Can Christians go Naked?

[Salvador]

This makes you extraordinary? In what way?

Personally, I don't much care what someone looks like.
Young/old. Black/white/other. Male/female. Skinny/buff/pudgy.

Why do you care enough to have an opinion?
Tom

Okay, fine then, I'll really try hard not to be so critical of whomever looks different than how I'd like them to appear in order to please me.

 

[Scarecrow13]

A lot of Christians will point to Genesis and say that it is because of Adam and Eve's nakedness that God gave them covering but let's take a closer look. They said they were ashamed because they were naked. God asked who told them they were naked. It was the serpent. So it was the serpent that taught them to be ashamed of their nakedness, not God, who saw his creation (their body) as good. Before they were kicked out of the garden, he gave them coverings to protect them from the environment, nowhere do we see this being a sign of modesty. So in summary, Christians can go naked.

 

[Muffled]

Dear Bronwyn,

"My husband and I enjoy being nude in a controlled non-sexual environment, (swimming nude, visiting nude, sharing a meal nude, walking on wooded trails nude.) This is not something we share with our Christian friends and church members, since it seems that when people think of adults being in a social group nude, they assume that it is sexually oriented. That assumption is not always true, as my husband and I can attest.

My question is this: Must we give up our occasional nude lifestyle if we are members of a church and participate in church activities? Is it biblically based sinning? We have studied and searched the bible for an answer. Culturally this would not be acceptable however, my question is, are we sinning in the eyes of God?

– Bare Necessities"
source

​

So, must Bare Necessities give up their occasional nude lifestyle if they are members of a church and participate in church activities?
AND is such a lifestyle Biblically based sinning? Are they sinning in the eyes of God?

.

​

I believe if there is no lust of the flesh or in the thinking then it is OK but I find it better not to give any indication of a possible moral lapse in church because people are quick to judge without knowing all the facts.

 

[Muffled]

Its a ridiculous question that doesn't deserve an answer. You wear clothing when you can and go naked when you cannot.

I believe it was not a question of necessity but a matter of recreation.

 

[Muffled]

Whats the purpose of going nude in groups anyhow?

I believe it is just a matter of birds of a feather flocking together.

 

[Revoltingest]

A true Christian is a nevernude.

 

[Scarecrow13]

A true Christian is a nevernude.

Yes ever since I saw that episode i have wondered how far people would take it. Certainly you would need to pull your pants down for the bathroom. I will grant it's possible to shower wearing something. However, short of the absurd, it is pretty much the attitude toward nudity that existed in my family and many others.

 

[Revoltingest]

Yes ever since I saw that episode i have wondered how far people would take it. Certainly you would need to pull your pants down for the bathroom. I will grant it's possible to shower wearing something. However, short of the absurd, it is pretty much the attitude toward nudity that existed in my family and many others.

Swimming trunks are better than jean cut-offs for nevernudes.

 

[Scarecrow13]

Swimming trunks are better than jean cut-offs for nevernudes.

I agree, denim is uncomfortable when wet. I think that was part of the absurdity of the show. However even swim trunks are bulky and uncomfortable.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I believe it was not a question of necessity but a matter of recreation.

First we have to consider what it means in Judaism then try to determine what that means in Christianity. Circumcision of males is something Jews do. Does it mean the foreskin of the penis is evil? No, yet they cut it off. (Ouch!) Christianity does not require this but requires learning the lesson it teaches. Similarly Christians are supposed to extract the lessons in Judaism about nudity to determine what they are intended to teach us.

My opinion on it is that the law in Judaism forbids nudity in particular situations. It forbids nudity between certain family members. Nudity is also specifically forbidden near the altar, and I think this could mean its not forbidden in general but don't know. Its also used as a euphemism for sex in some passages. There are times to be naked, and I don't know what times those are in Judaism. Not everything is spelled out. Family members are expected to be clothed around one another in Judaism (I think). You may want to check with a rabbi on that though. Sometimes you do or don't do things in Judaism just for memorial reasons or symbolic ones. In Judaism it seems to me that an entire lifetime of a person is filled with these symbols and actions which to outsiders seem meaningless/extreme. They can also be beautiful, marvelous.

The Christian is expected to take the dexterous, proactive, moral life of Judaism to the next level in lieu of all of these extras. You can be naked, but there's no point in being naked. You can't relax. A genuine application puts a person constantly at some kind of work either mental or physical, so time to hang out naked is likely going to be as limited as possible. Maybe you spend time with your wife but just enough to get your hormones settled so that you can get back out there working to feed the orphans. Busy busy busy all the time.

 

[Revoltingest]

I agree, denim is uncomfortable when wet. I think that was part of the absurdity of the show. However even swim trunks are bulky and uncomfortable.

No one ever promised that the life of a nevernude would be easy.
I find boardshorts to be very comfortable.

 

[metis]

So in summary, Christians can go naked.

If you saw me naked, you would definitely call it a "sin".

 

[Scarecrow13]

If you saw me naked, you would definitely call it a "sin".

I am sure I would not. I have seen all different types of bodies.

 

[metis]

BTW, during Victorian times in England, the sight of a naked neck or ankle was considered as being erotic.

 

[Scarecrow13]

BTW, during Victorian times in England, the sight of a naked neck or ankle was considered as being erotic.

Exactly. So much of what is considered sexual is cultural. IN some cultures women go topless all the time and no one thinks anything of it. In fact I remember reading somewhere that Christian missionaries went to a place where women were topless and tried to get them to wear shirts but this insulted them. They came to find out that when women wore tops it indicated they were prostitutes.

 

[1213]

...Are they sinning in the eyes of God?​

If they reject God because of that. I think sin means that person is without God, or rejects God.