DHK said:
Between Ed, Rufus, Donna, and perhaps some others who are throwing around this "legalism" accusation, it seems obvious that the accusation is an unwarranted charge and a term used without the knowledge of what it means.
Legalism has to do with salvation. I don't think that there are any here that take the position that if a woman wears pants then she is not saved. If you take that position then perhaps one has a case to name that person as a legalist.
One of the key Baptist distinctives is soul liberty--the right to hold to our own beliefs as we believe the Bible teaches us. We find this not only among ourselves as individuals, but even from church to church. Some churches will put in their own consitution that women should not wear slacks. If you disagree with the standard of that particular church then find another. The solution is simple. We can agree to disagree. But no one can force someone else's conviction on another (though we are free to zealously debate the matter).
I am only pointing out what legalism is. Legalism is not the wearing of pants or the forbidding of wearing pants. It has nothing to do with it.
Perhaps that might be true in the COC. It is legalistic in that it requires baptism to be saved. And then to keep your salvation you must adhere to a list of rules, some of which are dress standards. If you don't keep all the rules of COC church you may lose your salvation. That is legalism. When it has a bearing on your salvation, it is legalism. When it is a matter of soul liberty and to many a simple matter of modesty and living a holy life, it is not legalism, and the charge of legalism is a false accusation.
I can't speak for any of the others, but I have not advocated immodesty in any way, that I'm aware of. In fact, I advocated such modesty earlier in this thread. I'm just as sure that Scripture does not forbid the wearing of pants, either.
But as to "legalism", you are partly correct that there is a sense in which 'legalism' can be used in applying to salvation. In fact, the church council at Jerusalem was over just such an issue. However, there is a sense which goes beyond this as we tend to define "legalism". The term does not occur in Scripture, as far as I can tell, so we cannot get help from there. So I'll go to the dictionary and see what I can find.
( The "ampersand" is used for the "schwa" in pronunciation, here, since my computer does not have a schwa key)
le-gal-ism \
'`le-g&-
,liz-&m\
n 1: strict, literal, or excessive conformity to the law or to a religious or moral code <that mixture of arid ~ and semantic pretentiousness that so often passes for . . . statesmanship --G. F. Kennan>
2 : a legal term or rule
le-gal-ist \-l&st\
n 1 : an advocate or adherent of moral legalism
2 : one that views things from a legal standpoint; . . .
Seems an adequate definition.
I fully agree as to the concept of soul liberty. I also agree that one is entirely free to follow his or her own conscience, as to non-stated questions. Such an issue would be pants for women. I have already shown that there is no mention of such in Scripture; I have posted that when "breeches" is mentioned, in every instance it concerned the Aaronic priesthood and the Levites, who were commanded to wear them, in accordance with OT law. I also posted that the word from which the KJV rendered "breeches" properly meant 'covering'. I did not post this, but would personally equate this to God's covering of Adam and Eve with the animal skins.
21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. (Gen. 3:21, NKJV)
Did you notice that God here made them both tunics, or something akin to robes or dresses, not pants??

:BangHead:
I would assume there was nothing wrong with someone who was not of the priestly tribe wearing them (breeches), but that is not stated either.
What
is stated is the issue of modesty, at least in the NT, but somehow these threads seem to center on the question of modesty for females. That word 'modest' occurs but once in the Bible, regarding Paul's wish for women wear modest apparel. Does the lack of mention mean that men can be immodest, and that would be OK? Somehow I doubt that is the intent of Paul, but that only is my opinion, I admit.
So I agree that one has the liberty, according to their conscience, to decide whether or not he or she thinks pants on women is or is not "modest apparel". But when one attempts to impose this personal view onto others, abridging their right to make the same decision, in accordance with their own conscience,
that is legalism, and a fully rightful use of the term. I don't "stand down" from my previous statements.
(BTW, my computer connection was broken, so I did not see webdogs post until I had already completed all the above, but I am posting it anyway. Just so no one will assume that I in any way copied anything from webdog.)
Ed