Monday, August 28, 2006

When you're at the witness stand,

you may be "asked" by the questioning lawyer "Now, Mr. So and So, you DO remember that you're under oath, right?" It's a typical way of impugning a witness to suggest that they're not reliable.

My carry permit teacher suggested a good response: "Yes, Counsel, let the jury know that I am under oath and you are not."

Sad to say, as bad as the credibility of some witnesses might be, the credibility of many lawyers is worse. Justice might someday depend on someone pointing this out to a jury.

Sigh.

On a brighter note, my pastor preached on the Beatitudes on Sunday, and in discussing the "pure" in heart, noted that one part of being pure (and encouraging that in others) was to be modest. He did well, but for the sake of those who are younger, I almost wish he'd given even more hints. Somehow it seems that my generation and those younger have more or less forgotten what modesty is all about.

6 comments:

Mercy Now said...

Good words. At the same time, what about those who gives a rats you know what when we encounter them? For example, the ultra fenimists/liberals who will say that Christianity is bigotry, etc. I think we've been very modest in the past but they've taken over our culture like promoting that the gay lifestyle is normal in elementary schools and so on. Should we continue to be modest or should we go on the offense and aggresively attack their lies?

Anonymous said...

mercy now,

You ask a good question. Christianity isn't ultimately about culture building, but Christians should impact culture for the good. Likewise, the Scriptures lay down a solid foundation for establishing our lives in righteousness. We should seek to fight evil wherever it is found. From these principles flowing out of our lives, I believe a godly culture can be established.

Bike Bubba said...

Mercy, quite right--though I was actually getting at modesty in attire. At any rate, I do not think it wrong to be rather direct in telling the truth. Our Lord did not hesitate to point out this kind of thing.

But you're right, we have unfortunately forgotten that tight clothes are immodest dress, and just as certainly we have forgotten (in practice if not in theory) that to gently point out the truth is not immodest.

Anonymous said...

Bert,

The lack of modesty in attire is a result of a lack of shame in our demeanor. Adam and Eve covered themselves, the Word tells us, because they were ashamed. Our society doesn't fear God and certainly isn't ashamed of their ungodly living.

W.B. Picklesworth said...

What's really disappointing is the role of parents in this immodesty. I was at the baseball game today and this 10-11 year old girl walked by in a shirt that did a very poor job of covering her. I winced. Her mother shouldn't even let her have the shirt. Sadly, it's altogether possible that she bought it for her daughter.

Bike Bubba said...

Well said. It's also worth noting that a "woman's instruction list to modesty" (from John MacArthur's church, I believe) doesn't go as far as to recommend simply getting rid of items that are inherently immodest for the owner.

And having tried to shop for my wife, I can assure this forum that it's not easy to avoid the "brothel chic" styles. I wouldn't be surprised if an awful lot of people simply give up and buy the best they can.