Fashion and Following the Savior

The gals over at the Girl Talk blog have just posted the fourth part of their series on "Fashion and Following the Savior." The article articulates a very biblical model of beauty.


Here is an excerpt from Part One:

It’s that time of year again. The fashion magazines are touting the newest and hottest clothing trends for spring and summer. And because fashion is so fickle, a woman is sure to find that what was popular last season, must not see the light of day this season. But more than just the latest style, spring and summer (in particular) usher in a vast array of immodest and indecent clothing. Thus the racks and shelves at the nearest mall are crammed full of body-revealing attire. So, what’s a Christian woman to do?


Here is an excerpt from Part Two:

But before my trip to the mall, something far more important must take place. I must first evaluate my heart. My dad says it this way, “Any biblical discussion of modesty begins by addressing the heart, not the hemline.” So what is this heart we’re supposed to have? 1 Timothy 2:9-10 makes it clear. It says that “Women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control.” These two qualities are to inform the way that I dress. Let’s check out these definitions.


Here is an excerpt from Part Three:

You see, immodest dress is more than simply wearing skimpy clothing. Often, it’s an expression of pride, the opposite of humility. Simply put, immodest clothes are pride on display. In his book Humility: True Greatness, my dad explains that “The proud person seeks to glorify himself and not God, thereby attempting in effect to deprive God of something only He is worthy to receive. In other words, the immodest girl seeks to dress in a way that draws attention to herself and to her body, instead of serving others and bringing glory to the Savior.

Here is an excerpt from Part Four:

So we are not to take this verse to mean that godly women should try as hard as they can to be out of style and unattractive. No! Quite the opposite. God is the creator of beauty. God delights in beauty. All we need to verify this fact is to consider the beauty He created all around us: whether it is an elegant flower, or towering trees, or a meandering river, or billowy clouds or the majestic night sky. Every time we stop to take in one of these breathtaking scenes on display in God’s creation, we can’t help but be convinced that He delights in beauty!

Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty

Log onto one of Dove soap's newest websites and you will read this opening promo:

For too long
Beauty has been defined by narrow, stifling stereotypes.
You've told us it's time to change all that.
We agree.
Because we believe real beauty comes in many shapes, sizes, and ages.
It is why we stared the campagin for Real Beauty.
And why we hope you'll take part.

The website includes trailers for recent TV commercials, adolescent self-esteem writing contests, a photo gallery, t-shirts, news alerts, and other various ways to get involved in the campaign.

While I have no idea, apart from Christ, how a soap company expects to single-handedly break century-old cultural definitions, I at least applaud their efforts to swim against the raging media tide.

After Eve Women's Conference Info

You can now see some information on the After Eve website on my workshop seminar that I will be presenting on Saturday, November 5,2005 at MacLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia (close to the Washington D.C. area). The title of my workshop is "Biblical Jewelry." If you click on that link, you will see a brief outline of my message, photo, and bio.

A study of 1 Peter 3 - Beauty from God's perspective. The book of 1 Peter is all about various kinds of trials, suffering, and persecution. So why then, in chapter three, does Peter address the topic of women and how they should dress? Come to Biblical Jewelry and discover why this passage is not as out-of-place as you might think! Taught from the perspective of a young woman born with a severe birth defect that disfigured her face, come and see what the Bible has to say about beauty and how all of us, no matter what our reflection tells us, can do all things for the glory of God – including shoe shopping and applying mascara!

Speaker - Vicki Anderson
Vicki was born in 1972 with Orbital Hypertelorism, a rare birth defect that deformed her face. Twenty-five reconstructive surgeries later, she now lives in Minneapolis, MN and works for Desiring God Ministries. Vicki has found true contentment and joy in Christ and would like to share the secrets of how to live with victory and hope in a culture obsessed with beauty and physical perfection.

After Eve Women's Conference

Well, I've managed to blog for just over eight months without any shameless plugs, so I figured it was high time that I dropped one.

I will, Lord willing, be one of the workshop speakers at a women's conference in November. I will be teaching on "Biblical Jewelry: A Study of 1 Peter 3 -- Beauty From God's Perspective." The workshop is 75 minutes long and is during the Saturday afternoon breakout sessions.

The conference is sponsored by the After Eve organization and is being held at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia on Friday and Saturday, November 4-5, 2005.

The conference is by young women, for young women and hopes to draw a crowd of women between the ages of 18-30, give or take -- which in my case, is some take.

Information about the keynote speakers, available workshop sessions, cost, location, room and board, as well as the mission statment and purpose of the conference can be found on their website.

I am looking forward to being there. Please keep me in your prayers as you think of it. I have been told that my session is being recorded, so after the conference, I will post information on how to obtain copies of the audio, should anyone be interested.

The Vogue Factor

I found an ineresting article concerning the effect of beautiful people on soceity as a whole. Interestingly, this study was done by mathmeticians, not psychologists, so it makes for an interesting read.

BEAUTY makes the world an unhappier place, say two mathematicians who have calculated the ideal way to match lonely hearts to their soulmates.

Conventionally good looking people such as Kate Moss, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lopez, may be pleasing to the eye, but their very presence in our midst makes the world a less contented place, the research suggests.

Eye of the Beholder

The research I did on the current plastic surgery trend in the U.S. led me to start thinking about similar rituals in other countries -- after all, the painful quest for beauty isn't limmited to the American borders alone.

Here are some examples.

Feet binding comes to mind first. Take a look at the beautiful results: http://www.ccds.charlotte.nc.us/History/China/04/hutchins/hutchins.htm

Neck Stretching
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0111742/neckstretching.htm

Cicatrization:
http://www.jolique.com/body_art/scars_beauty.htm

Maoris Moko (face tattoos)
http://www.tattooartist.com/nztat.html

Cosmetic Toe Amputation (going on in the U.S. today)
http://www.footcaremd.com/gf_a_nyt1203_2.html

Lip Stretching
http://www.bmezine.com/news/pubring/clash/tribal2.jpg

Scarification
http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/medmuseum/wallexhibits/body/bodyalterations/bodyalterations.html

And for the record - the most disgusting, unpublishable photos I found on the entire world wide web while trying to find painful and grotesque cultural beauty rituals were the pictures of American teenagers taken in this decade. So, let us Americans not be too quick to judge or boast of being "civilized."

Celebrities Without Makeup

This is proof that we don't need plastic surgery, we just need great lighting, an airbrush, and a professional makeup artist.

Celebrities without makeup:

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/celeb.html

http://www.hereinreality.com/makeup.htm

http://members.rogers.com/rebeccax/bp/beautifulpeople2.html

True Thighs

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis recently posed for a photograph with no make up, no special lighting, no airbrush. What a relief to us ordinary folks...Hollywood actresses are just ordinary folk too! The article below first appeared in USA Today (written by Ann Oldenbburg).

Jamie Lee Curtis is posing for More magazine in a sports bra and tight spandex briefs that reveal what she looks like when she's not glammed up as a movie star. For one photo, Curtis spent three hours prepping with a team of 13 people making sure she looked just right.

Curtis then asked photographer Andrew Eccles to shoot with her no makeup, no manicure, no professionally done hair, no diamond jewelry or high fashion outfit, in unforgiving light with a full-body straight-on shot.

She says she doesn't have a perfect body.

"I don't have great thighs," she tells More. "I have very big breasts and a soft, fatty little tummy. And I've got back fat. People assume I'm walking around in little spaghetti-strap dresses. It's the insidious Glam Jamie Jamie, the Perfect Jamie, the great figure, blah, blah, blah. And I don't want the unsuspecting 40-year-old women of the world to think that I've got it going on. It's such a fraud. And I'm the one perpetuating it."

Curtis is promoting her fifth children's book, I'm Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem. It hits bookstores this month, and its message is what prompted Curtis to pose in her unflattering undies.

"In the recovery program I'm in for addiction problems, they talk about peeling an onion, exposing more layers," she says. The myth of the perfect Jamie is something she "actively participated in and, by the way, profited from. Now, I'm sitting here on my high hill, debunking the very foundation that I sit on. Don't think I'm not afraid of it. I'm not financially independent enough that I don't rely on outside income still."

She admits she has gone under the knife to improve her looks. "I've had a little plastic surgery. I've had a little lipo. I've had a little Botox. And you know what? None of it works. None of it."
So now, she's on a mission, she says in the September issue of More, which hits newsstands next week.

"I want to do my part, as I develop the consciousness for it, to stop perpetuating the myth. I'm going to look the way God intends me to look ... with a little help from Manolo Blahnik."

God's Definition of Beauty

Here is an excerpt from an excellent article written by Carolyn Mahaney.

We are exhorted in Romans 12:2 not to allow the world around us to squeeze us into its mold. We need to ask ourselves if we have been captivated by our culture's definition of beauty ... or God's. Do our thoughts and actions regarding our appearance reflect a cultural standard, or a biblical standard? To answer these questions honestly, we need to understand God's perspective on beauty.

Scripture reveals the falsehood and futility of the quest for physical beauty. "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting" (Pro 31:30). Charm in the Hebrew means "bodily form." Form and beauty are two things that our culture esteems and pursues with fervor, yet God exposes our pursuit of the perfect figure and beauty to be idolatrous.

A survey of physically beautiful women in the Bible supports the admonitions of Proverbs. Physical beauty in Scripture is more often linked with trouble and temptation than with blessing and goodness. Many Old Testament stories of lying, cheating, stealing, murder, adultery, and idol-worship find their roots in sinful responses to female physical beauty (E.g., the accounts of Sarah in Gen 12:11-20, Rebekah in Gen 26:7-11, and Tamar in 2Sa 13:1-20).

Nowhere in the Bible are women instructed to wish, ask, or strive for physical beauty. Instead, God's Word warns us of the futility and deceitfulness of such a pursuit. Neither does the Bible portray physical beauty as a blessing for those who have it. Instead, it can create greater potential for being snared by sin (Pro 6:23-26).

However, there is a kind of beauty that we are to pursue. First Peter 3:4-5 tells us that a woman's beauty should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.

It's the Inside That Counts

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." Isaiah 16:7

Oh how I wish this verse was known and loved and cherished and believed in America! If only we could replace all of our shallow self-esteem courses with this one, short verse.

Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth

JT, my friend, colleague, and the inspiring force behind my starting a blog, has a great post on his blog this morning. You can view his site here: http://theologica.blogspot.com/

Here is his latest post in its entirety:

Al Mohler reports that "a team of researchers has taken a closer look at the idea that self-esteem is a crucial factor in personal happiness, achievement, and behavior. Their research conclusively destroys the self-esteem myth and demonstrates that the nation's obsession with self-esteem was never based on science in the first place."

The article, entitled "Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth, was published in the January 2005 issue of Scientific American. They explain that "Boosting people's sense of self-worth has become a national preoccupation. Yet surprisingly, research shows that such efforts are of little value in fostering academic progress or preventing undesirable behavior."

Mohler explains the Christian alternative:

"The Christian worldview completely reverses this cycle. The Christian finds satisfaction, not in a sense of self-worth, but in knowing the one true and living God. Human beings are indeed made in God's image, and every single human life is thus worthy of respect and dignity. Nevertheless, the gospel makes clear that the Christian's identity is found in Christ--not in the self."

"As a matter of fact, this is one of the most transformative and liberating realities of the Christian faith. It's not about us--even as we are the recipients of God's grace and mercy."

"Scientific American has done us all a great service by exploding the self-esteem myth, and indicating just how superficial and baseless the claims of self-esteem advocates are now shown to be. Expect an energetic retort from the self-esteem industry. They won't go down without a fight."

The Plastic Surgery Myth

The Dove soap company conducted a survey last year that yielded some surprising results. You can read the full article here: http://www.dove.com/real_beauty/news.asp?id=454 The article begins: New research, released today by the Dove beauty brand, reveals that women are frustrated with the gap that exists between their definition of beauty and society's. The Dove Report: Challenging Beauty finds the majority of women (90%) in the United States are somewhat to very satisfied with their looks. In fact, nearly half of the women surveyed (44%) are more comfortable with their looks today than they were ten years ago. Women are comfortable with their appearance and do not feel compelled to change their looks. These findings provide a thought-provoking contrast to America's seeming obsession with makeovers and cosmetic procedures. We who have facial deformities understand that there is a difference between cosmetic surgery and reconstructive surgery. In our case, reconstruction is necessary, whereas cosmetic is superfluous. But, psychologically, this survey has profound effects on our perceptions. Many times, we feel ugly and inferior simply because we don't look the way we are told we are supposed to look, but according to this survey, that standard is a myth. This news should encourage us and free us from debilitating self-pity and shame.

Snowflakes

Snow crystals fall in a stunning array of shapes and sizes whether admired for a fleeting moment or captured in time, each is a masterpiece of nature. (This quote is taken from Winter Science magazine, January/February 2005 edition).

What is more fleeting than the lifespan of a snowflake that melts the moment it hits a warm mitten? And yet, in the mind of God, even the futile objects of his creation receive the utmost of attention and detail. And even things that live only a moment can bring him glory – and in fact, were designed with that very purpose in mind.

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/ is an amazing website where photographer, Kenneth Libbrecht, has invented a high-powered digital camera that enables him to photograph magnified pictures of real snowflakes. I first viewed the photos with absolute skepticism – they were far too intricate and beautiful to be real.

But as it slowly hit me that they were indeed real, my heart was overcome with thoughts of a powerful and wonderful Creator. Perhaps this is what Romans speaks of when it says that we are without excuse because nature itself displays the glory of God.

My wonder was rooted in the thought that if God gives such care and such beauty to something as fleeting as a snowflake, how much more intentional and beautiful is his design for us. Snowflakes are futile. Unless someone looks very closely, their design goes unnoticed and from afar, what looks like an insignificant blob is, upon a closer look, extraordinarily beautiful.

I believe much of God can be learned from the snowflake. The Lord has hidden breath-taking beauty in tiny, insignificant, frail parts of his creation. Even if no one ever thought to look at or photograph a snowflake – God is aware of every one as each one parades past his throne like a never-ending train of glory – each flake sounding its own unique note within a blinding blizzard of worship.

Certainly a Creator who takes this much pleasure in fleeting scraps of melting ice has wonderful plans for us! And if science and nature and the power of God are at work in order to produce one, minute snowflake, then certainly his hand was steady as he knit us all together perfectly, according to his plan, in our mother’s wombs. Take heart from the snowflake – God’s design for your life was intentional, and upon a closer look, extraordinarily beautiful.