Here is a letter I wrote to an HR department, requesting that they grant their female employee the right to wear skirts and dresses to work:
September 27, 2022
To whom it may concern:
This letter is to articulate the doctrines of our church with regard to gender specific clothing. We believe that men should wear pants, and that women should wear skirts or dresses.
The Bible teaches throughout both Old and New Testaments that there are profound differences between men and women, and that there should also be a distinction in their outward appearance. When God created the first human beings, he made them male and female, and their respective roles are established in the book of Genesis. Later in the Pentateuch, his command for them to wear gender specific clothing is made explicit.
“The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.” - Deuteronomy 22:5
Throughout the Mosaic law, there are four specific references to pants (the King James Bible uses the term “breeches”), and they all are referring to mens’ clothing. Virtually everyone agrees that skirts and dresses are women’s clothing. If a man were to put on a dress or skirt, he would be considered to be “in drag” and in clear violation of Deuteronomy 22:5. Since the verse also mentions women not wearing that which pertains to a man, it stands to reason that there must exist some article of clothing that pertains to a man. Pants fit that bill, and even as recently as the 20th century in the United States, women were not allowed to wear pants in public, and girls were not allowed to wear pants to school.
Clearly there are differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament, but God’s desire for men and women to have distinctly different appearances is not one of them. Evidence of this is found in Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians, where he teaches that men are to wear their hair short, while women are to wear their hair long.
“Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.” - 1 Corinthians 11:14-15
Although our society has changed dramatically and continues to change as it becomes further dechristianized, we believe that it is important to maintain these boundaries between the genders. Therefore, we teach our people that men should wear pants, and that women should wear skirts or dresses in order to avoid ambiguity in our appearance.
Yours Truly,
Steven L Anderson
Pastor
