Can a women wear slacks and still be a Christian?

Question

Deuteronomy 22 (New American Standard Bible)5

"A woman shall not wear man's clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman's clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.”


Our new pastor says that Bible believing women may not wear slacks (in church or anywhere else).

He says that is God’s Law.


I can’t stand to wear dresses or skirts. What shall I do?


I live in a very small town with only one church.


I agree that a drag queen is also wrong in accordance to the same verse.

Do you agree with me?

Answer 1

I used to go to a church like that. The women's slacks that they have now are definitely not men's pants. In fact if a man was to wear them he'd be wearing women's clothes. You might as your pastor what he thinks of that.

Answer 2

Definitely yes. I believe this was referring to men dressing like women and women dressing like men. If you look at the clothes that men wore during the time of Christ, men did not wear pants. They wore robes. The roman military wore skirts.
The contents of the scripter really are meant to define the differences between men and women and that each plays different roles in life. Wearing either pants or a dress is not going to make a person Christian or not. God gave women and men each special characteristics that should not be demised by society. There actions towards others, devotion to God and keeping the commandments makes a person Christian. The life long pursuit of developing charity makes a person Christian.

Answer 3

What is considered to be the "garb of man" in our day and time? What is the "garb of a woman" today? The principle being taught by this verse is very clear. A man should not dress himself up to appear to be a woman and vice versa for a woman. Your comment about a "drag queen" shows that you properly understand the principle being taught here. However, it would not be appropriate to dress in a casual manner if you are worshiping God, you should dress in a way becoming of reverent woman when appropriate. There is a good section on dress and grooming in the article linked below.

Answer 4

You should also execute rape victims "If within the city of man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with her, you shall bring then both out of the gates of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbors wife" - Deuteronomy 22:23-24

The Bible teaches slavery is absolutely fine "When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property." - Exodus 21:20-21

And you should also do whatever your pastor tells you - or be executed "Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or the priest who represents the LORD your God must be put to death. Such evil must be purged from Israel." - Deuteronomy 17:12

If however you think that these verses are unreasonable and are not literally true, then perhaps the one about dictating what women wear is also unreasonable too.

Answer 5

Considering most clothing companies make pants specifically designed for women these days...the verse doesn't say "no pants", it says "man's clothing". Some might point semantics at me, but hey...I wear jeans made for girls (and I think men wearing *those* is far grosser than a drag queen).

Also, it may be different for you, but I'd have a bit of a problem with someone making a rule that was going to force me to spring for a whole new wardrobe. I don't have that kind of money.

Answer 6

Deuteronomy 22 was the Old Testament, when Jesus came and died, he did it to fulfull the Old Testament. We are not under the Old Testament, if we were we still be offering sacrfices. We are under the new covenant but that doesn't mean we should dress immorally. I wear slacks to my church. Alot of people even wear nice jeans in my church. Deuteronomy 22 talks about protection against perversion and immorality. Drag queens are men who are blinded by satan and don't know the Truth. Deuteronomy is God's law but Jesus came to fulfill the law and because of it, we have become new creatures if we except Him. I don't think it is wrong to wear jeans to church. God wants us to live our lives for Him, God is the one who dictates our life not man.

Answer 7

First, I believe drag queens are wrong on so many levels I can't list them all. When Peter had his concerns about taking the Gospel to the Gentiles, he had a vision where all "unclean" foods were presented to him and he refused to eat. The voice (Jesus) said, "That which I have made clean, would you make unclean?" I'd rather see a woman in slacks than in some halter top and mini-skirt in church. A Blessed New Year to you.

Answer 8

If you have only one church in town, you are stuck with the leadership (and followership) you have, unless you can somehow convince the congregation to change. But it is interesting that Christian adherence to the Mosaic Law is always contingent on the degree of inconvenience it presents to the leaders. Since your male pastor is never tempted to wear "women's" clothing, he can easily insist on a strict conformance to an archaic law that was designed to thwart deception, not enforce some arbitrary divine whim.

No one asks what a "Conservative" is conserving, but it is usually his own social privilege. God doesn't care what you wear. People do. It's up to you to decide how much you defer to them.

Answer 9

Well men were not wearing slacks or jeans in the time of the Bible writings either. I am a Christian and I wear slacks or jeans and I buy them out of the women's department at the store so I would say they are women's clothing. Is your new pastor wearing robes and sandals?

Answer 10

Clothes have a purpose to serve and the individual choice has a role to play keeping in mind the "public decency" clause.
Religions have only tried to exercise total control over the lives of the followers, I don't think God would have anything to do with it.
Neither are we born with clothes on nor do we take any clothes with us when we depart from the world.