Preacher's Sermon On Nudity Question?

Did he?
Rather I think that some on this board are making a big deal out of nothing by their needless speculation of what goes on in other countries of which they have no concern for and don't really care about. If you really cared about the tribal areas of either South America and/or Africa then you would prepare to be a missionary to those nations and learn how to handle those situations instead of speculating about them here. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you truly loved your neighbor as yourself you would do something about and go and reach those people for Christ insread of complaining about it.

The fact is that when people from countries like India, Pakistan, and the middle east come over here they are often shocked at the immodesty and indecency that they do see in America.
A small girl born and brought up in India with her missionary parents was accustomed only to seeing the modest dress of the Saris and the other dress of the Indian people which cover the women totally. The only exception were the "Savage" people, generally demon-possessed wild men that would even eat human flesh and go around half naked.
Upon entering America and seeing a scantily clad woman working in her garden she asked her father: "Is that a half-naked savage?"

The morals and mores of America are indeed degenerate. Going to a beach is no different than going to a public place and watching women gad about in their lingere. People have no sense of shame any longer. They have been accustomed to sin. Perhaps Sanderson was making a good point that people don't want to own up to because they would rather justify their own sin.
DHK

 

I thought the whole point of your thread here was how missionaries handle these issues.......

I didn't realize you still wanted to talk about Pastor Anderson.

 

It is not all mixed in one. You live in America and are not an authority on other cultures. You need to worry about your own culture. You need to be concerned with issues about mixed swimming, something that wouldn't even be thought of in another country. In other cultures ladies wouldn't even think of getting their ankles wet much less going swimming. America has its own problems. Look first into your own backyard. And unless you are willing to go to another nation like Jim Elliot and Nate Saint and those five who gave their lives in Ecuador for those people, never mind speculating about a culture you know nothing of.
DHK

 

It is not all mixed in one. You live in America and are not an authority on other cultures. You need to worry about your own culture. You need to be concerned with issues about mixed swimming, something that wouldn't even be thought of in another country. In other cultures ladies wouldn't even think of getting their ankles wet much less going swimming. America has its own problems. Look first into your own backyard. And unless you are willing to go to another nation like Jim Elliot and Nate Saint and those five who gave their lives in Ecuador for those people, never mind speculating about a culture you know nothing of.
DHK </font>[/QUOTE]Actually, DHK, don't underestimate the immorality of other countries. Mixed swimming is totally acceptable in Japan, along with abortion, which has no societal voice against it and is twice as common per capita as in America. (Not to mention wife-beating, public drunkenness, all kinds of child abuse, porno in almost all bookstores, etc., etc.)

In Japan there is not just mixed swimming, mixed bathing is part of the culture, both in the family and in public baths. Until missionaries came in the 19th century, mixed bathing was totally unquestioned in Japan.

As for India, from which your nice little story came, do you have any idea how morally putrid Hinduism is? The things that are on THE OUTSIDE of Hindu temples are totally pornographic. America still has much to learn about immorality.

 

It is not all mixed in one. You live in America and are not an authority on other cultures. You need to worry about your own culture. You need to be concerned with issues about mixed swimming, something that wouldn't even be thought of in another country. In other cultures ladies wouldn't even think of getting their ankles wet much less going swimming. America has its own problems. Look first into your own backyard. And unless you are willing to go to another nation like Jim Elliot and Nate Saint and those five who gave their lives in Ecuador for those people, never mind speculating about a culture you know nothing of.
DHK </font>[/QUOTE]Actually, DHK, don't underestimate the immorality of other countries. Mixed swimming is totally acceptable in Japan, along with abortion, which has no societal voice against it and is twice as common per capita as in America. (Not to mention wife-beating, public drunkenness, all kinds of child abuse, porno in almost all bookstores, etc., etc.)

In Japan there is not just mixed swimming, mixed bathing is part of the culture, both in the family and in public baths. Until missionaries came in the 19th century, mixed bathing was totally unquestioned in Japan.

As for India, from which your nice little story came, do you have any idea how morally putrid Hinduism is? The things that are on THE OUTSIDE of Hindu temples are totally pornographic. America still has much to learn about immorality. </font>[/QUOTE]I'm curious about Japan. I've always heard that they see nothing sexual about bathing or swimming. And since most of that country is not Christian then they don't have any concept of the Western notion of "sin". That is, it's not a "sin" to wear a bikini.

You mentioned the acceptance of abortion and "mixed swimming" in Japan, but made no mention of the rate of violent crimes in Japan vs. USA.

Is Japan's rate of violent crime per capita a fraction of the USA's or have I been mislead?

And what of the "mixed swimming"? I haven't seen a unisex swimming pool or waterpark in my lifetime and I've never been outside of the US.

 

James

Japan is a different world.

Their biggest problem is dealing with the culture created by their Imperial reaction to Christianity. Their culture became very 'moral' by their standards. Every year, some Japanese still commit suicide if they have been 'caught' in shameful behavior.

 

In Japan, suicide is seen as "honorable", hence Kamikaze pilots.

The USA has its own suicide epidemic too. In fact I would be surprised if the per capita suicide rate in Japan was higher than in the US.

Edited to change "then" to "than".

 

I just looked at stats from the W.H.O.

Japan is much higher than USA in regards to suicides among both sexes.

Weird thing; Japan and USA are low compared to several former Soviet Bloc countries.

Just putting it out there . . .

-JF

 

James, much of what you hear in the States about Japan is pure propaganda. The Japanese are a "face-saving" Confucian society, so they hide accurate figures and hide the true condition of their culture.

First of all, it is a lie that they see nothing sexual about bathing or swimming. (Not that you are lying, you are simply repeating what you've heard.) Japanese TV is full of sexual innuendo about such things. Both traditional "rakugo" comedians and the younger comedy duos often joke about it. And the younger ones are quite vicious in their "comedy" and extremely sexist by American standards.

You are right to an extent that they think in terms of "shame" rather than "sin," but not completely. Japanese understand the Christian concept of sin quite readily when it is explained to them. You simply have to use the right vocabulary words.

Concerning the rate of violent crime here, I would guess that it is far greater than that in the States, but the method of figuring is quite different. For example, spousal abuse and child abuse are epidemic here, but it is extremely under-reported and almost never prosecuted. The same goes for rape, a violent crime with the stigma of shame for the victim, so it is highly under-reported and under-prosecuted. The same goes for violence in the schools, which is usually handled by the school itself, short of murder. A missionary wife I know just retired from teaching English in the schools, and she was forbidden to tell anyone when crime occurred in the schools where she taught.

Concerning mixed swimming, I'm not sure what you mean by a "unisex swimming pool or waterpark." Please explain.

 

I have to head out for "dendo" (evangelism), but
I want to point out that absolutely everything good in any culture comes from the influence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Can Buddha help a society morally? Absolutely not. Case in point: Thailand, where all young men spend a stint as a Buddhist priest. However, child prostitution is epidemic there, and that area is a source of much of the world's drug problem.

I highly recommend two books on how Christ changes a culture: The Legacy of William Carey by Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi, about how William Carey's influence changed India for the good in incredible ways, and What if Jesus Had Never Been Born? by D. James Kennedy.

Ta ta for now!

 

Yes it is, the issue anyway. you have God fearing people who are taught a certain moral standard who are going to a culture that is oppostire of yours. You don't think there are going to be issues? Not sure you are getting the point? </font>[/QUOTE]Romans 2:14-15 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

I get the point entirely. I am a missionary. I have vistied many countries, of many and varied cultures. Most people are totally unaware of cross-cultural anthropology.
The duty of a Christian is to teach the Bible, especially the gospel, no matter what the opposition. Opposition to the gospel may take many forms. In Afghanistan it took place in the form of the capture of Christian missionaries and the threat of death of their lives. In Iraq it takes the threat of car bombs and other forms of violence. In Islamic countries for Muslims who convert to Christianity, the death penalty is enforced. What do you face as a Christian in America?
When people begin to get saved the Holy Spirit begins to change them from the inside out. God has already written His law on their hearts. They know that nudity is wrong just as they know that adultery, lying, murder, etc., is wrong. God has written it in their hearts. From Africa to South America, every tribe in the world knows that these things are wrong. A Christians duty (through preaching the Bible) is to change the culture when the culture opposes the Bible. If the culture does not oppose the Bible there is no reason to change it. For example if the music of another country is different but not wrong there is no reason to try and westernize it just because it doesn't fit with your tastes.
Paul said that he became all things to all people that he might win some things. That doesn't mean that he walked around nude to win nude people to Christ. It means that within the bounds of the Bible he adopted to the culture of the country that he lived in at that time. If in Israel, he would live as an Israelite. If in Greece he would live as a Greek, and so on. He would adapt to the culture of the nation in which he lived in so as not to offend anyone.
True Beleivers readly repented from their sin.
DHK

 

Why don't you people just admit that you don't believe the Bible.

 

What don't we believe about the Bible, Shiloh??

 

DHK,



great post!