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Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America
A much needed tonic for every Christian parent.
77 pages, Paperback
First published December 12, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
May 15, 2024
This is a great small resource on what is a highly debated topic within Christian circles. Criticisms of legalism, fundamentalism, or over-indulgence are often hurtled at any opinions regarding the topic of modesty, but I felt that Pollard struck a healthy balance with this book that is biblically accurate. His goal is not so much to tell you what you can and can’t wear, but rather it’s to get you thinking about why you wear what you wear.
He unpacks the Biblical argument for reclaiming modesty in our day, while highlighting the historical development of our current “swimsuit culture” in the west. It’s Christ centered, thought provoking, and edifying throughout.
Quotes that stood out to me:
“Christian modesty is the inner self-government, rooted in a proper understanding of one’s self before God, which outwardly displays itself in humility and purity from a genuine love for Jesus Christ, rather than in self-glorification or self-advertisement”
“I must make clear that the problem is not and never has been swimwear or any other piece of clothing. The problem is sinful hearts. Garments, like all material things, are not sinful in themselves. But exposing or sensually packaging the body, while provoking lust in others’ ‘fallen flesh’ is.”
He unpacks the Biblical argument for reclaiming modesty in our day, while highlighting the historical development of our current “swimsuit culture” in the west. It’s Christ centered, thought provoking, and edifying throughout.
Quotes that stood out to me:
“Christian modesty is the inner self-government, rooted in a proper understanding of one’s self before God, which outwardly displays itself in humility and purity from a genuine love for Jesus Christ, rather than in self-glorification or self-advertisement”
“I must make clear that the problem is not and never has been swimwear or any other piece of clothing. The problem is sinful hearts. Garments, like all material things, are not sinful in themselves. But exposing or sensually packaging the body, while provoking lust in others’ ‘fallen flesh’ is.”
June 6, 2022
This is a must-read for all Christians. The idea of modesty is not one we are called to take lightly, and the dichotomy presented in the book is fascinating, and incredibly sad. How easily we walk on the beaches in apparel we would never step out our front door in, and see no problem with it. I encourage every Christian, man or woman, to read this book.
April 8, 2022
Wow. An excellent read by Jeff Pollard. He takes a dive into the topic of modest, specifically focusing on the swimsuit industry. Using the fashion industries own words he shows how the swimsuit industry was designed to undress and sexualize the human body. Letting the facts speak for him, Jeff comes across as neither legalistic nor fundamentalistic, but as a loving father or brother pointing out the error in his relatives lives. He concludes exhorting Christians to live modestly in accordance with the commands of Scripture, and out of love for God and neighbor.
June 4, 2024
As a young woman that grew up surrounded by dominating influences of both the Church and the culture, the modesty conversation had always felt uncomfortable, restrictive, and difficult to accept. Didn’t God want me to “fit in,” to look “nice,” and to appear (as what I thought was) “feminine?”
Praise God that he’s worked on my heart and shown me such grace in this area. Ultimately, God commands us to holiness, being above reproach. He created us, and for that our bodies are GOOD and not something to be ashamed of; yet, our sinful hearts are the problem. We must fight against our flesh, whatever it may take to be obedient to Him.
Super thankful to have this resource to come back to and to aid in conversation with other women especially!
Praise God that he’s worked on my heart and shown me such grace in this area. Ultimately, God commands us to holiness, being above reproach. He created us, and for that our bodies are GOOD and not something to be ashamed of; yet, our sinful hearts are the problem. We must fight against our flesh, whatever it may take to be obedient to Him.
Super thankful to have this resource to come back to and to aid in conversation with other women especially!
November 23, 2014
This is a book every Christian should read. It concerns the issue of modesty and what the Bible says about it. Many incorrectly think that the Bible gives leeway in this area to each person's own conscience. They excuse their immodest clothing by telling others not to judge and reveling in their "liberty in Christ." But the truth is, God has laid out principles in the Bible, on what He expects of His people in the way of dress. He has placed in us a good sense of shame that our culture has attempted to desensitize us to. The culture says to cast off clothes, and people and Christians do. This is not of God.
This book is about modesty, but it focuses on the area of swimwear, and how every true Christian should stay away from its use. Startling historical examples and readings are provided. Modern bathing suits are truly designed to arouse sinful lusts, not serve practical purposes. It is somehow-legal public nakedness, and it is disgusting to God. Satan will find cultural areas to push into, but Christians should recognize his attacks and fight back. In the area of swimwear, the church has failed to stand for what's right.
Well researched, this book reads like a college term paper and is about that length - 31 pages. A quick read that is well worth it. Just read and ponder. Listen to God's Spirit and the conscience He has placed in you. Then, obey.
This book is about modesty, but it focuses on the area of swimwear, and how every true Christian should stay away from its use. Startling historical examples and readings are provided. Modern bathing suits are truly designed to arouse sinful lusts, not serve practical purposes. It is somehow-legal public nakedness, and it is disgusting to God. Satan will find cultural areas to push into, but Christians should recognize his attacks and fight back. In the area of swimwear, the church has failed to stand for what's right.
Well researched, this book reads like a college term paper and is about that length - 31 pages. A quick read that is well worth it. Just read and ponder. Listen to God's Spirit and the conscience He has placed in you. Then, obey.
February 25, 2019
As a new believer, Jeff Pollard attended a youth conference in Florida and was disturbed by t what he saw there. The major cause of this disturbance was the attire the Christian young people wore at the beach. There seemed to be a disconnect between the Christian lives the young people were being urged to live, and the revealing attire they were being allowed to wear. This experience drove him to seek God in prayer, and through the study of His Word, to find out for himself what God had to say, if anything, about the clothing of Christians.
This brief book was written as a result of his seeking. While the beginning starts out in what seems like an exploration of an idea, as the book progresses, the author's convictions become absolutely clear. His first point is that the body, since the fall into sin, is meant to be covered. His second point is that swimwear was specifically designed with sexual attraction in mind, and is, by design, meant to uncover the body as much as possible. "Why?", he asks, do we feel no shame at the beach while wearing what would generally be unacceptable in public? Most people would not wear only their underwear to church or to the grocery store.
He points the reader to Genesis and the fall into sin, where God's holy action of love was to cover man's nakedness. While the author focuses on the clothing being a covering of man's shame, I would also add that the clothing signifies the new-found separation between God and man. In what was first a pure relationship with no shame or barriers, we now have something standing in our way, our clothing, between us and God. As the author also points out, the animal covering of Adam and Eve also points us to the blood of the Lamb covering our sin. The Lord Jesus Christ has stood in the place of sinful man and thereby opened the way back to God. In this way, clothing became the loving response and remedy for sin.
Why then, should Christians throw off their clothes with the rest of the world, when our clothing serves as a daily reminder of God's great kindness and mercy to mankind? While he occasionally mentions the immodest dress he is grieved to find in church, his specific focus for this book is on swimwear. He provides a brief history of the gradual exposure of more and more skin being shown in America and gives quotes from fashion designers in the early twentieth century. He wants to make clear the intent of the fashion industry, which was to cash in on the fact that "sex sells", by producing a garmet leaving as little room for the imagination as possible. If the fashion industry had any other intent besides making money and pushing the cultural envelope, it goes unmentioned in the author's chosen quotes.
He rightly points out the effect of media on our beliefs. Television/the internet/magazines have influenced and desensitized us to things that are undoubtedly not proper and fitting for a Christian's regular visual and audible intake. He believes pastors have a responsibility to exhort their congregations to modest living fitting for a people redeemed by Christ, and that for the most part, they have not lived up to that responsibility. He holds husbands and fathers accountable for their own sins of lust, and exhorts them to pay attention to what their wives and daughters wear. He asks women to examine their hearts in the area of clothing.
"Modesty" is a topic I am devoutly interested in, in part, because I was somewhat "traumatized" as an adolescent girl by all the ardent teachings that "men are visual.” As loving sisters in Christ, we were to help protect our brothers from sin, because they had this almost disease-like sexual nature that caused them to lust and think about sex all the time. I've spent a good portion of my life being terrified of men. Even Jeff Pollard even writes in his book, to which I (somewhat humorously) highlighted and penciled into the margins a frightened, "Ahhhhhh!!!"
"Women should be especially aware of how their clothing impacts men; because generally speaking, men are far more visually oriented then women. Richard Baxter wisely commented that women sin when their clothing tends 'to the ensnaring of the minds of the beholders in shameless, lustful, wanton passions, though you say, you intend it not, it is your sin, that you do that which will probably procure it, yea, that you did not your best to avoid it. And though it be their sin and vanity that is the cause, it is nevertheless your sin to be the unnecessary occasion: for you must consider that you live among diseased souls!"
Addressing women, the quote continues, "And you must not lay a stumbling-block in their way, nor blow up the fire of their lusts, nor make your ornaments their snares; but you must walk among sinful persons, as you would do with a candle among straw or gunpower; or else you may see the flame which you would not foresee, when it is too late to quench it."
An alternative to swimwear is never proposed. As a reader who loves natural water of any kind (though maybe not crocodile swamps or mosquito heavy creeks), I am left wondering, "Well, if not a bathing suit, then what?" Though I do not think I intend to give up wearing a swimsuit altogether, I do think we can choose our clothing, including swimwear, wisely based on where we are and who we are with. I agree with Pollard when he says, "If they (women) are modest, they will not draw attention to themselves in the wrong way. Their dress will not say "SEX!" or "PRIDE" or "MONEY!", but "purity", "humility", and "moderation". Pocahontas is my favorite Disney princess.
I remember reading somewhere that you can judge the state of a culture's morality based on their levels of public nakedness. The older I get, the more I have become more uncomfortable with and questioning of things that never used to bother me, for example, co-ed swimming at the YMCA. There needs to be proper separation between men and women. I do believe that, as Christians, we are to treat those of the opposite sex not as friends or casual acquaintances, but as true brothers and sisters, in all purity and love. As believers, our hearts and lives and behaviors are to be guided not by fear of sinful man, but by love, adoration, and fear of God Himself.
This brief book was written as a result of his seeking. While the beginning starts out in what seems like an exploration of an idea, as the book progresses, the author's convictions become absolutely clear. His first point is that the body, since the fall into sin, is meant to be covered. His second point is that swimwear was specifically designed with sexual attraction in mind, and is, by design, meant to uncover the body as much as possible. "Why?", he asks, do we feel no shame at the beach while wearing what would generally be unacceptable in public? Most people would not wear only their underwear to church or to the grocery store.
He points the reader to Genesis and the fall into sin, where God's holy action of love was to cover man's nakedness. While the author focuses on the clothing being a covering of man's shame, I would also add that the clothing signifies the new-found separation between God and man. In what was first a pure relationship with no shame or barriers, we now have something standing in our way, our clothing, between us and God. As the author also points out, the animal covering of Adam and Eve also points us to the blood of the Lamb covering our sin. The Lord Jesus Christ has stood in the place of sinful man and thereby opened the way back to God. In this way, clothing became the loving response and remedy for sin.
Why then, should Christians throw off their clothes with the rest of the world, when our clothing serves as a daily reminder of God's great kindness and mercy to mankind? While he occasionally mentions the immodest dress he is grieved to find in church, his specific focus for this book is on swimwear. He provides a brief history of the gradual exposure of more and more skin being shown in America and gives quotes from fashion designers in the early twentieth century. He wants to make clear the intent of the fashion industry, which was to cash in on the fact that "sex sells", by producing a garmet leaving as little room for the imagination as possible. If the fashion industry had any other intent besides making money and pushing the cultural envelope, it goes unmentioned in the author's chosen quotes.
He rightly points out the effect of media on our beliefs. Television/the internet/magazines have influenced and desensitized us to things that are undoubtedly not proper and fitting for a Christian's regular visual and audible intake. He believes pastors have a responsibility to exhort their congregations to modest living fitting for a people redeemed by Christ, and that for the most part, they have not lived up to that responsibility. He holds husbands and fathers accountable for their own sins of lust, and exhorts them to pay attention to what their wives and daughters wear. He asks women to examine their hearts in the area of clothing.
"Modesty" is a topic I am devoutly interested in, in part, because I was somewhat "traumatized" as an adolescent girl by all the ardent teachings that "men are visual.” As loving sisters in Christ, we were to help protect our brothers from sin, because they had this almost disease-like sexual nature that caused them to lust and think about sex all the time. I've spent a good portion of my life being terrified of men. Even Jeff Pollard even writes in his book, to which I (somewhat humorously) highlighted and penciled into the margins a frightened, "Ahhhhhh!!!"
"Women should be especially aware of how their clothing impacts men; because generally speaking, men are far more visually oriented then women. Richard Baxter wisely commented that women sin when their clothing tends 'to the ensnaring of the minds of the beholders in shameless, lustful, wanton passions, though you say, you intend it not, it is your sin, that you do that which will probably procure it, yea, that you did not your best to avoid it. And though it be their sin and vanity that is the cause, it is nevertheless your sin to be the unnecessary occasion: for you must consider that you live among diseased souls!"
Addressing women, the quote continues, "And you must not lay a stumbling-block in their way, nor blow up the fire of their lusts, nor make your ornaments their snares; but you must walk among sinful persons, as you would do with a candle among straw or gunpower; or else you may see the flame which you would not foresee, when it is too late to quench it."
An alternative to swimwear is never proposed. As a reader who loves natural water of any kind (though maybe not crocodile swamps or mosquito heavy creeks), I am left wondering, "Well, if not a bathing suit, then what?" Though I do not think I intend to give up wearing a swimsuit altogether, I do think we can choose our clothing, including swimwear, wisely based on where we are and who we are with. I agree with Pollard when he says, "If they (women) are modest, they will not draw attention to themselves in the wrong way. Their dress will not say "SEX!" or "PRIDE" or "MONEY!", but "purity", "humility", and "moderation". Pocahontas is my favorite Disney princess.
I remember reading somewhere that you can judge the state of a culture's morality based on their levels of public nakedness. The older I get, the more I have become more uncomfortable with and questioning of things that never used to bother me, for example, co-ed swimming at the YMCA. There needs to be proper separation between men and women. I do believe that, as Christians, we are to treat those of the opposite sex not as friends or casual acquaintances, but as true brothers and sisters, in all purity and love. As believers, our hearts and lives and behaviors are to be guided not by fear of sinful man, but by love, adoration, and fear of God Himself.
January 13, 2025
Good, though very different from what I was expecting. Pollard focusses mainly on swimwear, but has some helpful thoughts on what the purpose of clothing is and some helpful references to the original languages which distinguish between various coverings and their propriety, or lack thereof, according to their contexts. A very pointed reminder about how the gradual unclothing of society has made most completely blind to how bad it is, when our forefathers would have blushed and taken action against such ways.
May 22, 2024
Very thought provoking, sobering, and also encouraging. The church has such an opportunity today to display Christ and the beauty of the triune God in how we dress. You may not agree with everything here, but certainly this is the most thought provoking read I have read on the subject. I commend Jeff Pollard for talking about an issue too many pastors and elders are silent on.
July 31, 2020
Que livro! De maneira sucinta — porém profunda —, o autor nos explica em que consiste a modéstia cristã e como a moda e os meios de comunicação tem influenciado na perda de certos valores, até mesmo no meio cristão. Achei incrível a base bíblica apresentada, o histórico sobre as vestes e a preocupação em sensibilizar os leitores sobre a urgência desse assunto. Infelizmente, a nudez que é aplaudida hoje só demostra a grande corrupção que se encontra no coração humano. Super recomendo a leitura (e releitura)!
May 24, 2024
“I have given you the Scriptures, and I have given you history. And I have taken pains to let the writers of fashion history speak candidly for themselves. I trust that these have provoked you to thought, as well as to love and good works. However, as I mentioned above, if you find the definition of modesty inaccurate or the conclusions in this article unbiblical, then wrestle and pray until the Lord gives you something better. But pray! For the love of Christ, pray! It is never legalism to call God's children to obey Him according to His Word!”
May 10, 2021
The history of swimwear has always been interesting to me, it’s scary how quickly things have progressed and how quickly modern swimwear became the norm, even in the church. I really appreciated the biblical insight and the amount of Bible verses included! It came across as more scripturally sound and loving than legalistic and prideful, which I also really appreciated.
October 17, 2024
thought provoking and convicting. pollard continually encourages the reader to return to scripture and examine their own heart.
“Being drawn to a person’s God-given beauty is one thing; having one’s eyes directed to another’s body by a sensually designed garment is another. While clothing does not have to smother one’s gender, any apparel designed to draw the eye to the erotic zones of the body cannot fill the requirement for Biblical decency. The shapes of men and women’s bodies are not evil; they were designed by a good Creator, Who pronounced them good. Having said all this, I must make clear that the problem is not and never has been swimwear or any other piece of clothing. The problem is sinful hearts.”
“Being drawn to a person’s God-given beauty is one thing; having one’s eyes directed to another’s body by a sensually designed garment is another. While clothing does not have to smother one’s gender, any apparel designed to draw the eye to the erotic zones of the body cannot fill the requirement for Biblical decency. The shapes of men and women’s bodies are not evil; they were designed by a good Creator, Who pronounced them good. Having said all this, I must make clear that the problem is not and never has been swimwear or any other piece of clothing. The problem is sinful hearts.”
May 13, 2022
Wow!! I really enjoyed Pollard’s thoughts and explanations of the issue of immodesty in American culture. He built a really good case for how the swimsuit industry has slowly but surely eroded the minds of our culture to accept public nakedness. I appreciated his hard criticism of the American church for being deluded into accepting immodesty as an issue of Christian liberty. I’m not completely confident in his expositional position for the exact length of coverage that is considered modest in Scripture, but the principles he points to are solid. We as the Church need to honor the bodies that the Lord has given us, that belong to Him. This is a much needed resource for the American church.
June 28, 2022
This short book confirmed some things I had been mulling over and some convictions I have recently developed regarding modesty, and then went further and had me putting my wardrobe through a brutal ringer. Convicting and encouraging. But the author never gives us an alternative to his main argument of swimsuits at the beach - maybe he assumes we can figure that part out ourselves? Or maybe we should avoid swimming mixed company altogether? (Mostly joking but also serious.)
I’ll see if I can get the girls in my dorm at school to read this in the fall, I think it would be very helpful to the on-campus culture and mentality surrounding modesty.
I’ll see if I can get the girls in my dorm at school to read this in the fall, I think it would be very helpful to the on-campus culture and mentality surrounding modesty.
November 2, 2021
3.5/5
Si me gustó, pero siento que no es para cualquiera, hay muchas cosas para asimilar, además habla de una forma contundente y tal vez a muchos les caiga pesado, debido a que no tienen la madurez necesaria para poder entenderlo (madurez cristiana, me refiero).
Aunque considero que, es un libro que los Cristianos debemos leerlo y analizarlo, contiene muchas verdades. Es un libro para leerlo más de una vez y reflexionarlo.
Si me gustó, pero siento que no es para cualquiera, hay muchas cosas para asimilar, además habla de una forma contundente y tal vez a muchos les caiga pesado, debido a que no tienen la madurez necesaria para poder entenderlo (madurez cristiana, me refiero).
Aunque considero que, es un libro que los Cristianos debemos leerlo y analizarlo, contiene muchas verdades. Es un libro para leerlo más de una vez y reflexionarlo.
July 12, 2021
The historical information was especially helpful in reinforcing my already standing convictions in modesty. This is a great help to anyone desiring to understand God's command for modest apparel or for those who hold the convictions but perhaps do not know how to argue them biblically.
July 31, 2023
I had hesitations about the first few chapters of this book. I asked my husband (who is a pastor) for his thoughts on the exegetical portions of this book. He though that part was not well done. That being said, the second part of the book was interesting, helpful and thought provoking.
August 20, 2021
A fairly quick read, well-argued. Could be a good primer for any who have been taught by the prevailing worldly culture.
I was expecting him to address King David dancing before the Lord, but it never came up at all. Very curious.
I was expecting him to address King David dancing before the Lord, but it never came up at all. Very curious.
March 19, 2021
wow this book was mind blowing to me mainly because I’ve never thought too much about swimwear. like, at all. i have never questioned girls in tiny fabrics at the beach and i have never questioned the fact that guys have bare chests at the beach! LIKE EVER! and it concerns me that our world normalizes things that don’t glorify God. this book is all about modesty and it analyzes how swimwear is so immodest but we don’t realize it. it’s a very short book but I’ve been busy and I have a short attention span! however I wish that the author would’ve provided a solution to going to the beach to go swimming. or can we just not go to the beach to swim because of the immodest clothing? idk! I have a few questions :)
July 8, 2022
A needed voice to my generation and the temptations that face us. (Free in English and Spanish on Chapel Library's website)
April 16, 2022
The author does a good job showing biblically that the function of clothing is the covering of the body, not the revealing of the body. He paints an excellent historical picture showing clearly that the evolution of modern swimwear was driven by Hollywood and the fashion industry for revealing nakedness. The double standard still exists for what many people will wear while swimming vs. anywhere else.
His biblical argument for a neck to knee standard feels a little weak to me in that it centers around people wearing robes in biblical times, the Leviticus priesthood, and in Revelation. Word studies on “kuttonet” (cloak, tunic) play in significantly. And yet, he repeats that his argument is not for a return to that style of clothes.
The specific biblical sections that I think offer strongest support for a neck to knee standard are Exodus 28:42 (the priest’s breeches to cover their nakedness are from loins to thigh), and Isaiah 47:2-3 (revealing the nakedness of the daughter of Babylon includes “making bare the leg” and “uncovering the thigh”. Still, I don’t think this creates an explicitly clear standard - it’s not clear to me that any view of the thighs near the knee is inherently sinful.
The book definitely made my think about developing a specific biblical standard for the limits of modesty. I asked my pastor to take a look at it as well, and look forward to discussing the conclusions and applications with him.
His biblical argument for a neck to knee standard feels a little weak to me in that it centers around people wearing robes in biblical times, the Leviticus priesthood, and in Revelation. Word studies on “kuttonet” (cloak, tunic) play in significantly. And yet, he repeats that his argument is not for a return to that style of clothes.
The specific biblical sections that I think offer strongest support for a neck to knee standard are Exodus 28:42 (the priest’s breeches to cover their nakedness are from loins to thigh), and Isaiah 47:2-3 (revealing the nakedness of the daughter of Babylon includes “making bare the leg” and “uncovering the thigh”. Still, I don’t think this creates an explicitly clear standard - it’s not clear to me that any view of the thighs near the knee is inherently sinful.
The book definitely made my think about developing a specific biblical standard for the limits of modesty. I asked my pastor to take a look at it as well, and look forward to discussing the conclusions and applications with him.
January 8, 2021
Este é um livro que, definitivamente, te tira da zona de conforto, pois levanta questionamentos e reflexões sobre um assunto que já estava, de certo modo, resolvido no imaginário dos cristãos: a questão das vestimentas.
De fato, a modéstia cristã tem sido deixado de lado há muito tempo por conta de uma falsa noção de segurança que a cultura nos passa. Afinal, se todo mundo faz, por que não posso fazer também?
Confesso que me senti incomodada com a leitura em alguns momentos, não porque ela estivesse incoerente biblicamente, mas porque mexeu profundamente com algumas crenças fixas que eu já tinha. E esta só me fez ter mais certeza que ser cristão não é fácil. Não se conformar com esse mundo é uma luta diária que precisamos travar com esforço e muitas renúncias. Indico a leitura!
De fato, a modéstia cristã tem sido deixado de lado há muito tempo por conta de uma falsa noção de segurança que a cultura nos passa. Afinal, se todo mundo faz, por que não posso fazer também?
Confesso que me senti incomodada com a leitura em alguns momentos, não porque ela estivesse incoerente biblicamente, mas porque mexeu profundamente com algumas crenças fixas que eu já tinha. E esta só me fez ter mais certeza que ser cristão não é fácil. Não se conformar com esse mundo é uma luta diária que precisamos travar com esforço e muitas renúncias. Indico a leitura!
June 27, 2021
Warning:: Prepare to feel convicted. While I think this book takes an overly extreme stances in some areas, specifically in how it partially blames women’s dress for the sinful lust of men, it’s overall aim to bring to light the issue of feminine modesty in our society is extremely biblically based and well argued. So much of me does not want to agree with the conclusions here, but when it comes down to the written history of the gospel and teachings of Jesus it is hard to see how many of today’s fashions and dressings, written off as Christian liberty or self expression, are rooted in anything but sinful nature and sensuality.
September 30, 2024
Excellent book. You can read for Free online on a pdf on Google.
It was surprising when he states in there that modern one piece swimsuits (and worse) or a man going to the beach shirtless would have gotten you arrested before the early mid 1900s for nudity or indecent exposure. Can you imagine for a politician calling for that today? I can’t, but personally I’m not opposed to it.
In a sex crazed culture it is nice to read of what people thought of old when Christian morality actually had a foothold for cultural practices. Modesty demands covering neck to knees. Modern swimwear and other skimpy and tight clothing is ungodly. Let’s go back to the old paths of wisdom.
It was surprising when he states in there that modern one piece swimsuits (and worse) or a man going to the beach shirtless would have gotten you arrested before the early mid 1900s for nudity or indecent exposure. Can you imagine for a politician calling for that today? I can’t, but personally I’m not opposed to it.
In a sex crazed culture it is nice to read of what people thought of old when Christian morality actually had a foothold for cultural practices. Modesty demands covering neck to knees. Modern swimwear and other skimpy and tight clothing is ungodly. Let’s go back to the old paths of wisdom.
June 3, 2021
Very interesting history in the history of swimwear and how it essentially undressed the American public. Took away many new perspectives and opinions on modesty. No matter where you fall on the topic, as a Christian, it is one that is very much so worth learning about. Often times we allow culture to dictate the conversation and out of ignorance and/or cowardice just have an attitude of passivity. Christ paid for our souls with His body, the very least we could do is honor our bodies to better glorify Him.
June 13, 2022
This should be required reading for Christians. Most conversations around modesty had within the church fail to recognize that many standards have been given to us in scripture. At the same time this does not mean that all Christians in all times and cultures should be dressed identically.
Pollard does a great job helping pull together many verses on the Biblical view of "nakedness" and that modesty is godly virtue of covering one's nakedness.
Like Adam and Eve we attempt to cover ourselves. God in His grace further covers us.
Pollard does a great job helping pull together many verses on the Biblical view of "nakedness" and that modesty is godly virtue of covering one's nakedness.
Like Adam and Eve we attempt to cover ourselves. God in His grace further covers us.
January 31, 2023
A good introductory book into the topic of modesty. The author covers the most fundamental scriptures relating to modesty - from the covering of Adam and Eve after the fall to Revelation’s figurative spiritual garments.
The author discusses the influence of American fashion on shaping the cultural change from wearing apparel that was more closely defined by biblical standards to the rampant immodest we now see.
There’s a lot left to be said about modesty as the author doesn’t go too in-depth but it is a short, good read to wet the appetite for further Bible study.
The author discusses the influence of American fashion on shaping the cultural change from wearing apparel that was more closely defined by biblical standards to the rampant immodest we now see.
There’s a lot left to be said about modesty as the author doesn’t go too in-depth but it is a short, good read to wet the appetite for further Bible study.
December 16, 2024
This was such an eye-opening book. He goes into the history of how the swimming suit industry and Hollywood worked its way making clothing to be more revealing, fitted, and the intent being to uncover our nakedness for the sake of sexiness and attraction. Pollard quotes from past ministers and their commentary on the prevailing nakedness being uncovered in their era, as well as quotes actual fashion industry folk, proving his point that where we are today has been an intentional path to uncovering what ought not to be uncovered! Highly recommend!
May 6, 2025
This is a very quick read. I initially thought that it was going to cover modesty in general. However, the author particularly wrote on swimsuits. He applied scripture to all types of dress though. I think this little book on modesty is a great conversation starter with groups like teenagers and even Christians who don't see the topic of modesty being one that the Bible speaks on. Overall, I would recommend this book to moms and other ladies in the church who are invested in the younger generations!
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