Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America [Paperback]

Jeff Pollard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 2001

The Church is being destroyed by sacred cows. A ''sacred cow'' is an untouchable subject that we are not supposed to discuss. To do so impinges upon another's ''Christian liberty.'' Certainly, there are few sacred cows quite as sacred as the right of modern Christians to dress however they please. But in this groundbreaking work, Jeff Pollard challenges us to embrace God's standard and to understand the historical roots of the rise of nudity and immodesty in modern culture. His perspective is thoughtful and balanced. Most importantly, he accomplishes what few authors on this subject have achieved: a treatise that avoids both license and legalism. A courageous booklet.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

In the Church today, there are few cows quite as sacred as the right of modern Christians to dress however they please. But in this groundbreaking work, Jeff Pollard challenges us to embrace God's standard and to understand the historical roots of the rise of nudity and immodesty in modern culture. His perspective is thoughtful and balanced. Most importantly, he accomplishes what few authors on this subject have achieved: a treatise that avoids both license and legalism. A courageous booklet.

Product Details

• Paperback: 77 pages
• Publisher: The Vision Forum, Inc. (December 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929241348
• ISBN-13: 978-1929241347
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #291,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing but the Truth!!!, February 1, 2003

By 

Gregory Nyman (Winchendon, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America (Paperback)

Jeff Pollard has, indeed, taken on the "sacred cow" of our culture - the swimsuit, essentially, but more importantly, he has shown by the sources he quotes from outside the Christian church, that the agenda of the fashion industry has been to progressively "undress" the American public. He moves on to show what the Bible teaches concerning modesty, and how the Christian believer has been duped and deceived into believing that this is "normal behavior," when in fact it hasn't been.

This is a powerful tool in the hands of anyone who wants to shed light on this subject, especially to a youth pastor who goes swimming with his group, and the kinds of swim wear which the young people put on. Or even to the Christian who has held that "there is nothing wrong with this," or that "everyone is doing it," or that "I'm not naked in front of anybody." This is not a "put down" or a call to condemnation, but an appeal to examine ourselves in light of biblical teaching as to how our behaviors are impacting our culture, and how we are called to be "separate" and not be conformed to our world and its falleness.

Towards the end of this book, Jeff Pollard reveals what the connection between the undressing of America and the current states of affair are in pornography, and how easy it has become to see how the swimsuit and pornography have led to the complete undressing of our culture and what the "uncovering of our nakedness" has produced and what it means from a biblical point of view. Ultimately, it has been rotten fruit, and we need to capture again the essence of modesty in dress if we are to avoid the judgment of God.

Compelling reading, and SOBERING!!! Highly recommended!!!

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars does too much and too little, May 12, 2005

By 

Jeremiah Lawson (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America (Paperback)

by focusing primarily on the history of the swimsuit Pollard's book does not address the larger issue of modesty in public dress as effectively as he might. And while the history of fashion sheds light on fashion, (i.e. swimsuits have observably become skimpier over a century) Pollard can offer no explanation except the caving in of Christian virtue. This is basically saying Christians have lost a culture war without explaining why.

While the initial exposition on what the parameters of Christian modesty mean Pollard provides no application for what a suitable example of Christian modesty would be. Furthermore, when push comes to shove he refers to the Westminster Larger Catechism for application rather than sticking to the biblical principles he espoused. Some of his cases are self-defeating. On one hand he notes that garments in biblical periods could be sleeveless and then states that the inexorable decline of swimwear in the west into sluttiness really began when sleeveless swimwear appeared in the mid-19th century. Props for giving the topic serious consideration but as an exegetical study it is still wanting.

On the other hand, it's cheap so if you're not persuaded the research has been effective it won't cost you much.

51 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Falls short, March 15, 2005

By 

Kacy Ellis "MeanderingHome" (Silsbee, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America (Paperback)

I appreciated this book on modesty because it is an often over-looked subject among Christians. The book is really short (only 74 pages), and I wish that Pollard had gone into more exegesis on texts like Genesis 3.

I thought the criticisms of the swimsuit industry were valid, but Pollard didn't offer any kind of solution to how a Christian female should dress if she wants to go swimming? Should we just avoid it all together in fear of causing men to stumble?

Which brings me to another point. Pollard seems to place a lot of blame on Christian women for wearing clothes that cause men to stumble and on pastors who refuse to teach their congregations about modesty. On the other hand, he doesn't really place much blame on the men who give the women attention for wearing bikinis. What is a girl to do? As far as clothing options, she is already limited by the options availible. Women's jeans are always made to fit tight in the legs, it is hard to find shirts that aren't tight, a modest bathing suit doesn't exist (according to Pollard), the fashionable skirts are the short ones. Women my age don't wear these kind of clothes to stand out (at least at my age), but to fit in. I bring this up because Pollard believes that our clothes should draw unnecessary attention to ourselves.

Overall, I am definately for modesty. My mom and sister even say I dress like a grandma most of the time, and I agreed with the major premises of this book. My only complaint is that the book is obviosly directed to men (with greater usage of masculine pronouns and more references to godly men and modesty), but it doesn't criticize the actions of the men as much as it does the women. Rather than go on and on about how a Christain woman shouldn't dress to cause a man to stumble; I think the book would have been more effective if he also stated that Christian men should stop giving attention to scantaly clad women. It really bothered me that he compared the issue as another incidence of Eve bringing Adam into sin. Men should stop expecting women to dress immodestly, and they should also stop objectifying women by referring to the images as "hot" to other men or in the ear-shot of women. Women do not dress immodestly because they like it, they usually do that because men want them to and its expected of them. Both men and women should work to fix the problem, and I believe Christian men are just as much to blame as Christian women and the fashion industry.