We are in the process of moving during the break from school for Christmas and New Years. So I shall be online until Sunday and then, unfortunately, I shall be offline until the connections for internet access are complete in about two weeks.
I shall have access to a computer during that time but I don't think that the school adminstration would be pleased with me checking this site from school as it is a rather conservative Christian school where I teach.
Besides, it gives me something to do when I get re-connected.
Metal, I know what you are up against, but if the school administrators place a premium on conservative attire, pray tell what could be more conservative than nudity?
After all, it was Adam and Eve's raiment before their fateful decision to rebel against God.
Was Adam indecently attired before he fell?
No, because that would imply that God created something indecent and even worse, did nothing to cover it up.
Did the entrance of sin into the world suddenly make nudity indecent?
No, sin is a spiritual problem. Covering or uncovering one's body won't affect the state of one's soul.
Adam and Eve felt shame and felt naked after they sinned. God then dressed Adam and Eve.
Was Adam's body shame appropriate or misdirected?
Keep in mind that Adam was a new creation with little insight into life and had also just fallen from grace, a state of communion with God. In other words, we should not blindly assume that his reaction was appropriate.
So if we cannot determine the truth from Adam's reaction, what does God's response tell us?
God replied with the rhetorical question, "Who told you that you were naked?" "Naked" is a word loaded with meaning. In this context, it implies lack of some necessity. But if you lived in an environment where clothes were not necessary and God created you that way, why would you describe yourself as lacking anything?
Obviously we read from scripture that God's enemy
convinced Adam that he lacked something. If Satan is the father of lies, it stands to reason that it is a lie to believe that a nude man in a gentle climate is lacking something he needs.
Then why did God clothe Adam? Did this act establish a covenant of clothing?
Opinion is divided, but from the previous comment God made, it seems that God did it to show Adam that his sins were covered, but God gave no commandment that Adam and all his descendants were to wear clothes at all times from henceforth.
Was a covenant of clothing implied in this passage? Absolutely not! No other blood sacrifice in the Torah involved or commanded wearing the hides of the sacrificial animals. This was a one-time event.
Genesis does document the fact that shame over nudity occurred in conjunction with the fall of man, but that does not constitute approval of such shame. The Bible documents a great deal of immoral behavior without invoking God's blessing on those acts.
Now we Christian nudists and naturists find ourselves in a world in which many of our brethren believe Satan's lie, that nudity is shameful. And many of these brethren are in a position to ban us from houses of worship and in some small towns, make it impossible for us to find employment. Let's not ignore the risks involved in speaking the truth, even when saying it in a loving manner. But if God leads, there may come a time when we must take a stand and accept the consequences, for HIS glory. If our nude bodies, fallen though they might be, are created in the image of God, our silence must eventually yield to praise for this temple we dwell in, (as God gave it) lest we fail to praise our Creator in the process.
The myth of body shame in its current form teaches that nudity among adults, at least mixed gender nudity, is a sexual event.
Christians overwhelmingly agree that sex is a private event exclusively between a man and wife. Christian nudists accept this teaching as well. Because people in our society, particularly men, are conditioned to be sexually excited by nudity, we often assume that Christians should consequently avoid mixed-gender nudity.
Many Christian nudists acknowledge that in American society, public nudity is often misperceived and agree with non-nudist Christians that it should be avoided in many public social settings.
Should a Christian avoid nude beaches then? After all, gawkers may visit that beach in order to lust after the nude people there.
Nude beaches, both official and unofficial do more good than harm. They are opportunities for people to normalize their reaction to nudity. Gawkers should be discouraged from amusing themselves at other's expense, but I reject the argument that a Christian should avoid all good behavior because a few people might think evil thoughts. And being nude in a natural setting can be very honoring to God. I realize that this "stumbling block" issue is hotly debated in Christian circles, but enough said for now.
Nudist/naturist resorts, parks and campgrounds are controlled environments that primarily consist of people who have normalized nudity in their minds and may include a few newcomers who are rapidly adjusting their attitudes as well. I heard one criticism that nudist venues are not 100% Christian, therefore one should not attend. That argument will not stand the test of consistency. Christians visit public places all the time where they brush shoulders with unbelievers and "being in the world" without being of it, is a direct command from scripture.
We don't seek strife nor do we seek persecution, but we must be willing to put God's name above our own.
Pray for the opportunity to quietly lead your friends, co-workers and family to a deeper understanding of the goodness of returning to a state of nudity as God intended, as often as your circumstances will allow.
There is a lot in this message. Brings out the fact that we put into stories of Adam and Eve things that are not there.
We tend to confuse the message of God by adding to it. God's message is simple. Come to me and I will come to you. Seek me and I will seek you. Stay with me and I wil stay with you forever.
A relationship that we confuse and put up walls against.
Adam did not just blame Eve. He blamed God by adding in the fact that God created her. He made it sound that it was God's fault that Eve did this evil thing simply because if God did not create her, then this would not have happened.
I think people overlook that part. They think it's the nudity. It doesn't help when people think it was an apple that they took. If that were true, then why do we eat apples? Wouldn't that be more forbidden than being nude?
And again, some believe that it was sex that was the "forbidden fruit" but that would be counterproductive to God's command to reproduce and populate the world. And that command was given while they were still naked.
