[djmcmath]

Begin Rant
So I’m at church last night, right? It’s something I do on Tuesdays. And I’m looking around at the girls, because I’m a single guy, and that’s something I do, is look around at single girls. As a Christian guy, people have been telling me for years that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, that looks are unimportant, etc. I have, in fact, been recently reprimanded for making decisions about which girls to ask on dates based on externally visible characteristics. I disagree quite strongly with that idea. While looks are often deceiving, I believe there are a number of things that are obvious just from looking at a girl.

Here’s what I picked up last night – looking around the room at the girls, I noticed that every girl with a physical attribute worth showing off had chosen clothing to maximize her attractive value. The bible tells us in several places that women should dress with modesty and decency, but as I looked around, I saw pretty much none of that. Instead I saw shallow and hypocritical women, shopping for shallow men in the “deep men” section of the department store. Some of you will argue that the men were certainly just as hypocritical, and men are all alike, etc. I will agree, but note that there were two exceptions to the dress code, and both of them had boyfriends present – in stark contrast to the “advertisers,” who are historically dateless.

Even better, the lesson last night was on “Boundaries in Dating,” a lesson that lends itself to rabbit-trails complaining about dating problems. (Did I mention it’s a singles group?) The most outspoken complainers against men were the most immodest in their choice of dress. The puzzle fits together – you have baited your hook for shallow men, and find that in fact, you attract shallow men? I’m trying to mask my shock and surprise…

Do churches promote, endorse, or encourage hypocrisy? Did I miss the lesson on how to be a hypocrite? Is there another verse I'm missing that should redefine my priorities?

Is this indecency a cultural thing – do they not realize that they appear to be selling their bodies because everyone is dressing in this fashion?

Do these girls not look around and realize that the only girls with steady boyfriends have chosen to dress modestly? Do they not suspect that perhaps, if they clothed themselves with good works and godliness, as is biblical, they too could have decent honorable boyfriends?

(sigh)
End Rant


Rant Notes:
RN1 – Rants are by nature illogical. Attempting to call out the above ranter on his logical fallacies will earn you the “obvious” tag. Of course it’s illogical: it’s a rant.
RN2 – Normal male communication requires a helpful response. Normally, a male will post when he has no answer and needs help finding one. Ex: “My transmission is broken and I don’t know what to do.” A rant is not like that, but is rather an emotional outburst that requires nothing more than acknowledgement. Ex: “I hear ya cluckin’, brother.” Helpful assistance is always welcome, of course, but a rant is never to be considered as a request for help, an invitation for assistance, etc.
RN3 – Structure, or lack thereof: the above rant is essentially unformatted, and as a rant, is not required to meet any organizational or structural requirements. No opening paragraph, supporting arguments, or closing thought is required.