Thank you for your wonderful site. I am a female who wears slacks to church and have recently been told about Deut. 22:5. I found a Q&A you had on this subject and in your answer you stated that this passage refers to cross dressing, a deviant sexual practice. I can’t understand how you came up with this explanation. I greatly appreciate your site and have learned so much from you, but would like clarification on this
Deut. 22:5 reads,
A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.
Common sense tells us this verse is not referring to a female wearing slacks to church. First of all, it speaks of both men and women. And remember, when Deuteronomy was written both genders wore full length robes. Pants and dresses had not been invented yet.
Today it’s fashionable in some cultures for women to wear slacks, while in others men wear kilts or sarongs. Even so you can tell one sex from the other. The intention of Deut. 22:5 was not to limit men to certain types of clothing, and women to certain other types. It was to prohibit men, regardless of their culture, from trying to pass themselves off as women and women trying to pass themselves off as men, in other words, cross dressing. It was not intended to prevent women from wearing pants to church.