When is it ok?

When is nudity ok?

Is it ok to be nude when you are married in front of your own spouse? Yes? I agree. Should there be any shame there? No? Agreed again. That’s why I think Adam and Eve (a married couple) should not have felt ashamed of their bodies to cover themselves with fig leaves. It was not God’s idea. The text says they were afraid, not ashamed (Genesis 3:10). We project our own shame onto them. The text does say that the pre fall state was that they were naked and unashamed (Genesis 2:25). All of a sudden it’s shameful for a married couple to see themselves? Might they have been listening to the serpent who hates God’s image (Genesis 3:11)? Could he be the “who” of “who said you were naked?“ God was never ashamed of their nakedness. He seemed more upset that they covered themselves with fig leaves. Jesus would later curse the fig tree (Matthew 21; Mark 11). A coincidence? Maybe so. Maybe not.

When is nudity ok? 

At the doctor’s office? I agree. You reason that they can maintain a professional and respectful demeanor when viewing your nakedness while checking on your health and wellness. Then I would simply ask why we can’t all hold that same respect toward another person? Do we need training and credentials to be respectful? A piece of paper makes a difference? Or do we simply need to unlearn some social conditioning?

When is nudity ok?

In the changing room at a gym? Well, sure. Most changing rooms in the United States, at least, are not co-ed. Even then, many are too ashamed of their bodies to be uncovered in front of those of their own gender. Gang showers are practically a thing of the past and privacy is the new normal. For more on this point, read, “Way too much privacy!” on this blog.

When is nudity ok?

Maybe it’s good to ask what nudity was ok? This piece from The Biblical Naturist answers that question and links to several other sites such as this one to back up its claims. The main point is that in Greek and Roman times (when the New Testament was written), while clothing was normal, so was nudity in certain places like the river, or the bath houses, or the gymnasium. In fact, the word gym comes from the Greek word for nude. There were religious prude types back then too, but culturally in Jesus’ day, even in Jerusalem, non-sexual nudity in mixed company was not a big deal, like it is today.

When is nudity ok?

Let’s continue asking when it was ok. In Bible times, work was often done in the naked state, which makes sense if clothing (before the industrial clothing industry) was extremely expensive. Why mess up your only garment (in many cases) while working? In Scripture, we see this mostly in the case of Peter fishing (John 21:7) and Jesus post-resurrection, being mistaken for a naked gardener.

XIR130941 The Triumph of Neptune and Amphitrite, detail of cupids fishing (mosaic) by Roman, (3rd century AD); Louvre, Paris, France; out of copyright.

ANC351864 Fishermen in a boat, 2nd-4th century (mosaic) by Roman; Musee Archeologique, Sousse, Tunisia; Ancient Art and Architecture Collection Ltd.; out of copyright.

When is nudity ok?

Let’s come back to today’s times. How about on TV and entertainment? Is that ok? You may say no, and yet you may still indulge. You rationalize that it’s how culture is today, and you can’t escape it. Then you may feel guilty about it. For me, since I was pretty sheltered, any glimpses of flesh on movies and such was a thrill and a temptation. Since I equated nudity with sex, I’d have an immediate sense of arousal and could not just view it in a natural way. It was like I was doing something wrong something bad and needed to repent. There is a lot of legalism around what a Christian should or should not watch. It does come down to one’s own conviction and freedom or lack thereof. How you view the body is key. Is it a dirty and obscene source of temptation and forbidden fruit? Or is it the image of God and the crowning glory of his creation? To see it as such changes everything. The prudish view degrades the individual and calls bad or evil what God created as “very good” (Genesis 1:31). This body bad/ spirit good talk sounds like gnostic heresy to me!

When is nudity ok?

What about museums and art? What about sculptures? I recall a fountain outside of a Cheesecake Factory restaurant. My mom had us take a family photo in front of it. There were nude figures all over the fountain. This was before I had told her we were naturists. My wife and I looked at each other, both sensing the irony of the situation. My mom was oblivious.

A friend wrote this on social media the other day: “This statue is on a street in Las Vegas, and you can see families passing it all day. No one cares. No one is offended. No one is upset that women and children can see it. Yet if it were revealed that it is a live person doing a “human statue” all of a sudden it would be obscene and vulgar. It’s almost as if people tacitly say that the human body is not obscene, just actual humans.” A real double-standard!

Michelangelo’s ceiling of the Sistine chapel is worth studying. It’s a brilliant piece that then was censored and restored as nudity was banned and then reinstated. He is quoted as saying, “What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed?”

When is nudity ok?

For Skinny dipping? Absolutely! Most people have had a skinny dipping experience. Whether they thought they were rebelling at the time or were fine with it. That amazing feeling you had, you can have all the time by embracing the way we were made and the way we will go from this life (Job 1:21)! Given enough privacy, most owners of hot tubs have probably soaked in the nude. This is my theory anyway. When my non-naturist friends talk about their pools with privacy, they say things like “You’re welcome anytime, but you may want to call ahead before you come.” The idea of skinny dipping is fairly normal. It’s the mixed company that presents a problem for the same people who like it otherwise. I say we just shed our hang ups about clothing and our insecurities as well as our soggy bathing suits.

When is nudity ok?

Bathing and showering? Yep. Sadly, these are some of the only moments people are ever nude. This and during sexual relations, which is why nudity is so sexualized. This is part of the problem today with clothing compulsion.

When is nudity ok?

Sleeping naked? Some might agree or disagree or wish they could agree. Sleeping naked is great and has certain health benefits. The pajama manufactures will never tell you this, but I wouldn’t expect them to. When asked to write some advice to newlyweds, we just say “Sleep naked.” A pastor friend heard us say that, and wished he could, except what about the children coming in? They’d see us naked! We shrugged and instantly were saddened by how dreadfully scared everyone is by the prospect of being seen in such a vulnerable state.

When is nudity ok?

Is it ok for the naked cultures that have been or those still in existence today? Well it certainly is for them! That is, until we come and clothe them. In the Bible clothing the naked is more about helping the poor than it is covering nakedness. Whether we like it or not, it’s been documented many times over, that when clothing was introduced to naked cultures (oftentimes by well-intentioned missionaries) the problems with pornography and sexual temptation were introduced right along with the clothes. We unwittingly imported a body taboo and accompanying shame which brought about devastating consequences. This angered us so much when we read about it and reflected on the “Who said you were naked?” question in Genesis 3. Read more about this in this book.

When is nudity ok?

You say it may be ok in some of these cases. You might concede a few of these but still maintain that it’s wrong in a social nude setting. You are free to believe that, but we’ll have to agree to disagree. We explore the insanity of making exceptions to rules in “It should be that easy!” on this blog. I say it’s ok any time provided that it’s not violating any laws and it’s done with those of a like mind. Perhaps the issue isn’t really the nudity, but rather our mindset toward it.