I’d like to address the current ‘fad’ of women wearing low-cut tops, because I’ve spoken with both men and women who call themselves ‘Christians’ who actually told me that it’s okay for Christian women to dress this way.
Fairly recently, a pastor even responded: “how low is too low,” after I brought up to him that women on staff were wearing low-cut tops during church services. I probably wouldn’t have said anything, but this pastor had been emphasizing how he wanted us to do what Jesus did, and I was very enthusiastic about being a part of this. But then I started seeing a pattern that I hoped wasn’t a big red flag that would put a kibosh on what I had hoped would be real Christianity.
I noticed how he would teach over and over the promises that Paul wrote, while glossing over the adjacent passages that clearly mentioned the cost. He would expound on the glorious inheritance that is ours, now, as children of God without teaching what Paul stated is required to be a child of God.
In the 80s, I was blessed to be able to attend a church in which some the elders’ wives [thank you, Carol & the others!] taught the women specifics on dressing modestly. It wasn’t over-the-top stuff like women could only wear dresses, never pants, but rather practical ways to live out what the Bible teaches, to dress modestly. Basically, tight and revealing clothing were not appropriate for Godly women, because inappropriate attire could be a stumbling block for guys.
And in this setting, we guys and gals saw God move in many significant ways during some of our Bible school classes and during “Prayer and Praise.” It was great!
Today, few churches have the conviction and courage to teach the truth about modesty. And lust reigns in many a “Christian'” heart—both men and women. And this is not just one of the issues that will keep the kingdom of God happening among us, this is absolutely also a salvation issue, which I cover in Who-Goes-To-Heaven Scriptures.
This is very serious; though, many who have truly been born-again now have their consciences so seared by the lack of modesty in our society that they no longer feel shame when wearing revealing clothing or when willfully looking. And it’s come to the point that some “Christians” will actually say that ‘Christian’ women wearing low-cut tops is no big deal.
Perhaps there are some women who don’t understand how visually God made most guys to be—how attractive the female form is to most guys. I say “most guys,” because perhaps there are some men who really do have the gift of singleness, and aren’t in this way attracted. But most of us do not have this gift.
I’d like to share an experience that I had about 20 years ago, long before the low-top craze. I was attending an exercise class in a small studio. The instructor was female. I was doing just fine, concentrating on her instructions until she bent over, facing us. I freaked! She was close to my type, and I was seeing things I shouldn’t see.
I think she saw in the expression of my face my reaction. And I never returned; though, doing these exercises probably would have benefited my health greatly.
Since then, I’ve learned to train my eyes to quickly look away (some call this bouncing the eyes), for when in close proximity, the field of view of non-peripherial human vision is so narrow that we can look at a woman’s face without seeing clearly what is below. But ladies, most guys are not going to be this careful. But every Christian man should be. For example, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount teaching is so crystal clear. Lust is adultery and a damming sin:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’ but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna. If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna. (Matthew 5:27-30)
Likewise, Paul was clear in his teaching toward Christian women:
I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. (1 Timothy 2:8-10)
One author interprets shamefacedness (Greek: aidos) this way:
The word shamefacedness comes from a Greek word which means literally “downcast eyes,” but it is meant in a good sense and refers to one who is ashamed to overstep the limit of womanly reserve.
In my Let Us Be One prophecy, God said it this way in the chapter I call Jesus’ Dress Code:
My people, live as ONE, not judging one another, being critical of how they dress, one more popular than another. We are all different. Everyone is unique.
Give people space, as long as it’s holy. You need to have righteousness girded about your loins. Hide yourself. They don’t need to see everything. That is for your husband, only him.
Be careful; this is right.
God designed women to be very attractive to men. And there are certain things that only the woman’s husband should see—no matter what the Devil through society is telling us.
Freedom in Christ is in part freedom from actual lust demons that drive probably the majority of Americans to not be free in the lust area. Not giving the demons a place at all is the only way to be lust-demon free.
We need to “be careful. This is right.”
Praise God!
Jeff Fenske : )
Related:
2014 Pornography Survey of ‘Christian’ Men: MAJORITY not only lusting, but into porn!!
[ video ] Jessica Rey: The Evolution of the Swimsuit — Can Modesty Make a Comeback?
Bikini Facts: The bikini was introduced by inspiration of Satan. When the bikini was first invented…
What does God say? Women, children and men exposing themselves to TSAs in NAKED BODY SCANNERS!
Fox: Not quite porn… or news — Distracting viewers with mis-information and ‘info-babes’
1942 Minnesota: Bathing beaches prior to the low-cut top epidemic
Amazing Dress: India Arie singing with Carlos Santana on The Tonight Show. This is grace!
All of my Lust Freedom! posts [latest appear first, 10 posts per page]
MInTheGap
What are you saying about modesty being a salvation issue? Are you saying that it’s necessary for salvation, or that sinning, even in this area, is disobedience?
Jeff Fenske
Dear MinTheGap,
I’m not sure of what you’re asking. Please correct me if I’m not fully enough addressing your question. The first part of your question is very clear; I’ll focus mainly on that: “Are you saying that [modesty] is necessary for salvation?”
My “Who-Goes-to-Heaven-Scriptures” article http://onecanhappen.com/2008/01/14/who-goes-to-heaven-scriptures gives the overall context. Lewdness is JUST ONE ISSUE OF MANY that is keeping many ‘Christians’ from maintaining a right enough relationship with God and other people.
What does the Bible say? Jesus spoke to us guys directly in the Sermon on the Mount, when he called just the thought of lusting after women, ‘adultery,’ and how it would be better for us to lose body parts that we could allow ourselves to stumble with than to lose our whole bodies in hell.
Jesus didn’t address the issue directly of women who would dress in such a way that could make it easy for men to jeopardize their salvation because of what they saw. So we must look elsewhere.
Paul said in Romans 8 the general principle that we can only truly be children of God if we are led by the Spirit. And to be led by the Spirit, we must put to death the deeds of the body:
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but IF by the Spirit you PUT TO DEATH the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For AS MANY AS ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT of God, these are CHILDREN of God.
Christianity is about abiding in Christ—being led by Him. It’s not just about not doing certain things. But He does give us lists of things we can’t do in order to abide in Him. One such list is in Galatians 5. Here I quote 5:16-25 & 6:7-9. Lust/lewdness is just one of the common-in-American-‘Christianity sins that are keeping ‘Christians’ from inheriting eternal life.
This text also mentions ‘hatred,’ ‘outbursts of anger,’ ‘envy,’ and even ‘jealousy’ as salvation excluders—in addition to four terms pertaining to lust, including ‘adultery,’ which Jesus says is not just what we do, but what we think, now that we live in the new covenant—now that the Holy Spirit lives in those who have been born-again—to lead us into all truth.
Gal. 5
16 But I say, WALK BY THE SPIRIT, AND YOU WON’T FULFILL THE LUST OF THE FLESH. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one other, that you may not do the things that you desire. 18 But IF YOU ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT, YOU ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW.
19 Now the WORKS OF THE FLESH are obvious, which are: ADULTERY, SEXUAL IMMORALITY, UNCLEANNESS, LUSTFULNESS [‘LEWDNESS’ NKJV], 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, 21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that THOSE WHO PRACTISE SUCH THINGS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
22 But the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT is love, joy, PEACE, patience, kindness, GOODNESS, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and SELF-CONTROL. Against such things there is no law. 24 THOSE WHO BELONG TO CHRIST HAVE CRUCIFIED THE FLESH WITH ITS PASSIONS AND LUSTS. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit. …
6:7 Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. 8 For HE WHO SOWS TO HIS OWN FLESH WILL FROM THE FLESH REAP CORRUPTION. BUT HE WHO SOWS TO THE SPIRIT WILL FROM THE SPIRIT REAP ETERNAL LIFE. 9 Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.
We must be holy—in God’s arms—under His protection. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.” We can’t just do our own thing.
The fruit of the Spirit is goodness, self-control———and peace and joy!
When we submit to God, we’ll not only have eternal security in the true, biblical sense—where we can rest—but we’ll also have peace and joy—the ULTIMATE ADORNMENT!
This is what God wants. And only in Him, under His authority [“that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety”] will we have eternal life!
It’s so clear. We shouldn’t do anything that puts us into the danger zone. Peace and joy is the fruit of staying in the place of safety—in our Father’s arms and out of the lust demons’ clutches.
Free in Christ—resting in His arms—full of love—shining!
Jeff Fenske : )
Jake
Maybe you touched on this already and I missed it, but I think there is a larger principle at work here.
Especially in a local body, Christians should be the most caring of one another. They are to be a picture to the world of Christ’s character. Incumbent with that, then, is a need to bear with one another (Co 3:13).
Suppose young lady wears revealing clothes to the worship service. I’m sure that this is not at all an unusual occurrence. If she really loved the body of believers, she would not want to cause men to lust after her or at the very least not want to cause a distraction. By the same token, the rest of the body would need to accept her lack of sensitivity, lack of maturity, or whatever. However, this does not mean the situation doesn’t have to be addressed.
I heard an interesting analogy along these lines. Suppose a guy were to come into the worship service wearing earbuds and his iPOD blasting so loud as to cause a distraction to others. Wouldn’t the deacons or ushers say something to that fellow? Why is that any different from a young (or old) lady who comes to church with her bosom falling out of her top?
I don’t see this as a salvation issue. I see it as an opportunity for all to learn how to conduct themselves as Jesus would have them to.
April Sunshine
Just to comment that women have problems with lust also. Women are attracted to men’s looks, if they weren’t, why are there so many men at the gym working out and getting buff, because they know we have eyes too! This is not just a one-sided issue, it needs to be addressed by men and women. Don’t just blame the women for the lust problem, it goes both ways!
Jeff Fenske
Dear April Sunshine,
Nice pen name, and thanks for responding. May we all come to understand whatever is really true in this area. And may we all be holy, whatever that may be.
This is a very difficult area to understand because we’ll never be able to see firsthand the way the opposite sex sees.
I was hoping in this article for women to more fully realize how big of an issue this is for men, and that pastors and older women in the church (especially) should be leading the women into holiness in this area. And in this particular church, the older women were the main offenders, and the pastor didn’t see anything wrong with this.
And I used to attend a church in which the older women did lead by example and by actually teaching the younger women about modesty, a theme that Paul addresses towards women.
So I was writing from my own personal experience and the burden that’s on my own heart. To what degree this works the other way, only you women know for sure, and maybe you could write to inform us men the specifics in how we need to be more careful.
From what I’ve seen and heard, and from what I read in the Bible, it seems that there is a *magnitude* of difference between how guys react when they see a woman who is revealing too much, verses how a woman would act if a man would wear tight jeans or a low-cut top. And guys shouldn’t wear tight jeans, either, but I think it’s a far different situation.
You say “women are attracted to men’s looks.” Being attracted to a person isn’t a sin. It’s when we’re thinking things beyond mere attraction when lust happens. And this seems to be far easier with guys. And apparently, God wired us this way for a reason.
I’m not saying this doesn’t happen with women also through just the eyes, but I never heard women talk about how guys were dressed at this church, for example. But a woman did express to me how she was concerned with how these women were dressed.
And what is the emphasis in the New Testament? Jesus warned the men about going to hell for lusting after women with their eyes (Mt. 5, above). He didn’t say anything to the women regarding this. And Paul exorted the women to be very careful in how they dressed (1 Tim., above). He didn’t say the same to men.
And in part of the “Let Us Be ONE” prophesy God gave me, which I call “Jesus’ Dress Code” http://onecanhappen.com/2008/01/07/jesus-dress-code, Jesus addressed His comments about hiding oneself to women, not men. And I didn’t have anything to do with what I was writing down. I was just the scribe.
There is a reason why women are the main readers of romance novels and guys the main addicts to still pictures of porn.
I’m addressing what I see the epidemic to be. To fine tune this so that we’re all 100% right with God and people in this area, it’s probably great for us to discuss other aspects of this as well so we can be ONE with each other and ONE with God.
And no matter what people wear, we’re all (men and women) responsible to not let ourselves sin by making sure we don’t look at what we know we shouldn’t. We should never let ourselves go beyond the line of attraction into lust. And that line may be far different for men and women.
Lust freedom, y’all!
Jeff Fenske : )
Karl
Hi!
What is that reason why, as you mentioned, God has wired you that way? It just doesn’t make any sense.
If by that you mean that God has wired men to be visually aroused by women, then there are many problems with that belief because experience shows otherwise. If your statement were true, then what about male doctors and other medical workers who see naked women without being aroused? (them becoming numb is not a reason because they still have a great sexual relationship with someone and they appreciate feminine beauty). What about cultures where both genders walk around naked? These people are still well able to reproduce. And when you happen to see your mother, sister or daughter naked or in tight clothing, do you get aroused? If you really were wired like that on a biological (and any other imaginable) level, it would impossible to nit be aroused.
Nakedness in the bibl was also common (for example Bathsheba bathing outside- outdoor bathing was very common back then, David didn’t sin because Bathsheba was naked and he was aroused sexually but it was about the sin in his heart).
If you really were wired to be aroused sexually by a womans body, then what if years pass and your wife will loose her youthful looks, how do you get aroused then? If God made you like that, it would be quite unfair of Him. How was Abraham able to get aroused by Sara when she was that old? When sexual arousal is about a womans body, then having sex is about her body not about her. You are not an animal, God didn’t create you and your body to be willing to enter into sexual contact with anyone you see that you find tempting. it is a lie fueled by lustful spirits and as long as a guy believes God wired him like that he keeps having the same reaction when he sees a woman. And in addition that view makes a womans body inherently sinful. God created it beautiful and to be honored. That wiring-view makes women think their bodies are filthy and thats a far cry from what God had intended and how He sees women’s bodies.
The reason why you get this reaction is because woman’s body is associated with sex. Everything we see around us, woman’s body is always associated with sex. We have been programmed this way our entire lives. This also explains why women get aroused by naked women even though they are not gay (this is rarely talked about but a very common thing)- because woman’s body is shown as something hypersexual. When women watch porn they also focus on womens bodies. What about a woman becoming aroused by her own body? Because she has seen and been told her all life that her body is sexual by nature, so she learns to react like that, also through sexual sin like masturbation- she starts seeing herself in a pornographic way , devil is really at work to corrupt the view of women’s bodies, everything here is connected…
Sex is relational, its humiliating for a woman to even been objectified by her own husband (if she knows her true value in God). Its especially hard for her when she has been sexually abused before, her hurbands lustful glance reminds her of the abuser who looked at her the same way. Also if her husband has sex with her and what turns him on is her breasts, hasn’t she been robbed of her true value? If that is what turns her husband on, then what if after given birth to children she doesn’t have that look any more and he finds it impossible to get aroused by her, does he have to start imagining someone else? God created sex something very profound and when its associated with a body, it makes it shallow. Emphasising womans body and her looks as we know creates all those other issues women have with insecurities. They find their main value in their looks because thats what they have been told, guys are wired like that. What about those women who were not created beautiful (according to this worlds’ standards). God must have been very unfair to them because a guy will not be turned on by her..
If we had a society where woman’s body was held in high esteem for example her breasts would signify her nurturing nature and they were valued by their practicality when lactating babies, then no one would lust after them.(which in many african cultures is like that). Or if we had a society where instead of sexualised women we would have pictures of sexualised men everywhere, then women would have as many problems with visual reaction as men have. The problem is that woman’s body and specific body parts are mostly shown in a sexual context and we learn to associate it with sex from the early age. By covering specific body parts, it creates sexualisation of them because its not appropriate and thats when pornography comes into play.
As long as a man doesn’t know how God has really created him, he will believe the lie and will act according to it. I don’t underestimate the spiritual and demonic aspect of lust here because all of that really is the result of the fallen world and demons are behind this sexualisation. But we need to ask God for a revelation on how he sees women so that it could become our view of women also. He created men to appreciate woman’s beauty in a way that He does. He created it as something good not a stumbling block and we have to stop treating them as such. If a person lusts in his heart he will lust even if the woman is covered (strict muslim countries are a good example). Devil has totally perverted woman’s body to an extent we start seeing it the same way as the world does, with lustful eyes. Something so precious and crowned with God’s glory is connected to cheap sex and selling products…
Why i wrote this is because i have seen the damage this men-are-wired-that-way view has done. It tells us we cannot help it, God created us that way.
God wants us to see people’s bodies as he does, which are crowned with glory and honor. Through Jesus we have been reconciled and can ask God of His revelation on human body and accept His view. If we have been redeemed of everything through Jesus who has restored our relationship to God, why shouldn’t we ask Him to restore the Godly view of human body in our lives and abandon this worldly abd lustful understanding?
I recommend watching John Bevere’s- gaining freedom from pornoghraphy, where he mentions Godly view on women.
Jeff Fenske
Karl,
Men are not God. We’re not supposed to be able to be unaroused by looking at naked women like He is. We’re supposed to look away, and women are not supposed to dress provocatively.
God made men to be sexually attracted to the female human body — much more so than women are attracted to the male human body. Song of Solomon speaks of this, for example. Women’s breasts are not just for feeding babies.
One of the few pastors whom I greatly respect (now retired) told me that doctors burn with lust after the women they see naked, which is why he recommends women see female doctors.
I don’t have sisters, but I imagine it’s a lot like one’s mother. There shouldn’t be a lot of attraction because relatives that close are too much like us to even be in the category of someone we’d desire. Not all women are equally attractive physically to a guy. God made women with different body types and personalities. Those who are most complementary will be the most attractive, and others not so much.
If we willfully lust, that’s when demons have a right to come in and drive lust, and it becomes an addiction — which is probably the state that most ‘Christian’ men are currently in — because of the prevalence of the once-saved-always-saved teaching. Men no longer believe what Jesus clearly said about heart adultery, and how we have to do whatever we have to in order to not lust and go to hell (Matthew 5).
We shouldn’t be gazing at naked women. No scripture says that it’s okay for women to reveal themselves to men other than their husbands, and no scripture says that men should learn how to look at women and not lust.
TalmudVision (TV) has pushed unclad female bodies for so long that the church has succumbed to this filth instead of setting the standard, affecting TV. Most pastors probably have lust problems now.
Lust demons are in almost everyone now.
Paul’s Galatians-5 list of those who will not inherit the kingdom has lust listed 5 times. Then he says: “THOSE WHO BELONG TO CHRIST have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.”
Cultures in which the people walk around naked probably have serious lust problems.
Jeff
Michelle
I love reading your articles. This one was a good one as we are faced with so many women dressing like this. It is so refreshing to hear a man speak of modesty and reaching towards Christ. I see so much lust out there and wonder if there are any men at all who see beyond the lies in this world. And I start to think there are none… but then there are men who I come across (such as your site and others) who redeem my faith that there is hope for holiness among men and women. Thank you Jeff for your articles. They add hope and faith to my life 🙂
Jeff Fenske
Michelle,
Wow! This is one of the most beautiful paragraphs on all 3 of my sites!
Thank you!
Right now, things are looking pretty dark. America is clearly going down and real Christianity isn’t happening at a group level yet. So it’s kind of lonely out there. It’s Okay To Be Lonely For Now: The Spiral Staircase Vision
I’ve been single all of my life, and every day I don’t like it. But I’m not going to get involved with someone I know I shouldn’t, because I know what the Holy Spirit has been telling me. He’s been so faithful!
So I try to focus on other things. But I can’t wait for ONE to happen!
What we have right now is a double whammy: America’s going down; the church is down. There is no place to go to find life, that I know of.
But we’re going to build it. I’m convinced that once we get our doctrine completely Biblical, what Jesus prayed for us to happen will happen. John 17: ~”that we would be ONE with each other in Christ. Then the world will know.”
Paul said: “work out your salvation through fear and trembling,” but the American church is basically saying: “Do what thou wilt” (Satan’s main message) and you will still go to heaven — once-saved-always-saved — a lie from the pit of Hell.
Paul said: “Those who are Christ’s have crucified their flesh.”
I’m copying from Who-Goes-To-Heaven Scriptures — Narrow is the Way | Who are the Children of God?, but am highlighting differently. This is what is not preached in hardly any church in America.
Gal. 5:13-6:10
How could God be any clearer? And yet this is not taught???
So for us now, in this dry and thirsty land: “Let us not be weary in doing good.”
…even if we have to be lonely. But it won’t always be that way.
There is a revival coming, in which it will be easy…
‘Let Us Be ONE’ Prophecy Continues 10/8/08: “It’s TOO LATE to REVERSE what’s been done for MY MEN have been REJECTED … Now is the Time to OVERCOME and GET RIGHT With ALL … FREEeeeeeeeeeeeee———DOM at last … Your HEART will SWELL with LOVE and it will be EASY to REMAIN In Me when others are On The BOAT With You”
I’m shooting for that!
God bless you!
And if you have any suggestions as to how I could do better on this site, I’m interested. And please feel free to comment anytime.
Thank you!
Jeff Fenske : )
Raj
Hey Jeff,
Absolutely amazing article. Thank God for your boldness in discussing this issue. Modern Christianity takes ‘freedom in Christ’ to such new heights forgetting that true ‘freedom’ comes with great responsibility. Regular criticism for people who raise this issue is that we make a mountain out of a mole hill. I pray that the Lord will use this article and you to open the eyes of believers to have a bit more discernment, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to live Holy lives!
your brother in Christ,
Raj
John Robinson
HERE IS A QUOTE FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE THAT DESCRIBES ONE OF THE MAIN PURPOSES OF MODESTY
Again, beauty, a quality that women manifest, is of a mysterious nature, for it is itself a reflection of that super-essential quality most clearly seen in women and ultimately having its origin in God. But Beauty is appropriately veiled, for its real nature is hidden and we see but its remote reflection in the female form. The veiling of women then is not a denigrating imposition placed on them by men, but rather reflects their own intrinsic glory as mothers, daughters and brides of Christ.
STEPHEN
The New Testament quote about how it is wrong for a man to lust after a women should be interpreted that it is also just as wrong for a woman to lust after a man. In most cases, Biblical admonitions are given with a male pronoun, but are equally applicable to females. Visual lust of men is a huge problem for some women, and do a disservice to girls and women when we do not warn them about the issue.
Jeff Fenske
Stephen,
I very much appreciate your opinion here. I really do. If you’d like to say more I’m all ears.
I probably don’t say much about this because I’m a guy who doesn’t understand enough how a woman sees and thinks to be able at this time to really say much.
I do know that if it’s a “huge” issue for some women, like you say, it’s a HUGE issue for almost all guys, in comparison, because of the difference in how God made us, which is evidenced by guys traditionally getting addicted to images while women read romance novels.
I just don’t understand how women think enough to be able to address the visual issue for women at this time.
I can address how women dressing (or not dressing) affects men; though, because I know, firsthand.
And Jesus was specifically addressing men here.
I do agree that Jesus’ statement in Matthew 5 also applies to women lusting, but I don’t at this time have the insight to be able to address this.
I would like to know more, on the other hand. I’ve often thought it would be interesting to be a woman for just one day, to see how women view and relate to the world differently. Because there really are major differences in how men and women think, see, feel, etc., so the flip side of this is that society, led by the Devil, has minimized the differences between men and women so much that they’re actually changing scriptures to make it gender-difference free.
I think translators have gone too far, and should leave it up to readers to decide, instead of paraphrasing; though, I’m not fixated about it. The WEB does this too, and I’ll often quote them as is: “children of God” instead of “sons of God,” for example.
Stephen, thanks for sharing. How women think is still too much of a mystery for me to be able to write wisely on this issue, perhaps because I’ve never been married or have raised any children.
I’m doing what I can.
To be free!
Jeff : )