1. My belief is in harmony with the BMA position and policy statement as adopted by the Biblical Mennonite Alliance.
2. My belief is in harmony with the articles of faith as described in the 1963 Mennonite Confession of Faith as adopted by the Biblical Mennonite Alliance.
3. Through the guidance of its leaders, the church has authority for direction and discipline. (1 Peter 5:2-3, Hebrews 13:17)
4. God’s gift of sex is to be reserved only for marriage. All forms of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions. (1 Corinthians 6:9)
5. The Bible is clear on the permanence of the marriage bond between one man and one woman. Therefore initiating divorce or re-marrying after divorce (while a former spouse is still living) is considered to be outside the will of God and thus unacceptable. (Matt 5:31-32 & Romans 7:2-3)
6. Human life is a special gift of God and is not to be pre-meditatively extinguished under any circumstance whether it is by abortion, assisted suicide, murder, infanticide, or euthanasia. (Exodus 20:13, Psalm 139:13-16)
7. The personal appearance of the true Christian believer must present a clear witness to Biblical teachings of separation from the world’s influence in such matters as modest apparel, gender distinction, simplicity, and avoiding sensuality. Any apparel that draws attention to the body (tight-fitting clothing, shorts, etc.) has a tendency to cause impure thoughts and therefore must be avoided. (I Timothy 2:9-10, 2 Corinthians 6:17)
   1. The biblical pattern of modest clothing in the scripture is long, loose fitting,(1) simple, and gender specific garments.(2) Therefore, a reasonable application of the modesty principle is for both men and women to wear clothing that is simple, gender specific, non-form fitting, reaching below the knees when standing or seated.(3)
8. All decorative jewelry, the wedding band, and any make-up that alters the natural appearance should not be a part of our practice. This includes refraining from wearing non-medical bracelets, wristbands, anklets, the painting of nails, and tattoos.(4) (I Timothy 2:9-10, I Peter 3:3-4)
9. The Bible teaches man’s unveiled head and short hair and woman’s veiled head and natural length hair. (1 Corinthians 11:1-16)
   1. The best application of the headship ordinance for sisters is to wear their veiling as a part of their regular attire. While a uniform style is not required across the Alliance, a veiling of substantial size that is a clearly recognizable symbol of the headship principle is required.
   2. The best application of the headship ordinance for men is to refrain from wearing headgear in daily life except when needed for work or weather.
   3. Both men and women are expected to take seriously their commitments to the application of these Bible teachings.
10. The proper application of the leadership order is for the Christian man to take seriously the Biblical commandment to be a Christ-like leader in the home and congregation and for the woman to complement him as his helper. (1 Timothy 2:11-12, Ephesians 5:22-33)
11. Television and the Internet have the potential to influence us and our children in a negative way – emotionally and spiritually. Each member shall exercise Spirit-directed caution in the use of all media. Whenever the use of any media promotes an ungodly worldview or desensitization to sin, such use must be avoided. (Psalm 101:2-3)
12. Fathers are responsible for whatever form of media they allow in their home along with the influence it has on their family and family life. Therefore congregations should hold fathers accountable for the media used in their homes. (Ephesians 6:4)
13. Jesus teaches in Matthew 18 that we are accountable to each other. He offers clear instructions for approaching one another. Members are expected to participate in these steps of resolution when offenses arise.
14. The believer’s body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, therefore Christian’s should avoid the use of alcoholic beverages, “entertainment” drugs (cocaine, crack, marijuana, etc.) and tobacco. (Romans 14:15-21).
15. Christ commands us to love our enemies and return good for evil therefore Christians should not engage in military service or be the initiators of lawsuits. (Matthew 5)

Notes:
(1) The Greek word katastole is used only once in scripture in 1 Timothy 2:9. It comes from two Greek words, kata and stole. The Greek word stole, according to Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon means: “1. an equipment; 2. an equipment in clothes, clothing; specifically a loose outer garment for men which extended to the feet”. “The Greek prefix “kata” has various meanings, but the first meaning listed in Thayer’s is “down from” Thus, the literal meaning of katastole would be “a loose outer garment that comes down.” It is significant that the only time this word is used is in the context of teaching on modesty.

(2) Deuteronomy 22:5 teaches the principle of gender distinction in dress. While we are not under the specific requirements of the Mosaic law, the principles found there still reveal God’s heart. For example we are no longer under the requirement to have parapets around our rooftops, but the Old Testament law does reveal something about God’s perspective on the value of human life (Deuteronomy 22:8). Furthermore the principle of gender distinction in dress is carried through into the New Testament in passages such as 1 Corinthians 11 and 1 Timothy 2.

(3) When involved in activities where our regular attire becomes inappropriate or immodest, we choose to dress and conduct ourselves in a way that the principle of modesty is upheld.

(4) There are those who would maintain that this passage permits some jewelry depending on the material and the motive. However, it would seem to be unnecessary theological hairsplitting to argue that there are some bracelets that are jewelry and some bracelets that are not jewelry depending on the material they are made of and one’s reason for wearing them; or to say that we should avoid jewelry made of gold or pearls because they are expressly prohibited, but other materials such silver, titanium, or plastic are okay since they are not expressly prohibited. It would be difficult to support this position especially in a cross-cultural discipleship context. For example, the women in South Asia wear gold and silver bangles. However, among the poorer classes the bangles are often simply plastic painted gold. It would be seemingly inconsistent to teach that the Bible prohibits the wearing of bangles while adorning ourselves with rubber or leather bracelets. Even if we have worked out the distinctions in our own minds, such a position would be difficult to explain to new believers. It is our conviction that the most straightforward way of applying the passage is to avoid wearing all bracelets, rings, and wristbands regardless of what material they are made of.