Questions and Answers

The Bible was written as a guide to all peoples in all societies for all time. As such, it does not focus a lot on specific styles of clothing, which can vary widely from one culture to the next.

The Bible does, however, reveal that God cares how we dress—as we explained in the October-December 2002 issue of Youth United. We are happy to see you have some concern about pleasing God in what you wear. If you havent read that issue, you can access it through our online archives (www.verticalthought.org/issues/).

When it comes to dress, the overriding principle is modesty. In 1 Peter 3:3-4 were told that a Christian woman should be known for her beautiful heart and helpful attitude as opposed to fancy clothes.

This passage says, "Your beauty must not be the outer beauty of fancy hairdos, wearing gold jewelry, or expensive clothes. Instead, it should be the hidden personality of the heart with a gentle and quiet spirit that lasts and lasts. This is very valuable before God" (Simple English translation).

While this verse does not directly address clothing styles, it shows where the emphasis should be. Instead of focusing on the latest provocative clothing styles to draw attention to oneself, a Christian woman should focus on the "inner beauty."

God was more specific when He inspired Paul to write, "In the same way, I want the women to dress modestly" (1 Timothy 2:9, Simple English translation). To be modest means "having or showing regard for the decencies of behavior, speech, dress, etc.; decent; [such as] ‘a modest neckline on a dress" (The Random House Unabridged Dictionary).

The article "What Your Appearance Says About You," from the Youth United issue mentioned above, says: "Modesty refers primarily to a genuine personal concern about the response your dress and behavior produce in the heart and mind of another person. A godly womans clothing should properly cover her body (Genesis 3:21) in such a way (fashion) as to cause no problems in the thoughts of the men around her. Tight-fitting, revealing or suggestive clothing on a woman can advertise loose morals, poor taste or immaturity and send the wrong message to the opposite sex."

These principles should be the foundation for any choice in clothing—whether speaking of a dress, slacks, skirt, blouse, shorts or a bathing suit.

To specifically answer the question, we believe Christians can wear shorts and bathing suits provided these types of clothing are modest and in keeping with the cultural standards of the area in which the person lives.

Answer: According to the Bible and biology, a human being comes into existence at conception. From this point onward, there is no question as to what this life will become should it continue to grow and develop.

It will not be a cat or a bird or a fish. It is clearly human.

Several scriptures confirm that God considered babies in the womb to be people with whom He was already working (see Jeremiah 1:5 and Job 31:15) and beings capable of reacting to things happening outside their mothers womb (Luke 1:41,44).

Coupled with the understanding that unborn babies are human beings, we note that God says He is "not willing that any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9). In 1 Corinthians 15:22-23 we also read that "in Christ all shall be made alive.But each one in his own order." Since the Bible speaks of unborn children as human beings, it seems apparent that they will be resurrected.

The belief that a human being doesnt become a human being until he or she breathes on his or her own outside the womb is sometimes derived from Genesis 2:7, which says, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."

Yet, while this is the way Adam (and apparently Eve) came into existence, it is not the way the rest of us have come to have life. We came into existence through conception and being carried in our mothers wombs—not being shaped first as full-grown adults and then having life breathed into us.

As the article explained, the Bible says that life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:14) and that within four or five weeks of conception babies already have their own blood system. In the womb via the mothers blood, a baby receives nutrients and oxygen—thus receiving "the breath of life" prior to being born. A baby in the womb has blood circulating through its body and is "breathing" by loose analogy like a fish breathes in the water.

As a fish gathers the oxygen from the water, so, too, the baby draws oxygen from its mothers blood.

The book Principles of Anatomy and Physiology (Tortora and Anagnostakos, fifth ed., pp. 750-751) states about this process: "They [chorionic villi, microscopic fingerlike projections that make up the placenta] continue growing until they are bathed in maternal blood sinuses called intervillous spaces. Thus, maternal and fetal blood vessels are brought into proximity.

"It should be noted however, that maternal and fetal blooddo not normally mix. Oxygen and nutrients from the mothers blood diffuse into the capillaries of the villi. From thecapillaries the nutrients circulate into the umbilical vein. Wastes leave the fetus through the umbilical arteries, pass into the capillaries of the villi, and diffuse into the maternal blood" (emphasis added).

The blood of the mother and the baby dont mix. The baby has its own blood and is equipped to receive the oxygen and nutrients and dispose of waste materials via its mother. Its heart is beating, circulating its own oxygenated and deoxygenated blood through its body. It is even conscious at times—looking around, kicking its feet, and sucking its thumb (quite unlike the initial creation process of Adam or Eve).

These are a few of the reasons we believe babies in the womb are "living souls," and thus, why it is murder to abort them and why we believe they will be resurrected.

Regarding the future of fetuses that are naturally aborted during the first few days of life and possibly prior to developing their own blood system, we simply have to leave these matters in Gods hands to determine. Even so, we can be comforted knowing that God is love and that He is looking out for all of humanitys best interests (1 John 4:8).

Answer: This passage can be understood two ways. One way is to assume that Jesus followers are expected to handle deadly snakes to prove to unbelievers that they are Christians. Another way to understand this passage is to be reassured that when Christians accidentally come in contact with poisonous snakes, God will miraculously protect them.

In looking at the subsequent history of the New Testament Church, the Bible records only the latter explanation—that if a true Christian accidentally picks up a poisonous snake and is even bitten by that snake, God can intervene to miraculously spare that persons life.

Such an experience happened to the apostle Paul. After being shipwrecked and escaping to the island of Malta, Paul was bitten by a deadly snake. The natives thought he would die, but God miraculously intervened and Paul was not harmed (Acts 28:1-6).

Additionally, the Bible tells us that we should not tempt God by deliberately placing ourselves in potential danger (Matthew 4:5,7). Based on these scriptures, we can conclude that God does not want us to handle poisonous snakes today to prove we are Christians. We can also be assured that God continues to perform miracles in healing and protecting those who trust and believe in Him.

Answer: To answer your question, lets look at how Islam came to be.Quoting from the World Book Encyclopedia:

"Islam is the name given to the religion preached by the Prophet, Mohammed [also spelled Muhammad] in the A.D. 600s. Mohammed was an Arab who was born in Mecca about A.D. 570. He believed he had been sent to warn and guide his people and to call them to worship God (Allah). Mohammed preached that there is only one God and that he, Mohammed, was Gods messenger. Mohammed began preaching in Mecca about A.D. 610. He made slow progress at first. Most of the rich and powerful citizens scorned him and his preaching. His preaching angered and frightened the Meccans, and some of them even plotted to kill him.

"In 622, Mohammed fled to the city of Medina, where a group of people received and helped him. In 630, Mohammed and his followers returned to Mecca and occupied the city. They destroyed all the idols in the heathen temple, the Kaaba, and turned the area surrounding the Kaaba into a mosque (Moslem [Muslim] house of worship). The Meccans then accepted Islam and acknowledged Mohammed as a prophet. Mecca and Medina became the sacred cities of Islam.

"The companions of Mohammed preserved his revelations by memorizing them or writing them down during his lifetime. Moslem scholars believe Mohammed approved these teachings. Later, the materials were combined to form the holy book of the Moslems. It is called the Koran. Moslems consider the Koran the words of God Himself, spoken to Mohammed by an angel. Parts of the Koran resemble the Bible, the Apocrypha, and the Talmud. The Koran also has stories from the New Testament about Jesus Christ, whom it calls the Word of God.

"The Koran teaches the absolute unity and power of God, the creator of the whole universe. It also teaches that God is just and merciful, and wishes man to repent and purify himself while on earth so that he can attain Paradise after death. Therefore God sends prophets with sacred books to teach man his duty to God and his fellow man. The Moslems believe Mohammed was the last of the prophets. Jesus and the Old Testament prophets were his predecessors."
This just scratches the surface of the information that is available about Islam, but through reading the information above, you can see both similarities to and differences from what the Bible teaches.

Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, but that He was only a human being and not the Son of God who has existed with God since the beginning (John 1:1-3,14). They do not recognize Jesus Christ as the Savior of mankind, whose shed blood cleanses us before God and permits us to enter into a relationship with our Father in heaven. Islam also teaches that, since the Bible and the Koran disagree on many points, the Bible became corrupted and was superceded by the Koran.

Various religions possess bits and pieces of truth, as do both Islam and Judaism. But neither understands the role of Jesus Christ in our lives. The book of 1 John discusses the absolute necessity of Jesus Christs involvement in our worship of God.

Notice 1 John 2:21-23: "I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also."

If we accept the authority of the Bible as the Word of God, then by reading this passage we come to the conclusion that Islam, because it denies the divinity of Jesus Christ, cannot be of God.There are many other beliefs of Islam that contradict the Bible that you can find in your own studies. We encourage you to read the entire book of 1 John as well as our booklet titled Is the Bible True? Just go to www.ucg.org/booklets to request or download your free copy.