This is one of those subjects which we’ve been trying to avoid during all those years of blogging. The combination of naturism or nudism and religion. The reason for this is that it’s such a difficult subject to take a stand. There’s no right or wrong. There’s no proof to rely on. It’s all just about ideas, beliefs and opinions. And it can be seen from so many different angles. Is it possible for naturism and religion to go hand in hand? Or does one automatically exclude the other? And who gets to decide about that? The naturists? The Christians or Muslims or Buddhists? God?
We have to stress that there’s a very important word in the title of this blog post: “Musings”. What you’ll be reading here are nothing but musings. Thoughts and ideas. Don’t expect the ultimate proof that naturism and religion do go together. Or just not. You won’t find it here. But we do think that it’s an interesting subject to muse about. Maybe this blog might even help you on your spiritual way in finding the right answers.
The bible fight
The idea to write this post existed for quite some time, but recently got triggered by a discussion which got started on our blog post about the biggest fears of beginning nudists. Long story short, Andrew (a long time Naked Wanderings follower) had seen “the light” and turned against us. Telling our other readers not to listen to our “false teachings” because God doesn’t want anyone to be a nudist.
Some quotes from the bible were thrown in to prove his point. Soon someone else jumped into the conversation with other biblical quotes, proving that God DOES support nudism. This discussion then moved to Instagram and continued there for a bit. And we just wondered what happened. What had happened to this guy so that from one day to another he didn’t just turn his back towards nudism but also made it his goal to demonize nudism and naturism. Had he seen a Netflix series about Christianity? Read a certain book about it? Went to a different church or did God appear to him personally? We don’t know.
What does the bible say?
What we do know now is that the bible isn’t exactly clear about whether naturism is actually good or evil. It starts with the early beginnings. With Adam and Eve. Who were created in God’s own image and God saw that what he had made was very good. This all sounds quite pro-nudity if you ask us. But then came the apple incident. Why did Eve bite the apple? Did all that liberty get into her head and did she think she could do whatever she wanted in Eden? Or was she all “yeah, whatever”, like we’ve acted towards the good advice of our own parents so many times?
It’s not very clear to us. What we do know is that she got punished and her boyfriend as well. Not with extra chores or an earlier bedtime. But with shame. No more running around in the nude. The main question in this story is whether that bite in the apple was such a horrible thing to do that it was worth to punish Adam and Eve and every human being after them? Or whether God realized that the nudity was a mistake and quickly corrected it.
What do we know about God?
The thing is, we’re not particularly religious. That’s another reason why we’ve never written about this subject before. We happen to be born in a Christian country and were baptized because that’s what everyone did. Over the years we’ve learned a thing or two about religion and that’s about it. So we don’t judge. We just try to ask questions.
For example, when God created the universe. Did he (or she?) create it from beginning to end? Meaning that all that still has to come is just part of the master plan? Or did he just create version 1.0 with Adam and Eve in Eden and was everything that followed out of God’s control?
Both cases actually seem positive for naturism. If God created everything that has been and everything that yet has to come, God also created naturism. Then God made us take those first steps into naturism, made us start Naked Wanderings and made Andrew comment on it. Maybe for the sole reason that we could write this blog post.
In the other case, when God didn’t have a clue what would happen next, it could both be that he thinks that naturism is a good or a bad thing. We’ll never know. And it makes no sense to rely on the bible for this. How can we use a 2000-year-old script to judge a lifestyle which isn’t more than 100 years old? How could the evangelists ever consider naturism as a concept or lifestyle when they wrote the bible?
Clothing and religion
Nevertheless, it’s a fact that clothing is an important aspect in religion. People put on their best clothes to go to church. Some religions even have a specific dress that is to be worn uniquely in their places of worship. Sometimes it’s not allowed to wear this or that in a church or mosque or temple. Like shoes or shorts or a baseball cap. In Islam, clothes are used specifically to cover certain female body parts. Buddhist are supposed to dress sober. And so on.
A very interesting mix of social nudity and religion is found with the Hindus in Bali. Nudity doesn’t seem anything that’s frowned upon at all. People bathe naked in the rivers together, right next to the road where they can be seen by everyone passing by. Several temples have communal bathing areas where people would shower together before the ceremonies. Because of the lack of plumbing, some villages even have one communal bathing area. The important aspect here is that all this social nudity comes with a specific purpose: Getting yourself cleaned. If you get caught naked in Bali for recreational purposes like nude sunbathing on the beach or naked hiking, you can be thrown in jail for years.
Will naturism and religion ever go together?
The good news is, they already go together. We have seen a lot of proof of that. In naturist resorts in Thailand we’ve met Christians, Hindus and Muslims. All having a great nude time together without any of their Gods interfering. In the USA we found books about the link between naturism and Christianity. There are large Christian naturist communities like the Christian Naturists, the Naturist Christians and the Christian Naturist Fellowship.
In naturism, belief doesn’t matter. The main question is, does naturism matter in your belief? Do you think it interferes with your religion?
Personally, our freedom is very valuable to us. And so is our right to make our own choices. We will always prefer a lifestyle that allows us the most freedom and choices. In naturism it doesn’t matter which God we believe in. Or if we believe in any God at all. It doesn’t matter which politicians we vote for, which hobbies we practice or which other lifestyles we engage in. In naturism, we return to our pure selves. To purity in general. Or dare we say… to Eden?
Personally, our freedom is very valuable to us. And so is our right to make our own choices. We will always prefer a lifestyle that allows us the most freedom and choices. In naturism it doesn’t matter which God we believe in. Or if we believe in any God at all. It doesn’t matter which politicians we vote for, which hobbies we practice or which other lifestyles we engage in. In naturism, we return to our pure selves. To purity in general. Or dare we say… to Eden?
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Interesting! I’m a Catholic Christian and a Naturist of many years. I pray naked as I think God can see us under our clothes and I feel it makes me closer to God. I like a naked lifestyle as I consider that God made me but man made clothes. So this is my mantra: To be Naked is to be Yourself, to be Naked in Nature is to be at Peace with the World.
Early Christians were baptised in the nude, probably both for practical purposes and symbolic ones. Practically, most people didn’t own more than one set of clothing, and you would need to walk around naked or near naked all day to dry it off after washing it. Symbolically, it represented the death of the old self and the birth of the new, since we’re born naked. And the early Roman Christians in Paul’s churches would have likely exercises at gymnasiums, which were all nude facilities again for practical reasons and symbolic ones.
When I’ve told Christians this they lose their minds because they can’t decouple the shame they feel about nudity and actual history, which was far more tolerant, like Indians, of at least incidental nudity.
Also on the subject of Adam and Eve, theoretically God doesn’t make mistakes in Christian thinking, so it’s impossible for him to have judged nudity as good and then change his mind. Therefore, the bread explanation for Adam and Eve’s shame is that, since they were created in the image of God but had now betrayed him, they were ashamed to even see his image in themselves because they weren’t good enough to deserve it anymore, so they hid it under clothing.
Then, when God gives them animal skins, it’s not a mandate to wear clothes but a message that indeed, you will no longer get to live in my nice climate controlled garden and will have to suffer cold and heat. Here’s a jacket. Enjoy winter!
I want to continue your biblical reasoning. Adam and eve lived in Paradise as naturists, in full accordance with the philosophy and principles of naturism. But, having tasted the forbidden fruit, they violated the ban and acquired shame and lust, thereby changing both God and the principles of naturism. At the same time, the leaders of the Church in different historical times interpreted the Bible in their own way, depending on the political situation. There were times when the Church encouraged nudity, and there were times when the Church resisted nudity.
Actually Mike, If your read the book of Genesis God did make clothing, not man. see Genesis 3:21 “The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” I’m a Catholic also and live a nude life at home and in our private backyard. However I am not a social nudist for this would then be moving into territory that is reserved for married couples only.
God allowed the Israelites to choose a king (like the nations had) also, but that does not mean it was God’s preference or choice, but His grace. When He made coverings for Adam and Eve, He knew they would need protections in the changed world that was coming to them.
Can you offer any scriptural justification for the idea “for married couples only”? Church tradition does not count…
Nope, that common rule is definitely not religion-related.
The idea of animal skins must mean there is a dead animal somewhere so could be an animal sacrifice. Future sacrifice of Jesus and we are to put on Jesus metaphorically speaking. Clothes enabled humans to live all over the planet.
In scripture, the lesser party offers sacrifice to the greater party. Even though God provided the sacrifice to Abraham, it was Abraham who slew the animal as an offering. There is no parallel to this in the account of Adam and Eve, so I don’t see it as a sacrifice. If it is, it breaks the pattern, and lacks evidence in the text, especially since that would have been the first, and the law of first mention would apply.
Very interesting and touchy topic! From my Christian standpoint, nudity in itself is not a sin when practiced with non-sexual intent. However, I’ve also read arguments that it should not be practiced because even though the person practicing it can mean no harm, it is prone to promoting lust in our brothers and sisters. They liken it to drinking alcohol around an alcoholic. Since Christianity teaches us that we are our brother’s keepers, we should therefore strive to lead them away from sin. Since we know that most people today can’t separate nudity from sex, then we are contributing to the lust of others by being openly nude, and thus sinning ourselves. The other issue is that anyone that’s been a nudist long enough knows that not all people that claim to be pure nudists actually are. There are many hidden (and open) swingers, exhibitionists, and voyeurs amongst us. I would even argue that a majority of nudists fall into one of those categories, whether they realize or admit it. For example, I’m a nudist. I enjoy being nude whenever practical, alone or socially. But I’d be lying if I said that I don’t get curious when seeing others nude. I, of course, follow etiquette and avert my eyes whenever possible. But I definitely sneak glances at other’s butts/breasts/genitals when I can do it unnoticed. I don’t get an erection and I’m not doing it for sexual pleasure, but I guess that puts me in the voyeur category. There’s just something intriguing about seeing parts of people that you typically never see. With that being said, am I sinning when I look? If I’m not doing it for arousal, then what makes it any different than checking out someone’s body when they’re clothed? Did Adam appreciate looking at Eve’s body before it became shameful? Did Eve enjoy Adam’s appreciation of her body? We will never know. So it all comes down to intent for me. I don’t practice nudism intending to arouse others or to arouse myself.
Not too long ago we’ve written a blog post about enjoying to watch and/or to be seen within nudism. It’s something that happens. And, as you say, as long as you’re not bothering others with it, we don’t see anything wrong. People check each other out in daily life all the time. It’s perfectly normal to have a glance at the shape of someone’s butt or breasts on the street or in a supermarket. This doesn’t change when you’re at a nudist place.
Do we need to cover up to not lead others into temptation? Even though we’re not particularly religious, we also believe that we should help others where possible. But not at the expense of our own freedom. Otherwise, we would end up in an extreme situation where we don’t buy a car so we don’t lead possible carjackers into temptation. Or forbid lighters and matches to save the souls of the pyromaniacs.
We believe that the most important thing is consent. Everyone at a nudist place knows that there will be naked people. If you don’t like it or can’t handle it, then don’t go.
Being nude isn’t forbidden. Being naked means you need to be clothed. Putting on Jesus means discarding old ways and putting on new. So many people still are metaphorically naked even if they wear clothes?
I was raised in a very strict Mennonite culture where dress was of extreme importance. As I grew older I had a major porn problem and wanted to get free of it. I came across two websites that helped me with getting free of the the porn. One was http://www.mychainsaregone.org and the other was http://www.thebiblicalnaturist.blogspot.com. I had tried many other ways to be free of porn that Christians told me would work. None of them did and I would be back to struggling again. Both of these websites helped me not only to be free of porn, but also what the Bible really says about being naked or seeing others naked, and that the body is not strictly sexual. The peace and freedom I experience now is incredible. Maybe the person you mentioned above should read these to help with his negative view.
Thanks for sharing your story Grant. And it’s absolutely true, there’s a big difference between sex and nudity. One is a state of dress while the other is a state of mind. Unfortunately, it often takes a nudist to understand this.
I found the same web sites to be very helpful in my journey also and have recommended them to others seeking a biblical rather than cultural religious understanding.
I can wholeheartedly second Grant’s recommendations about The Biblical Naturist and My Chains are Gone.
I think the discussions on those web sites would help clarify for Phil and others the issues around being a stumbling block for others.
Words change in meaning and usage over time. The word “lust” is one such word. Not all lust is sinful. The Bible says that Jesus lusted to have the last supper with the disciples. Check out the words in the original language. Sinful lust is the desire to possess something that is not rightfully yours. I can appreciate my neighbour’s house/new car/wife without lusting after them. I can appreciate them without desiring to possess them for myself, and they depriving my neighbour of his rightful enjoyment of them.
You wrote “What we do know is that she got punished and her boyfriend as well. Not with extra chores or an earlier bedtime. But with shame”. I wonder where you got the idea the Adam and Eve were ashamed. It is not in the Bible. The Bible says they were afraid. Shame seems to be something what was imposed on the passage much later, for cultural rather than Biblical reasons.
Where scripture speaks negatively about nakedness, it is not talking about simple, voluntary social nakedness; rather it references involuntary forced nakedness as was imposed on captives taken in battle or those too poor to feed or clothe themselves.
In 1 Timothy 2:9, the word modest does not relate to how much skin is exposed, but to how much bling was being worn. It relates to rich new female believers from Ephesus showing off their wealth and lauding it over others. The only reference I am aware of in scripture to how much skin may be exposed is in reference to the male priest’s genitals not being exposed as they climbed the stairs in the temple.
Admittedly, it would scandalize many Christians to think of Jesus taking on the form of a servant and washing the feet of the disciples wearing only a towel over His shoulder or to realize that Jesus was mistaken for the gardener outside the tomb because he was naked as the gardener would have been. His grave clothes were still in the tomb and He did not yet have His glorified body. See John 20.
Different Bible translations use different words for several reasons: 1 because the English language is constantly changing and it is easier for contemporary readers to read contemporary language, 2 to avoid copyright infringement on another translation, 3 to make the translation as acceptable to as wide a cultural audience as possible, so it will sell and make money for the publisher, and 4 because the new words reflect a better understanding of the original languages and context. The KJV translates the same Hebrew word as “naked” on 40 occasions where the NIV translators have chosen to translate the same Hebrew word with a different English word not implying complete nudity. Why? I would suggest cultural sensitivity and political correctness play a role.
The biggest conflict I see between Naturism and Christianity has nothing to do with details, but with Naturism being a philosophical and world view that is at odds with Christianity as a world view. Naturism as I have seen it described is man’s attempt to live in harmony with nature and other human beings. It makes no reference to, is not dependent on and makes no claims regarding sin and redemption. Christianity is the story of mankind’s redemption from sin by the grace of a loving God. In that context, social nudity is a minor incidental footnote. However, in our culture where the pornographic view of the human body is rampant, nudity has become burdened with negative associations that one doesn’t find in the Bible.
Thanks a lot for this very extensive comment Han!
About the shame, it’s something we’ve read: Isaiah 47:3 your nakedness will be exposed and your shame uncovered.
As mentioned in the post, we have no deep knowledge at all about religion. We just try to connect some strings. Strings that maybe shouldn’t be connected. Anyway, that’s why these are just musings.
We didn’t really think about the copy issues when writing this post, but we definitely agree that translations, copyright and culture most have been very determining during the translations and copies of the bible. Of course, we see this as another reason why it’s probably impossible to find reasons in the bible to approve or condemn nudism.
Such excellent analysis!
Liké this
The Isaiah reference is not to voluntary nudity, but to nudity being imposed by another. In this case it is reflective of Babylon personified being reduced from a queen to a servant and prostitute with no one to rescue her.
Thanks for the clarification. We hope Andrew reads this as well.
De Bijbel kent in het OT twee woorden voor naakt, het ene als met Adam en Eva, het andere verwijzend naar de sexuele daad.
In datzelfde deel zien we ook naakte profeten (Jesaja) en de opmerking dat Saul ook een profeet zou zijn, naakt onder de profeten. In het NT ook naakte discipelen, naakte dopeling, enz.
In dat NT mag je niet naakt cq zonder witte kleren gaan, echter verwijzend naar de doop in Christus en geestelijke geloofszaken. Niet naar echte kleding.
God schiep de mens naakt en voordat de mens fout ging en daarom met kleren diens schaamte wilde verhullen en vlees wilde ook daarom… Naakt zonder kleding is goed in Gods Ogen. Heel anders is het met naakt verwijzend naar de sexuele daad…
This is a good topic. My wife and I have gotten into the nudist/naturist lifestyle a few years ago. After our first experience at nude resort, I found myself curious as to why I did not feel guilty of doing anything wrong. My wife and I are Christians and that is a very important part of our lives, but the freedom to be nude in a social environment was freeing, it felt so normal.
I found myself researching the Bible and questioning if it is “sinful” to be nude socially with other people. I guess I was looking for an “eleventh commandment”, Thou shalt not be nude except with your spouse. Its just not there in the Bible. I did more research online and found a few writings, articles, books and websites that pertained to Christianity and nudity. Grant and Han has named a couple, but there are a few more, and after much time reading and referring to scripture, I feel that nudity in a social environment is not wrong, as long as there is no adulterous or sinful sexual activity going on. I agree with your comment that nudity does not equal sex. Unfortunately, our culture and society have brainwashed us to believe that.
Han’s comments were spot on and I can agree with his words. Just another point in regards to Genesis and the fall of man with Adam and Eve. Obviously satan (the serpent) tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit because he had already played that hand. When satan was created, he was one of the highest angels, a beautiful angel, in fact, the Bible says he was covered with precious stones and jewels. That is the difference, satan was covered and man was not. Man was made in image of God (Genesis 1:26). Satan was cast out of heaven, in Genesis 3 we find the account of the fall of man. Satan tempted Eve to eat the fruit, that she would not die, Eve took a bite, gave it to Adam to eat and we know the rest. Here is the point I am getting to. People think/believe that Adam and Eve felt shame and covered themselves and because of that, we cannot be naked because of the shame. No where in the Bible is that mentioned. In fact if you read Genesis 3:11, God asks Adam “who told you you were naked?” There is a previous comment that God made garments out of animal skins for Adam and Eve. People will have different views or interpretations of this event. I am not one to argue ones convictions or interpretations, but I believe that 1. it is a prophetic event that is a precursor to Moses and laws pertaining to sacrifices for atonement of sins, and then ultimately Jesus being the final sacrifice. It is the shedding of blood to cover sins, and 2. it is for provision. Now Adam and Eve were cursed to die, and for their disobedience, woman was going to have to endure child bearing pains, and man was going to have to work the ground for food. They were being driven out of Eden, which had to be a perfect climate to live. Not to hot, not to cold, no bug bites, rashes, etc. Now they were being driven away to areas with thorns and thistles, heat and cold. You have to ask yourself, if Adam and Eve were still the only people on Earth, why would they need to be ashamed of being naked in front of each other? They have been around each other naked since they were created, why now are they ashamed? How can it be good to be naked one minute and bad the next? This just does not make sense.
This is a longer post than I expected to write, but one idea that I have came up with is that we have to consider the culture at time Bible was written. Nakedness for various reasons was more common than we may realize. You just have to read and go further in studying those passages to understand more fully, and not necessarily assume what you have been taught.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God they started to be afraid. Animal skins suggest an animal sacrifice. We have the beginnings of animal sacrifices for disobeying the Almighty.
Animal skins weren’t really enough to solve the problem and we have Yeshua (Jesus) who became a sacrifice and metaphorically we put on Jesus. Jesus’s garments are like humility, peace, longsuffering, patience, love, joy, etc. So nudists or naturists clothe each other with respect. This is the clothing we need.
A document I have long used to promote nudists is called 205 argue this document has many references to the bible and other sources. You can find it at…….. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By_Oc5LH66UrZjViZTFiOGQtNzdlMi00YjBlLWEwZGYtMzExYjBjYjc5ZGIy/view?hl=en_US OR https://www.academia.edu/28745653/205_Arguments_and_Observations_In_Support_of_Naturism
Wes raises some good points. I would caution that just because something feels good or comfortable, that is not sufficient to Biblically justify something.
On a different topic, the biggest problem I have with the “God killed animals to provide clothing and that is a precursor of atonement sacrifices” interpretation is that in atonement sacrifices it is the one in need of atonement/forgiveness that sheds the blood of the sacrifice. God does not do it on their behalf. Further, it is an assumption that God killed animals to obtain the skins. He could just as easily have created them ready-to-wear. Scripture doesn’t give evidence either way.
For those who think nudity between anyone other than husband and wife is sinful, I would ask a few questions.
1) If God clothed Adam and Eve when they were the only ones around, on what Biblical basis is it now okay for husbands and wives to see each other naked?
2) Where is the Biblical exception for parents to see infants or children naked?
3)Where is the Biblical exception for doctors and nurses to see patients naked, especially those of the opposite sex?
4) Where is the Biblical exception for children caring for aging parents (dressing them, bathing them, etc.) to see them naked or exposed?
These may all be reasonable exceptions, but the issue is not reasonableness, but Biblical endorsement for the exceptions if you hold the understanding that nudity other than between spouses is prohibited or sinful.
God may not kill an animal but may provide the sacrifice. Yeshua or Jesus was provided for us.
Jesus’ life was cut short so we can metaphorically feed on Jesus.
Animal lives are cut short so we can eat meat. Christians can be vegan and or naturist.
For Catholics, a recent Pope answered the question:
Pope John Paul II said, “The human body can remain nude and uncovered and preserve intact its splendor and its beauty… Nakedness as such is not to be equated with physical shamelessness… Immodesty is present only when nakedness plays a negative role with regard to the value of the person…The human body is not in itself shameful… Shamelessness (just like shame and modesty) is a function of the interior of a person.”
I think this pronouncement is general enough to apply to all, not just Catholics, but each person must decide for themselves. Whatever the decision, though, that’s not grounds for imposing it on others – it only applies to yourself.
I would agree. If in faith you can be nude, do so. If you have doubts, the don’t do it. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Romans 14:23.
LOL this has to be the craziest blog yet hah.
I have no idea who said what to whom, and where, but as many times before stated by me , ill say it again .. who is the one that decides whats wrong and whats not ,and with what rights?
Ppl say ,scientists, lawmakers ect .. why? Who are they? Gods? Owners of others?
We`ve all grown up knowing that this is “wrong” and that isnt .. but did anyone ever ask us? Why do we take for granted whats already been decided by someone, and why are we freaks or sick or crazy if we wanna think differently and say hey .. why is this wrong? Cause everyone has been indocrinated since day 1 to accept things the way they are today?
These are all the things that happen when ppl wanna create a community.. then everyone has to “obey” ,cause if not?!… u know the rest..
Adam and Eve mentioned so many times.. but ,if we really wanna believe, does that mean that God is cool with incest?
Really, we all know we`be been shaped the way someone, i still woudlnt know who tho, and why.. but.. we all know that being gay was considered as being ill, having mental problems.. same for trans ect .. now, its considered totaly fine and as nothing wrong, still those same doctors/scientists consider many other things as illness and disorder, so how come its like this today, and tomorrow its like that?
How come back in the 50s doctors were promoting cigarettes ,as something good and healthy ,eventho im sure they all knew it wasnt.. how come Manattan today is the total opposite of how it looked in the 70s ..
So again, the point is, who gets to decide, and with what rights, what is good or bad, wrong or not, legal or illegal.
very interesting thoughts – as another additional remark : Pope John Paul II apparently was a naturist !!
The title is just a big propaganda!
There is right and wrong. And there are proofs and evidences.
You don’t have the right to mislead people and say what there is or what there is not!
Science is proving God and His words, therefore we all can look into the subject and see which one of those above is really the words of God. And after you’ve done it, you will see that God has forbidden for people to get naked, but encouraged to get covered. There are parts of male body that females must not see, and same for the females. The exception is the husband and the wife, which leads to a healthy mental lifestyle
When you look at more guidance of God’s , you see that wearing a thigh clothing results the abjection , and being covered results in dignity
Interesting. Could you please be more specific about those proofs and evidences?
It would be interesting to see evidence for the exceptions that are practiced for doctors and nurses, and for caregivers for the young, the disabled, and the elderly. I haven’t found the yet, yet few Christians raise objections.
If mr. Wiz is correct, there’s a lot of prohibited activity going on. I don’t think he’s correct.
There are religious naturist clubs in Florida. The problem with it is that sunday is the usual day for clubbing and not for Churching.
Being “afraid because you are naked” describes to me the feeling of shame. I am not a deeply religious person and I do not personally believe that Genesis is a record of events, more an allegorical story to help explain a moral viewpoint to us. Here’s what I read: Satan was the angel cast aside by God and he was jealous of God’s relationship with man. After all man’s body was created in God’s image and man was unashamed of that body. So Satan lured them into eating from the tree of knowledge knowing that it would bring them shame of their bodies and so separate them from God. Shame was not a punishment: just the result of choosing separation from God. God made them clothes to cover their bodies against the harsh environment outside Eden, not to cover their shame. So what I read is that shame is the devil’s work, and to get closer to God you should not accept that shame and instead be respectful of the naked body as it is created in God’s image. Wear clothes to protect your body, but not to cover shame. That’s naturism, isn’t It?
Hello, brethren. A very nice mixture of doctrine. Great thoughts abound among you. To Mr. Wiz I might suggest he read James 1: 12-16. Especially verse 13. It states: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man:” We are all created in His image. If we lust after anything or anyone, who is the sinner? He that lusts or the object of the person’s lust? Nudity in the Bible is a non-issue. God never commanded man to wear clothing. Yes, He made us clothing to shield from a cursed land outside of the Garden of Eden. Man hide himself from God not because he was naked. He was like a child that had disobeyed his Father. When asked why he was hiding, he made an excuse that immediately let God know that his true sin was disobedience. Who would gain to profit from making man fearful of the image of his own Creator. Sounds like those that follow the thoughts that their Divine Creator’s greatest gift outside of our Eternal Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord, is dirty, nasty, lustful, and cannot be seen by everyone is following the path of Satan or at the very least man himself, not God. After we were created, God said that it was very good. I will not pretend to dispute the Lord God on that statement. He doesn’t change His mind as some would allow you to think. But making another observation, when God was making His covenant with Abraham, He told him to circumcise all his male brethren so that all would know the great nation of Israel. Did they walk around lifting up their robes to strangers saying, “Hi, as you can see, I’m from Israel.” I doubt that. The loom was centuries away from being invented. People didn’t have a closet full of clothes even in Jesus’ time. When you worked, be it as a gardener, carpenter, smithy, fisherman, or any other task, it was most likely done in the nude so as not to destroy perhaps the only piece of clothing you could afford. Nudity back then was a non-issue. As far as lust goes, I can look upon a pretty woman and appreciate her beauty as I would when watching a lovely crane flying over a still lake near sunset or watching the sun come up over a mountain top or across a vast ocean. Lust is captured in your heart, mind, body, and soul. The sin of lust is how you deal with it in your own spirit! God has created nothing for you to lust after. Jesus was very firm when He told us about lust. Always admire the beauty that God has given us, my friends! And please don’t read into scripture what isn’t there. God always wanted us to be happy on this Earth. Enjoy your precious, fleeting time here and prepare for the great adventure to come with our Savior and our Heavenly Father.
God decides what is right, and what is wrong. He told us exactly what He expects of us. Recorded in Exodus 20, generally called the ten commandments.
One of them is generally ignored by most Christians, the one that states “the seventh day is the sabbath……” Tradition takes it’s place and the first day is observed instead. Jesus said “in vain do ye worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men.” Tradition? if it crosses with the Word is the command of men altering God’s word. Which is why I chose to observe the seventh day, not the first. But in respect to wearing clothes or not. The only thing God’s word says about it is in Genesis 2, when it was clearly God’s plan that we live and work naked full time. Which only got interrupted when sin happened and clothing became necessary for comfort. Then Isa 20 where God commanded Isaiah to go round naked for 3 years to reinforce a message he was to proclaim. Would God command his man to do something that was morally wrong? While He did tell Abraham to kill his son once as a test, and a lesson, He didn’t allow him to go through with it. But since he didn’t stop Isaiah from going through with being a naturist preacher, I have to conclude it was not a moral crime to be naked publicly.
Then there’s my own personal experience. I came up in life becoming addicted to lust. And that lust was triggered by and and directed toward nudity. For the longest time I couldn’t figure out how it happened, but it was so strong I couldn’t defeat it no matter how hard I tried. I prayed against it and fought it for years. No luck, it just kept coming back. I finally started praying to God in a different way. “I give up, You’re going to have to clean up my mind, I can’t do it.” Very soon after starting that prayer, the aspect of naturism was brought to my attention. How by getting accustomed to being naked and being around others naked, the nakedness becomes a normal part of life and the lust connection gets broken. I started doing it intentionally, and it worked. The lust tie to nudity started weakening and finally went away. Wow! the cure for the lust issue is the original Eden lifestyle of nude living! I never would have dreamed it. I now know that God did it right the first time when he made Adam and Eve naturist gardeners and intended we live that way for all time. The garments he gave them later had to have been strictly for warmth in the cool of the day, necessary after they left the perfectly controlled Eden atmosphere. And so when professed Christians fight against nude living, they fight against the very thing that would put a halt to what they want to stop.
Oh the devil is tricky, he gets christians to help him out in his work of deception and corruption of our morals, by being so short sighted as to think the original Eden way of life is now a moral crime and fighting against it.
And that made me come to the realization what it was that got me started in the lust over nude thing to start with. It was the complete lack of open nudity in my family in childhood and teen years. My mother thought naked was all lust and very studiously avoided it. My father went along with it. So I never saw anyone nude that I can remember, other than a baby. The lack of common nudity in life backfired on me and blew up into a lust addiction tied to it. So I’m now a confirmed dedicated Christian naturist, with aspirations to return to Eden. After all; returning to Eden life is what the whole plan of salvation is about implemented by Jesus Christ. And we think one significant aspect of that life is evil? the naked living part. What are we thinking? Stupid idea.
My family was not a nudist family perSe. But we were very immodest at home we didn’ t hide our nudity from each other. But I adapted to the nudist life style on my own at the age of8 years old. And been living the rest of my life naked. I have in my 75 years faced all the obstcickles that everyone else has. That I have read about here. I am a very strong Christian in my beliefs. I have searched the Bible just as much as many of you have done. I have prayed earnestly to our God for the answers. I got the answers I asked for. There is no sin in being nude. I came into this world naked and I will leave this world naked. I live in a very small town (150 population). Most people are very accepting of my nudity. There are a few that think I am a terrible man. Most have accepted me and I have many friends here. Even from the local churches. Here in the sate of Oregon, nudity is legal with few restrictions. Thanks to Mark Story. I love living here and living nude. I am comfortable with myself , with where I live. And especially with my God and savior Jesus Christ..
I encourage and promote this life style at every opportunity I have and try to educate people on the benefits of nude living. God doesn’t care if you are nude anymore than HE cares who wins the Super Bowl. He does care about how you live your lives though. Naked or Not. So live your life the way that makes you happy. Don’t worry about what other people think. But use proper discression.
Since you can take anything with you when you die, in heaven everyone is naturist/nude. Even God is a naturist.
There is no scripture that supports that. In fact it says the opposite. “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.”
Revelation 7:9 NLT
https://www.bible.com/116/rev.7.9.nlt
The only ones who have seen the Father are in heaven.
Hey Andrew, what about Catholics? They don’t believe in the authority of the Bible only, they also believe that the Pope and Tradition are all equal authorities. And the Popehood has said that nudity is not inherently sinful or shameful. In fact, he said it’s inherently beautiful and good, as it was in the beginning, unless there is other context. So what about the hundreds of millions of Christians who disagree with you? Are they all going to hell?
Thank you for sharing this post. I grew up in a very conservative Christian family, and I remember my parents being so upset at us that we let our 3 kids (boy, girl, boy) bathe and get changed together. I told my father that something is only going to be though of as wrong if you make it wrong. My wife and I haven’t become full nudist until recently, but when our kids were growing up, it was pretty normal for them to walk in to our bedroom or bathroom with my wife and I nude, or me grabbing a cup of coffee in the morning before I got dressed. Our kids never thought it was wrong because we never told them it was.
I think that the reason Christians get so uptight about it, is that we are raised in a world that primarily sees nakedness as sexual in nature. This is where the problem lies. I became a nudist because I found that it helped me accept myself and my body and honestly even as a kid it always felt natural to me. Our media has sexualized the naked body and I believe that is where many Christians get hung up. The sooner we can accept the body as natural, the better.
I am highly offended by this blog and there was no reason to mention me by name. I will email you to express my feelings about your attacks in this post.
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. No one gets to the Father except through Him.
Dude, when you decide that you’ve seen the light and that everyone else should have to follow your rules, you should expect some criticism of your beliefs if your beliefs oppress others. People are allowed to disagree with you. If you don’t like naturism, then don’t do it. But don’t tell other people they can’t do naturism because it doesn’t comply to your beliefs.
This is one of the keynotes from this blog post. We believe that different lifestyles, philosophies, and religions can live together as long as there is respect for each other’s opinions. At naturist resorts in Thailand, we’ve shared the same table with Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Atheists. That worked perfectly fine. But as soon as one would claim that her/his beliefs are the one and only truth, the balance is disturbed.
Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way you can be saved from your sins.
I’m not denying I made those comments, but it still doesn’t give you permission to use my name in your blog. Like I said I will address further in a PRIVATE Email.
We don’t need permission to use names, especially not first names, and especially not when we are quoting what YOU have written in comments on our blog under your name…
I too believe that Jesus is the only way to God.
It is more important what people get saved into than what they get saved out of. It is important to present accurately what the bible says rather than what human tradition and culture have imposed on scripture and our understanding for at least the last 300 years.
After being a Christian since 1976, and in leadership in 3 churches, it wasn’t until 5 years ago that the Holy Spirit led me to question what was commonly taught about nudity, lust, and porn. It took 3 years to change my mind.
So much harm has been done by well-meaning, but mistaken people imposing cultural christianity rather than proclaiming biblical Christianity.
Porn flourishes where cultural teaching equates
modesty with how women in particular dress. It reflects a wrong understanding of scripture. Both porn and that understanding of modesty fundamentally view the body as primarily or entirely sexual.
As stated by others, believing the truth as stated in scripture has set many free from the snare of pornography. Truth produces good fruit.
I rejoice that you responded to Jesus’ call. Please don’t let your zeal be an offence or cause others to stumble. Speak the truth in love, not in anger.
Recently I have participated in a small gathering of nudist groups in Malaysia attended by people of various religions. As a Muslim, I feel happy to see the mixing of various races and religions without any problems. Nudists can be a tool of unification of various races and religions.
We had a similar experience at a Thai naturist resort, where we shared the breakfast table with Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and Christians. All having respectful conversations. It was hard not to think about how a combo of these religions in the textile world could be a source of war.
We’re happy that you immediately recognize yourself in the post. Nothing of what’s in there are lies though…
Jesus was born naked. He was baptized naked. He was the feet of His disciples naked. He was tortured and beaten naked. He was crucified naked. He rose and left His tomb naked. He ascended to heaven naked. And yet Jesus never sinned. I believe God is naked since He created us in His image and I doubt He is ashamed of that image. If He is clothed, it would be in righteousness. God created us in His image and He was so proud that at the end of that day like no other of the five days previous, He proclaimed that it was “very good!” Then man disobeys God’s edict with the tree and suddenly God considers His image tainted? Nasty? Perverted? Shameful? From what I have studied God doesn’t simply change His mind. Do you believe that Jesus was forced into shamefulness when He was stripped naked in front of all for our sins? It was our shame that we were trying to force on Him! But He took all of our shame and sin (including the Original Sin) and washed it away with His blood. If you believe in our Lord, Jesus Christ you will be reborn as from the womb again in mind, body, and spirit. And you will wear the robes of righteousness. Nothing else is needed.
wow, the twists & turns that folks are forced to make due to their beliefs.
why make your life so complicated?
well, the topic was religion, not just crazy western christianity.
there is plenty of proof (photographic & written) that until christian-minded whiteys came to Asia (I live in Japan) the native populations had no perception of nudity being ‘sinful’. indeed they did not nor do they now even have the idea or conception of sin. they don’t even have a word for it! that is purely a western, um, ideal (contrivance is more suitable term).
native populations, especially in warmer climates, didn’t consider their lack of ‘clothing’ equitable to being ‘nude’. that was in the lecherous & lascivious minds of the whitey so-called christians who invaded them or tried to convert them.
so, since sin doesn’t even exist for a large proportion of the world population, and ‘nudity’ wasn’t a ‘thing’ at all for them, then it’s safe to say that your christian sin is for all intents & purpose, um, completely in the eye of the beholder, i.e., YOU.
doesn’t matter what’s in the bible (never has mattered), what matters is how it’s interpreted & believed & used & propagated.
religion is about control, and usually control of everything. that’s why nudity will never be (openly) permitted.
You are absolutely right that throughout history, religion has played a big role in setting society’s standards. And that this has a lot to do with power. It’s not a coincidence that clergy and governments used to work very closely together.
But we don’t know how society would have turned out without Christianity. We’ve never been to Japan, but we’ve heard quite a lot about the Onsen culture and naked bathing. Yet, this seems to be the only form of social nudity that is socially accepted.
Another example is Bali. Several times, we’ve seen stark naked people bathing in a river right next to the road without any shame. But nudity for recreational purposes, like sunbathing, was very much frowned upon…
Strictly defined, Christianity is an eastern religion that spread and was embraced in the west.
Sin is falling short of the mark, aiming for the bullseye, but missing it. In this sense I believe all cultures have a concept of sin. In many it probably isn’t as codified as in Judaism Islam or Christianity.
I understand that as recently as the 1950s it was common to see Japanese workers naked as they changed for work outside thier factories. No one thought twice about this.
As a believer what’s in the bible matters. It is the plumb line against which all else is measured and the basis for rejecting false teachings. Yes it has been misused, misinterpreted and misapplied by both the well meaning and the unscrupulous, but that doesn’t diminish its intrinsic worth.
Again, right on.
I am a Muslim from Malaysia. In the teachings of the religion there is telling what should be worn by Muslim men and women.
For me, nudity has to be adapted to current environmental conditions and needs. I have been trying to be a nudist practitioner for about three years and for me it is good for the health of the body because we do not have to dress all the time to balance the health and weather conditions of the environment.
Hi Zack, we have been using this argument several times and it applies to many religions. People try to answer the question of whether naturism is ok or not based on the writings in the Koran, Bible, Torah,… but all of these have been written many centuries ago. Long before naturism existed. Christians can be considered lucky because back in the day when the Bible was written, the Romans and the Greeks actually enjoyed some forms of social nudity (e.g. public bathing and sports). Therefore the Bible doesn’t seem to be specifically against nudity. But still, it’s an unreliable source to answer modern-day questions.
Imagine that our government would still be using the same laws as in the 1st century, it wouldn’t make any sense at all. Times are changing and society’s norms need to adapt to that.
“Long before naturism existed”…As a named concept, yes. Going naked in nature, for which the concept has been more recently named, no, not a recent development.
Is there actually anything new under the sun? Technology-wise, sure. But not in the scope of human interactions. I strongly dispute the idea that the Bible is an “unreliable source” to answer modern day questions.
It depends on how you look at it. Many religious people (we’re not just talking about Christians here) prefer to take the scripts by the word and fail to read between the lines. In other words, they miss the interpretation factor. If you only read the words, the bible is an unreliable source because those words have been written 2000 years ago. But if you can understand the idea behind it, the bible remains a valid source for eternity.
The problem began to occur when naked was manipulated by a number of people to become commercial (business) that is in the field of pornography. This gives a bad impression of the true concept of nudist and naturist.
“the Bible doesn’t seem to be specifically against nudity.”
The Bible differs when considering voluntary and involuntary nudity. Voluntary nudity is not condemned. Involuntary nudity is often seen in a negative light.
God told prophets to stand naked in public to preach and bear witness, and God never asks anyone to sin. I conclude that being naked in public is not inherently sinful.
When people are naked, believers are called to clothe them, and when hungry to feed them. If being hungry is not a sin, then neither is being naked. The issue is being so poor that you have no choice.
Defeated foes were stripped of all their possesions and paraded in public to shame them. The issue for Isreal is less their involuntary nakedness then that their faith was so weak that they were defeated in battle. Few modern readers get beyond the fact that they were naked.
I find it odd that people who merrily break several of the Ten Commandments, look down on nudity. Which Commandment was that one?
No god exists. All religions are evil. It’s that simple.
One could argue that atheïsm is also a religion 😂😂
so is naturism