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 personally have no problem with nudism, but then I don't consider myself as Christian.
According to gotquestions.org/Christian when asked "Can a Christian be a nudist?". ...
"Many pagan cultures throughout history considered public nudity normative, especially Spartan, Greek, and Roman societies. In more recent years, pubic nudity has become more and more acceptable, with many groups promoting a “back-to-nature” philosophy and the supposed health benefits of taking off one’s clothes. Nudists, or naturists, form clubs, frequent clothing-free beaches, and engage in activities ranging from hiking to horseback riding
au naturel.
Although the world’s standards may permit or even encourage nudity, the Bible has a different perspective. It is true that the first humans were created unclothed by God (
Genesis 2:25). Adam and Eve were innocent in their nakedness, but after the fall everything changed. When they sinned, “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (
Genesis 3:7). Never before had they realized they were unclothed—the concepts of “clothed” and “unclothed” were meaningless to them. Sin affected their hearts and minds, creating vulnerability, guilt, and shame, and these things produced fear (verse 10). In their attempt to cover their spiritual shame, Adam and Eve intuitively covered their bodies. We should note that, when God took away their fig leaves—a sadly inadequate covering—He replaced them with something more permanent—animal skins (verse 21). Thus, God regarded clothing as appropriate and necessary in a fallen world.
Nudity now has implications of sinfulness attached to it. With few exceptions, the Bible presents nakedness as shameful and degrading (
Genesis 9:21;
Exodus 20:26;
32:25;
2 Chronicles 28:19;
Isaiah 47:3;
Ezekiel 16:35-36;
Luke 8:27;
Revelation 3:17;
16:15;
17:16). The only passages in which nudity is free of shame are those that describe Eden’s idyllic setting or that deal with marital relations (
Proverbs 5:18-19;
Song of Solomon 4).
We still live in a fallen world, surrounded by lust, immorality, and perversion. The innocence of Eden is gone. Naturist philosophy ignores the results of the fall. Even in “asexual” contexts, public displays of nudity dishonor God by pretending an innocence that no longer exists. A Christian should definitely not be a nudist or participate in nudist activities."
In summary, from a Christian apologist viewpoint, Christians do please correct my summary if wrong, Eve in her nudism was deceived by a talking snake, and now nudism is shameful, sinful and not permissible for Christians.
