"Modestly" as the Apostle Paul discusses is to dress appropriately, not overly dressed but not under dressed either. Meaning that if most of the other ladies are wearing sun dresses you don't wear blue jeans, shorts, bathing suits, prom dresses or a "little black dress" usually reserved for cocktail parties. You wear the same as everyone else regardless of your opinion of whether you like wearing them or not.
If every woman at the church dresses like a street walker (shiny spandex, thongs and tube tops) Then you likely need to find another church.
However, there are such things as beach churches where everyone wears some sort of bathing suit. (Including thongs and skimpy two piece with sarongs) where wearing a sun dress is completely inappropriate.
And as far as the rest of that verse Paul does mention "decently". Meaning the church attendees should wear clothes. Nudity in the early church was not the same then as it is today. The early churches often met in gymnasiums....where people exercised in the nude to prepare for Olympic games. Wrestling, weight lifting, high jumps pole vaults, archery and etc....right next to where the early churches met.
Gymnasiums were community centers where people met as well as exercised...including the Early Church. This whole notion of a completely separate building dedicated to solely worship did not happen until much later.
Today, functional nudity is still practiced. Nobody but Americans and Canadians have such a taboo about it. Public bathing is common for much of the world. But I also understand that in America hanging out in a public park completely nude is not acceptable....however common it used to be in Europe a decade ago. (Currently with the influx of Muslim immigrants it's becoming untenable)
If every woman at the church dresses like a street walker (shiny spandex, thongs and tube tops) Then you likely need to find another church.
However, there are such things as beach churches where everyone wears some sort of bathing suit. (Including thongs and skimpy two piece with sarongs) where wearing a sun dress is completely inappropriate.
And as far as the rest of that verse Paul does mention "decently". Meaning the church attendees should wear clothes. Nudity in the early church was not the same then as it is today. The early churches often met in gymnasiums....where people exercised in the nude to prepare for Olympic games. Wrestling, weight lifting, high jumps pole vaults, archery and etc....right next to where the early churches met.
Gymnasiums were community centers where people met as well as exercised...including the Early Church. This whole notion of a completely separate building dedicated to solely worship did not happen until much later.
Today, functional nudity is still practiced. Nobody but Americans and Canadians have such a taboo about it. Public bathing is common for much of the world. But I also understand that in America hanging out in a public park completely nude is not acceptable....however common it used to be in Europe a decade ago. (Currently with the influx of Muslim immigrants it's becoming untenable)
