No shirt. No shoes. No dice.

Sometimes it takes a few items to get me thinking, this time about modesty.

I saw this piece about a man fined $25 for walking topless on a public street. This seems odd, though it would be understandable if it was a woman walking topless.

Also, one of my kids asked me why I was not wearing a shirt around the house, to which I responded with, "That how I roll."

I was then asked, "How come girls can't go without a shirt?" To that I responded with, "Well, I guess that's just how our country rolls."

But thinking about modesty I wondered if Christians were more culturally dependent than we care to admit. I had addressed modesty before as being about more than just clothing, but I wonder particularly about clothing at this time.

Prior to the fall ...

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
-Genesis 2:25

After the fall ...

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
-Genesis 3:7

We've been having trouble with these issues ever since. But are we culturally dependent on defining modesty? Should we be?

Did the Bible decree shirts optional for men? Did the Bible define different levels of modesty depending on venue?

Can we be guilty of hypocrisy if we decry "cultural relativism," but then say you can wear something on the beach, but not at the mall?

(HT Hough for the t-shirt pic)