Posted on 05/30/2002 11:52:00 PM PDT by Sabertooth
"Jesus loves the little children," the classic Christian ditty goes, "all the children of the world." All of them except the one whose mom works as a stripper.
That seems to be the moral of the story of nude dancer Christina Silvas, whose 5-year-old daughter was recently expelled from kindergarten when the school found out about her mother's stripping. A single mom, Christina danced at a gentlemen's club in Rancho Cordova, California to pay the $400 monthly tuition at Capital Christian School, operated by one of America's biggest Assemblies of God churches. School officials declared stripping violated the "Christian Commitment/Philosophy" Christina signed when she enrolled her daughter, and they gave the 24-year-old an ultimatum -- stop stripping or we'll stop teaching your daughter.
Christina and the private religious school eventually reached an accord. She consented to stop dancing for the last three weeks of her daughter's school year, and Capital Christian will allow the girl to finish kindergarten. Christina did not, however, say she wouldn't pose for Playboy.
When we learned about this tale of lack of Christian charity, we tracked Christina down. She had no qualms about our offer to pose, and she was soon on a plane to Playboy headquarters in Chicago. During a break in her shooting, we chatted with Christina and asked her to strip down the controversy for us.
Playboy.com: Once your daughter is finished with kindergarten, will you return to dancing?
Christina Silvas: That's not my intention, but I have not closed that door.
PB: Does the club want you back?
CS: The club can't wait for me to come back. They said that if I decide to return they'll throw me the biggest welcome back party the city has ever seen.
PB: When you were dancing there, did you ever see anyone from the church or the school at the club as a patron?
CS: Absolutely.
PB: How many?
CS: What goes on at the club stays at the club, so I can't comment about that.
PB: Rick Cole, the church's senior pastor, said God thinks stripping is demeaning. Do you agree?
CS: I think it's demeaning to have a day care raise your child while you're working.
PB: So he is off the mark?
CS: I don't feel that anything I did brought anything negative to my daughter.
PB: Cole is implying that stripping is a sin. Do you see it that way?
CS: It's definitely a difficult job, but the reason I was doing it was to provide the best life for my daughter that I possibly could, and I don't believe that is a sin.
PB: As a Christian, has this whole episode tested your faith?
CS: Life is a test. I believe that in that line of work you definitely have to be a strong individual. You use that occupation or it uses you.
PB: And you used it?
CS: Yes I did, and I think my strength of character to do that came from God.
PB: Your dancing was a sacrifice for your daughter. Do you think God was pleased with your sacrifice?
CS: I believe God sees our heart and looks at why we are doing what we are doing as opposed to solely our actions, and I believe that my actions were absolutely honorable. I was trying to provide for my daughter. I didn't have the luxury of looking for something else to do. It was very sudden that the financial responsibility of providing for my daughter fell onto my shoulders, and this was the first opportunity that seemed like it would help me accomplish my goals.
PB: How shocked were you when you found out about the expulsion?
CS: I was absolutely, totally, completely shocked. When I received the phone call that they were expelling my daughter based on my occupation, I did not believe it.
PB: Has this traumatized your daughter or has she been shielded from all of this?
CS: I have shielded her as much as I could. She caught a glimpse of the news and asked why her school doesn't want her to come back. I immediately reassured her that everybody loved her and that everything was going to be OK.
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CS: She is an extremely intelligent child. I've sacrificed almost six years to be the best parent I can be and I fully believe she has the foundation to overcome any obstacle. PB: Will your daughter return to Capital Christian for first grade? CS: No. I was deeply disappointed with their actions throughout this entire situation. PB: Did you enjoy dancing at the club? CS: It was an extremely positive experience. It helped me accomplish the goals that I think are important, which is spending time with my daughter and providing the best that I can for her. PB: Was it fun, though? Did you enjoy doing it? CS: I enjoyed the challenge of it, of doing the best job I could. PB: Did you have a certain style or a signature move? CS: I was good with the pole. Everyone asked if I was a gymnast. PB: When this story broke, it was reported that people were coming forward to offer you other jobs so that you would not be violating church policy. Has anything panned out? CS: I want to take the next three weeks to find myself and my daughter a new church to attend, a new school for her to go to next year and hopefully a new occupation. PB: What would you like to do? CS: I have many interests. I got straight As in high school and great grades in college, so I have unlimited possibilities and opportunities. PB: Why pose for Playboy? CS: Before all of this happened, I was extremely interested in posing. I have the utmost respect for the entire company, and I believe posing for Playboy is the American dream for a woman. PB: What do you think the church's reaction will be to your posing? CS: I think they will believe that my intentions throughout this entire process were for self gain and that I had evil intentions. But I can't help what other people believe. I can't change other people's thoughts. PB: Are you prepared for the fallout? CS: I am. I have to live my life for me. I can't live my life for the public or the church. |
CS: I am. I have to live my life for me. I can't live my life for the public or the church.
What was that line about "doing it for (your) daughter?"
Natural-born actress.
Honor the fact that word she gave to the school has been broken by her posing for Playboy and the daughter should be expelled.
The school just doesn't want another PR nightmare..they are compromising themselves by keeping her in school and viewing the inernet porn of Ms. Slivas while deciding to oust her from the Sunday School teaching job.
Toss her and the child out after they saw the gas station calender and were humiliated within the community.
1 Corinthians 5 is very clear how the church should handle this.
... for the mother.
... but for the child ...?
What particular teaching in the Scriptures, or for that matter, of Jesus and the Apostles, do you find so akin to bovine fecal matter?
Care to enlighten us all?
SM got a dare, from a stripper-- SM was minding her own business waiting tables,when the "gentlemen's" club took up a collection-- there's no business like show business.
... but for the child ...?
Unless the girl is to be emancipated by the church, the girl is subject to the consequences of her mother's actions. This is unfair, but it is called life.
SD
But I'm at a loss...Me too.
Sure. The point here is that this mother agreed, as a condition of her daughter attending school, that she would work with the school, including some type of morals clause. She broke her contract and the school is within its rights to dismiss her child. I don't know the entire situation, but it is possible or likely that the school is subsidized by the Church. In this case, it makes even less sense for the church and school to spend their resources for a student who has little chance of having its lessons reinforced at home. No school has unlimted resources. Perhaps there is a child who would be better served by the school and her mother, than the stripper mom's kid.
I understand and agree that the Church/school is within its legal, and perhaps, ethical rights to expel this child.
My question ... is it the moral thing to do? Is it what JESUS would have done? Didn't He teach that we should go after even the one lost sheep, ... even as we watch over the ninety and nine which are safely in the flock?
You haven't read 1 Corinthians 5. I challenge you to read that entire chapter and then ask the question. Jesus taught us how to live as individuals. And he instructed us through Paul how to function as a church.
And didn't Jesus tell his disciples that to those who rejected his words, the message, that we are to shake the dust from our sandals as we leave their home? This lady has rejected the instruction. She has rejected the word. She has rejected the message. This church went out of its way to work with her.... even to the point that she was enabled to break a second agreement. The church did exactly right.
Surely you don't fault a church that does believe in the ascencion... that does accept the bible as the written word of God from acting as it instructs do you?
Surely you wouldn't expect this church to act in a manner that is in line with your thinking would you?
Well, I wish you well friend.
You certainly have a lot more faith than I have.
My faith just isn't big enough to embrace such a grand theory as yours.
I guess I'm just one of those rational types.
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