. But it’s nothing more than the fruit of what modesty and purity culture has produced over the years, which is telling. If one never learns to discipline themselves in the way of self-control, than they will stumble the minute they encounter anything outside of their carefully curated world of modesty, no leggings, and no cleavage. And as Christians we are told to be in the world, not of the world. But how are Christians to be in the world when they can’t even stand the sight of a woman in leggings?

Christians like Solie, Dale Partridge, and Owen Strachan’s answer to this is telling women to cover up and hide the way God literally made them. Again, a band-aid and these teachings are evidence of a lack of self-control in their own lives. Troubling because many of these folks are in authority over others. Yet the amount of times I’ve seen the women shouldn’t wear leggings debate brought up by Christians is remarkable. Far more time is spent telling women not to dress a certain way so that men don’t lust after them, which isn’t even in the Bible, as opposed to telling men to foster self-control, which is in the Bible. But ya know, the latter actually requires one to be a Christian and not just cosplaying as one, and I have a feeling a good many popular Christian influencers fall in the the second category.

Dressing modestly is great but it’s not the answer to lust. Nothing gives anyone else the right to assault them, whether they’re naked, or dressed like the Amish. And as for my dear sister in Christ, Solie, she may want to spend some time looking at the *probably should include a trigger warning* What I was Wearing Exhibit, and of course, a little more time reading her Bible.

Owen Strachan Continues To Not Know Anything: On Modesty

All leggings are tight.

So really he should be asking “Should Women Wear Leggings?”

However, why are Christian men constantly rehashing the same nonsense? Do they literally, with everything going on in the world, have nothing else to stew over besides their own issues with lust? Poverty? Human Trafficking? Racism? War? The fact our foster care system is underfunded and overburdened? Like a couple years ago Dale Partridge or whatever talked about this and the consensus was shut-up. Get your lust in check, practice the spiritual discipline of chastity in your own marriage, and stop watching porn.

Anyway, for someone who claims to be Biblical and exegetically correct, Owen is the gift that keeps on spouting culturally based personal opinions that are found nowhere in the Bible, such as stuff like women shouldn’t play sports. Cause ya know, when early Christian women were getting sawn in half and killed by the sword over the gospel, I’m sure they were spending hours angsting over heavy contact sports.

Now, I don’t really follow Owen in general, so I can’t really speak to his overall theology. This is (again) because of the above blog post which told me he was a Biblical clown twisting scripture, or just making stuff up, to suit his personal worldview.

Gentleness is not a trait only for women, it is a fruit of the Spirit all Christians should pursue and display, per Galatians which I assume Owen believes is part of the Bible. Men, as leaders, should be leading in gentleness, patience, kindness, and other fruits of the Spirit, per their supposed God-ordained placement as heads or spiritual leaders of their families. Being a leader means leading by example; it mean exemplifying the traits you want to see in those who follow you. It does not mean playing football and soccer. One does not need to be a theologian to see Owen is more interested in promoting patriarchy over Biblical truth. One only needs to read the Bible for themselves.

Here is another such example of Owen not knowing anything. Tellingly, Owen never defines modesty per the Bible. Historically, modesty standards have varied widely throughout history, and even from culture to culture. During Bible times, everyone wore robes though I have no doubt Owen would be the type to throw a fit over a male wearing a dress now.

The Bible makes no mention of modesty as pertains to clothing, but tells us that lust is an issue of the heart, and “if anyone looks at a women with lust, it’s better to gouge his own eyes out, than the whole body go into hell”.

I’m generally all for, within reason, doing what I can to not tempt my bros in Christ with my clothing. That said, the female body is not inherently sexual. Curves, hips, etc. which God gave women, are not things that needs to be hidden. Adam and Eve were born naked, it was only after sin that they covered up and it’s a shame Christian men, who should be the most free from sin, seem to struggle with looking at knees, shoulders, and legs even more than non-Christian men. It’s perhaps the most telling sign that purity culture and modesty rules don’t work.

If Christian men are unable to look at a woman in leggings without thinking impure thoughts, they should, per Jesus suggestions, get a spoon and start the digging their eyeballs out.