Church: Men Not Allowed to Wear Pants on Sunday
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Mon, August 31, 2009
- Viewed 224
- (3) comments so far
OK... this headline caught my eye. You could take this a couple different ways. Men must go pantless, or men must wear something other than pants. Turns out it's the second choice (thankfully)...
You see... in Fiji, the strict observance of Sunday worship has resulted in men on a Bua island not being allowed to wear pants on Sunday. Of course, you can't travel or hang your clothes on lines either.
Galoa Village headman Josefa Baleinasiga said the ban was enforced so that the islanders could learn to respect the significance of Sunday as a holy day.
Mr Baleinasiga said the Methodist Church and the vanua also decided to impose the ban as a means of bringing good fortune to the people.
"The ban is meant to bring good luck to the island as we respect the day of the Lord," he said.
"You can see that often misfortune befalls us because we don't respect His commandments that there be no work performed on Sunday except worship.
"Before our islanders used to go diving on Sunday, and there was a lot of travelling and it was difficult to separate the days all the days were the same.
"Now on Saturdays the clothes line in the village is full as the villagers know they can't hang anything out on Sunday."
As a mark of respect, men can only wear a sulu or sulu vakataga on the day; travelling by outboard from the island is forbidden.
"But we make exceptions during emergencies for the sick so it's not a ban that hasn't been well thought out."
A villager who requested anonymity said the ban was too restrictive because it limited movement.
"We can't understand how wearing a sulu vakataga on Sunday will help us forge closer relations with the divine," he said. "At times too for the school children who come home for the weekend, the best time to return to their hostel in Labasa or Savusavu is on Sunday - so that is getting in the way."
Wow... sounds like the same arguments we've heard in the American church from time to time, just different cultural circumstances.
Legalism is crap.
Profound, huh?
Todd
Comments
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Dan Smith on Mon, August 31, 2009
That is pretty interesting. I especially like how they’ve interwoven faith in God with superstition. I know western Christians do it too, we just don’t call it that outright.
Peter Hamm on Tue, September 01, 2009
But I always ask myself, am I too legalistic about not being legalistic?
Jeff Jensen on Tue, September 08, 2009
I like the part where “good luck” comes to those who respect the day of the Lord…
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