My Take on Nudity and Spirituality
My creator says that everything he made is good -- my body is something he made -- my body is good.
Further, in case there was any question, he says specifically that my body was fearfully and wonderfully made.
He also says that my body is the temple of his set-apart spirit.
If I cover my body because it is shameful, disgusting, indecent, bad, disgraceful, deplorable, despicable, contemptible, dishonorable, discreditable, reprehensible, base, ignoble, shabby, inglorious, shocking, scandalous, abominable, atrocious, appalling, vile, odious, monstrous, heinous, unspeakable, loathsome, sordid, or wicked, then I'm spitting in my creator's face.
By being comfortable in my body and in my skin, I'm acknowledging the beauty and appropriateness of his work.
It is interesting to note that only three people in the Bible get into trouble with regard to nudity -- despite the large number of nude people who are mentioned in the Bible. What's even more interesting is that no one ever got into trouble for being nude.
Wait! Why about the three people you just mentioned. Oh, they were not nude. Rather, they each had a problem with nudity. Nude people don't get into trouble for being nude in the Bible -- not once. But people who have a problem with nudity do.
Here they are:
The Arc of the Covenant was brought back to Jerusalem. King David was so excited about it that he was dancing, jumping, and spinning around in front of the Arc as it was being brought through the city back to the Temple. All he was wearing was a linen ephod. Even if he'd be standing still, it would not have covered much -- it was just a slightly long vest. The streets were lined with people who wanted to see the Arc as it was carried through town. They all also got to see King David's cock and balls flopping around as he was jumping, dancing, and twirling.
He wife didn't like it and chastised him for it when he returned to the Royal Palace. She got into trouble, not him.
***
The other Arc.
Shortly after the arc that Noah and his sons built came to a rest, Noah planted a vineyard. In due time (some number of years later), Noah harvested the grapes and made wine. He got passed out drunk on the wine and was sleeping it off nude in his tent. If a man can't be nude in his own tent, then where can he be nude. Noah's son Ham found him that way and ran to tell him brothers about it, "Oh, man, you gotta see dad passed out drunk and nude in his tent."
Noah doesn't get into trouble for being drunk, passed out, or nude. But his son gets into trouble for making a big deal about it.
***
Bathsheba, whose house was right next to the Palace, took a bath on the roof of her house. May seem odd to us, but it was common then. My guess is that the heat of the sun would warm the water. And everyone had flat roofed houses. David has a zillion wives, but he pops a boner watching Bathsheba take a bath. Orders her to be brought to his chamber where he has sex with the and gets her pregnant.
But, think about it guys, she was out there taking a bath in plain sight of the palace windows. Certainly, it must be her fault. David can hardly be blamed for being a man. Nonetheless, David gets into trouble; not Bathsheba.
~~~
The odd thing is that the more someone claims to follow the Bible, the more likely it is that they consider nudity to be sinful. But there's a huge difference between actually following the Bible and merely claiming to do so.
I appreciate your take, but see the core biblical story which set general theology is how Adam and Eve became shamed and wore clothes after eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Whey did that give nudity such a bad rap? Couldn't that just as well have morphed into Christians going naked but never touching apples or another "fruit"? The Bible has a mixed message about nudity: Noah cursed Ham for his neglect (apparently for not covering him) and blessed his sons for their care after walking backwards to not see their dad's nudity. Did Noah feel shame for passing out drunk and buck naked? Not a word. I imagine something juicy got edited out along the way. There's also a mention of Peter who was fishing naked, as fisherman did, likely to avoid getting fish guts all over him. But if you research the text, there's dispute about the original language citing historical, linguistical and even geographical references that cast doubt on the question of him being some fisherman exhibitionist. I've never read what the ancient Hebrew's view of nudity was, compared to the Apostle Paul. He used the term "thorn in my flesh," not making clear if he meant having a penis or the limitations of being mortal, but seems to have given body shame a strong role in Christianity. Should Christians feel shame for having belly buttons as a sign or "original sin" or genitals with hormones that lead us astray? There's a lot to reinforce that message. Instead, I'll take Jesus words about the glorious beauty of the naked lilies of the valley.
I think youre both right.
Having said that, I think the church has done more to harm both people and the Faith, more than scriptures ever did. People feel the need, even in modern times to pervert the Word of God to mean whatever they want it to mean.
When I was in college a local Christian school was offered a pool and all from a local construction company that was willing to donate the materials and work. The school declined citing scripture where it was unbiblical for men and women to swim at the same pool. All these years later and I still havent found that in my own Bible.
And lets not even cite the decades of abuse and murder that is only now coming to light in the Residential Schools across Canada that were operated by the Catholic Church.
Shame and guilt arent things were really born with, its taught.
As an adult I still havent figured out why, nor have I figured out why the church is so desperate to shame and guilt people.
Seems like if it has to due with a naked human body, sexual or not, its evil.
Trust me Ive been told many times that I cannot have both Faith and be a nudist at the same time.
I simply thank these people for their kind words of harsh judgement.
Anyway thats my 2 cents worth.
Cheers
Shame and guilt arent things were really born with, its taught. As an adult I still havent figured out why, nor have I figured out why the church is so desperate to shame and guilt people.
I agree with you and am saddened by the corruption the church has taken in accepting and abusing power as the way to change the world. I am not referring to everything from the crusades to the sex abuse and murder of children, but going further back. In his 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted with the promise of wealth, satiation of hunger and power and rejected them all. But isn't that what many churches as an institution are based on? It's taken me years to differentiate that my faith does not equal church teachings and questioning dogma is more a matter of strengthening faith than losing it, using the drain for the rancid bathwater and keeping the baby bursting with new life.
Let'scelebrate the spirituality and faith baby, however you may define that inspiration and vitality of life. Surrendering shame and dogma that doesn't serve us, where do we go and what set of beliefs can we take instead? I don't know. But nudism has taught me that in vulnerability, I find not only a way, but groundedness and courage as well.
stoneandy wrote:I agree with you and am saddened by the corruption the church has taken in accepting and abusing power as the way to change the world.
As we've seen, it's not just the Catholic Church. It's also several Protestant churches, and the Boy Scouts, and the National Socialist Party, and just about any organization you could name that has power over its members and uses that power to coerce them into positions of submission. The combination of power and secrecy is a Petri dish for abuse.
I, too, have read the Christian Bible (I have five different versions of it on my bookshelf), and have found no ban on mixed bathing or nudity as a sin per se. The story of the fig leaves in Genesis has always confused me; if nudity was proper when Adam and Eve were in their innocence, why did it become improper when they ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge? Was it knowledge that led them astray, giving them a false view of the world? The interpretation that I was given in Sunday School is that before that incident, they were immortal, and had no need to procreate, and therefore they were free of lust and sexual thoughts. After that, they were mortal, and had need to reproduce, and the it was the sex drive... the urge to reproduce... that needed to be controlled by covering their nudity. That made as much sense to me as a lot of the other stuff I was expected to take for granted.
My own take on that story now is that the story is a parable on how children grow from a state of innocence, where there is no shame about exposing the body and no lustful thought, to the point where they reach puberty and find sex of paramount importance to them. The "eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge" symbolizes that sudden awareness and change in their personalities. The fig leaves, or clothing, are not meant to be taken literally but as symbolic of the need to overlook that lust in the interests of respecting each other as people and not as sexual objects. We don't need to hide our breasts and vulvas and penises, but we need to see them as the distractions they are instead of fixating on them. As a parable, it works pretty well in that respect.
My own beliefs have migrated significantly since I was a child. I believe that nudity as such doesn't have a lot to do with spirituality as such. I've met people who are fully clothed all the time and yet have a deep spirituality, a "depth of soul" that I admire. And I've met a few nudists who have a long, long way to go before they earn my respect as deeply spiritual people. But my own path seems to be that when I am naked, it's easier to feel the connections to the earth, the water, and the sun that feed my soul. And when I look for other people who feel the same way, I am more likely to find them among nudists and naturists. That said, I am perfectly willing to concede that there are other paths to spiritual development.
But my own path seems to be that when I am naked, it's easier to feel the connections to the earth, the water, and the sun that feed my soul. And when I look for other people who feel the same way, I am more likely to find them among nudists and naturists. That said, I am perfectly willing to concede that there are other paths to spiritual development.
It's great to have a path. Gardens have many. I also believe it's important to develop a new theology based on literal and cultural tradition that works rather than just abandoning what makes us scratch our collective heads and make for the exits. Since I like Genesis and trees, I've been doing that in reference to three tree types in the Garden of Eden.
First, there's the infamous Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. I believe it's about the Mind or the Ego which thinks it's running the show, independent and above and beyond the rest of Creation. It gets us in trouble.
Second, fig leaves came from fig trees with sweet fruit, along with many other trees which Adam and Eve ate fruit from. These trees give nutrition and shelter and represent the body which is part of the creation and needs deliberate and mindful care. Practically, clothing is more about protection than shame.
Third. the Tree of Life is mentioned as being in the middle of the Garden, but then any further mention of it seems to have been edited away. I figure it had something to do with procreation. I also believe the Tree of Life is a symbol that we are called not only to remember we are created in God's image, but that as such we are also co-creators with God, being created and creating at the same time, a divine medium. The Tree of Life is a symbol for spirit.
So my take on nudity and spirituality, both together and separate from one another, focuses increasingly on finding gardens with the trees of life. What gives me restorative energy and vitality? When do I feel I have creative power tapping into the divine without letting my ego mess it all up? How are churches, neighborhood taverns, gyms, schools, yoga studios, nudist websites etc., meeting that hunger?
One day, one leaf at a time.
I am really impressed with these thoughts on nudity and spirituality. a week ago I was having coffee with my pastor as to whether my going to a nude beach was a sin. I explained that it wasn't about sex but the wonderful experience of being free, honest with myself, and enjoying the sun, breeze, and water on my bare skin. His response was no, although for him he himself would have a problem with lust so that would be the sin. My wife is very much afraid of this freedom and I believe it is from the same source and that how could it not be lustful. She is accepting of me and I pray she can have the confidence in herself to move forward and and join me clothed to actually see what it is and hopefully free herself. Thank you for this discussion.
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