Monday Sermon: Cheerleading and Nakedness
This is a new series considering the sports world in light of Biblical morality. It would be great if sports could be a Godly diversion without delving deeply into that which is ungodly. To be sure, the Confidential is not a pastor. But this is just Bible scripture being quoted and compared to modern life anyway. If you have any ideas for topics, or would like to be a guest author for this or a similar subject, please feel free to send a direct message on Twitter (@acconfi).
There are several instances where the Bible discusses nakednesss. For example, in Exodus 28:42: “And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach . . .” Isaiah 47:2-3, adds “Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen.” Exodus and Isaiah certainly suggest that exposing the thighs is exposing one’s nakedness. And up until a few decades ago, this seemed to be a concept that Christians and non-Christians alike shared as a general moral compass for our society. Not any more. But the Bible speaks for itself. And, if God believes that exposing the thighs is being naked, what does this say about female cheerleading outfits? It says that female cheerleaders today are naked.
In other words, if you are a female cheerleader today, you are a naked person in public, at least in God’s eyes. If you are a parent of a cheerleader, you are a parent of a girl/woman who exposes her nakedness to all that are watching. And, yes, this means that NBA players in the 1970’s were naked too. This is a standard that applies to both genders–male and female–do not expose your nakedness by exposing your thighs.
Of course, are cheerleaders even necessary? In a sports-world where NFL fans fight each other in the stands (occasionally killing each other), is there really any need for folks to be “led” into “cheering” for their team? If anything, the sports idolatry and media hype make people over-cheered. But even assuming that cheerleading is somehow necessary, why does it involve scantily-clad women being part of it? Does an athlete really require scantily-clad women gyrating on the sidelines to perform his job? If a doctor was accompanied by a “dance team” of bikini-clad women, would it inspire confidence or cause you to question the doctor’s sanity? If a professor stopped a lecture to take a 3 minute break–and then some scantily-clad women and accompanied men came in to dance and gyrate–would it make any sense at all? And if other professions and tasks do not require cheerleaders, why does sports?
But many self-proclaimed Christians seem to be OK with cheerleading. “What is the harm?” Well, would you find it harmful if they were wearing zero clothes? If not, then perhaps this says more about whether you are truly Christian or even moral at all. If so, what is the basis for drawing that distinction? In God’s eyes, there is no discernible difference between wearing “no clothes” and wearing a bikini bottom or even exposing your thighs. So why do YOU draw that distinction? Is it only because you are bombarded with television, movies, music videos, Internet images, and such that desensitized you to reality? Like the frog that does not sense when the water goes from cold to deathly boiling, the gradual increase in acceptable nakedness was not perceptible absent a discerning eye. Wake up!
And people are watching–whether they want to or not. And this is probably worse on television than in person. From the nosebleed seats, it is hard to tell what is going on down on the sideline of the field. But the television cameras do not hesitate to show cheerleaders. In fact, they seem to love to zoom into a cheerleaders groin area while she is being lifted into the air by some male cheerleader. Even as a non-Christian, isn’t that just a little creepy? If you asked someone to take a picture of your family, and that person zoomed onto anyone’s groin area–would you not find that creepy? So why are we zooming in on a cheerleader’s bikini area during television games? Because you are being programmed to convert your moral compass away from the Biblical morality. And if that fails, it will at least corrupt you and lead you into sin one way or another.
Whether on television or at the game, a mature, Christian man of faith will look away, and certainly not look twice and thrice (or lust) at these naked girls/women. But boys and men of different spirituality or lesser maturity will not just look but lust. In those instances, the nakedness leads males toward sin and destruction. And what about the young girls? Young girls will look at the naked cheerleaders and assume that this must be acceptable…after all… it is happening in front of tens to tens of thousands of people, including their parents and perhaps even the parents of these cheerleaders, and not be reproved or rebuked. This teaches them to grow up assuming that their thighs are to be freely shown to all. This, of course, is fine with worldly people. But if you are a Christian, can you truly find it “fine” without also having to disagree with the letter and spirit of the Bible?
And why is it that cheerleaders must be naked anyway? This is not inherent to the concept of cheerleading somehow. Here is a photo of cheerleaders from several decades ago that were feminine, yet covered their nakedness:
Is there anything remotely wrong with the apparel of these cheerleaders? It is appropriately modest. The nakedness is covered up, without interfering with the dubiously-necessary cheerleading activities.
But do not try to find cheerleading photos of the past few decades that are similarly modest. Even in looking for this old photo, the Internet first bombards one with images of cheerleaders wearing bikinis and having feet in the sky exposing the bikini area. Even assuming you disagree with the Bible regarding thighs as nakedness, how do you defend the focus on the groin? And how and why is this considered acceptable and normal? It is shameful and absurd. And this is all without even considering the abomination that is cheerleaders for professional athletes–which from the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and in every direction otherwise–is really just tolerated-pornography in terms of clothing and actions. But high school and college cheerleading alone is absurd.
If you disagree, ask yourself why? Why is is worth fighting over the right for young girls/women to expose their nakedness? Why is it worth fighting over your right to see young girls and women expose their nakedness? Is your sinful mind not creative enough to find sources of nakedness without having it also show up in every aspect of life–be it a candy bar commercial or a sporting event? More importantly–ask yourself who are you disagreeing with? This is not the Confidential’s book that the Confidential is referencing for the source of nakedness–it is the Bible. And, while you are certainly given the free will to disregard the Bible, understand that you are really just disagreeing with God. The Confidential merely passes this along for you to consider… hopefully wisely.
Indeed, the Confidential is certainly not able or capable of changing the world. If you like seeing naked cheerleaders, fear not–the Confidential is not under any illusion or delusion that they will be going away any time soon. The Confidential is just similarly not under any illusion or delusion with respect to what God and the Bible have to say on the subject: modern cheerleaders are naked.
The Confidential 