The ORI Project: Would Naoi be okay with this?

Would Naoi be okay with this?

Posted by Frith on 5/5/2009, 11:16 am, in reply to "Are bikinis, boob jobs & pageants un-Christian?"

The question being hotly debated in the media and the forums right now is whether Miss California, Carrie Prejean, is being a hypocrit for claiming to be a Christian who is opposed to gay marriage, even though she has undergone breast augmentation, focused much of her attention on trying to win beauty pageants, and apparently has appeared in racy photo shoots as a teenager. Both feminists and gay rights advocates are outraged about what they say is her willingness to condemn other people for their lifestyle while leading hers in what might be construed as a non-Christian manner.

I have thought about the issue for several days, and I have concluded that she is not being hypocritical. I would have a different opinion had she been actively campaigning publicly against gay rights and devoting her time to trying to proselytize her religious views to others. But, as far as I can tell, she has not. She had kept her Christianity to herself up until she was put on the spot by a liberal panelist at the Miss USA pageant last week and forced to express an opinion on what is clearly a hot button issue. She had no choice but to answer in a way that revealed her private religious views and I thought she did so in an admirable way. No bashing or preaching whatsoever. She simply stated that 'this is what I believe' and left it at that. And I am sure she would have preferred to have left the whole thing alone. So, no hypocrisy there.

The other issue is whether you can be a good Christian and still have boob jobs, do sexy photo shoots and be a beauty queen. Well, what constitutes "Christian" is a wide open question with as many answers as there are sects and denominations. So, I won't get into what makes a good Christian and what does not. However, I can tell you what I would tell my fellow travelers in the meadow. I would say the key word here is "beauty".

Even though we are not a religious organization per se, we do admire Jesus for his warmth of persona and wisdom. And I like to think of our group as Jesus' earthly stewards of peace, nature and...beauty. And, let's face it, most people would agree that there is nothing more beautiful than a well-proportioned, healthy, physically fit human body. It is also a product of nature to be sure. So, if an individual has been blessed with that kind of natural beauty, I see no reason why he or she shouldn't make the most of it and bring pleasure to the eyes of others. That does come with some caveats, however.

Narcissism and flaunting are never good things. And it is dangerous for a young person to get in the habit of using her physical attibutes to guide her through life. If Carrie were to allow herself to become overly obsessed with her body and showing herself off, that would begin to dim her overall beauty as a person. I hope her parents have instilled in her the basic lesson here: Life is all about balance. And I would hope that she is spending at least as much time with her faith and with her counselor Jesus as she is in front of the mirror.

You could argue that pageants, breast implants and so on are a pretty superficial hobby, given all the other things a wholesome intelligent girl could be doing with her life. And I would not disagree. But, then, she's little more than a kid. And kids just like to have fun. I say let her pursue her dream and be all that she can be in the beauty arena. And hopefully as she matures (and things begin to droop and show blemishes) she will use her personal values and abilities to try to benefit the world in ways that transcend the googling eyes of us goofy girl-watchers.

On thing I am sure of: This little episode has taught Carrie a lesson or two about the importance of keeping her priorities balanced and the fact that once you put yourself on the public stage, there will be a million eyes on you AND on your private stuff. And they are not all looking at your boobs and butt.