why is public nudity still seen as a negative behavior??

Debating issues regarding sexuality

Moderator: Moderators

User avatar
wetwo
Student
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 11:48 am
Location: Midwest
Been thanked: 2 times

why is public nudity still seen as a negative behavior??

Post #1

Post by wetwo »

My husband and myself have been born again Christians since our teens and we were both raised in nudist families and we have raised our two kids in the lifestyle as well. We can't understand why in the year 2020 that the Christian Church is not more open to nudist lifestyle and is not more acceptable to public nudity.
when our Pastor heard that we were nudist, he asked us to give a two session representation to anyone in our church that was interesting in hearing the pros and cons of being nudist. The first session we did fully clothed and the second we were did completely naked and oddly enough it was accepted pretty well.
We welcome your thoughts and comments on the subject and maybe we can get an interesting discussion going.[/img]

User avatar
wetwo
Student
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 11:48 am
Location: Midwest
Been thanked: 2 times

very good point and good question.

Post #11

Post by wetwo »

clothing should be used to protect the body from sun and cold and anything else that would damage or arm what God has created for us to live in while on earth. I also have no issue with people being more comfortable in clothing but I would see using clothing to hide the body as being a sin. I would also see those who treat nudist differently as clothed people, they too, are also sinning.

User avatar
JehovahsWitness
Savant
Posts: 21065
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:03 am
Has thanked: 789 times
Been thanked: 1111 times
Contact:

Re: why is public nudity still seen as a negative behavior??

Post #12

Post by JehovahsWitness »

wetwo wrote: My husband and myself have been born again Christians since our teens and we were both raised in nudist families and we have raised our two kids in the lifestyle as well. We can't understand why in the year 2020 that the Christian Church is not more open to nudist lifestyle and is not more acceptable to public nudity.
when our Pastor heard that we were nudist, he asked us to give a two session representation to anyone in our church that was interesting in hearing the pros and cons of being nudist. The first session we did fully clothed and the second we were did completely naked and oddly enough it was accepted pretty well.
We welcome your thoughts and comments on the subject and maybe we can get an interesting discussion going.[/img]

Were there any children in the audience? (Not a rhetorical question)

Clothes serve not only to protect us from cold and heat but to protect public descency. Your right not to wear clothes should not impede on my right not to see that which I deem as indecent. As long as we wish to coexist we will have to adapt to what is held to be acceptable behaviour by the majority. And for most societies this means covering at least ones genitalia when in public.

Christians are instructed to be modest in dress so I have difficulty believing there was a church group that accepted a naked couple to discourse on their premises but that may well be what modern religions have come to. As one of Jehovahs Witnesses I am more than confident such a thing would never happen with us.



JW


Where Adam and Eve happy to be naked?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 6#p9997976

To learn more please go to other posts related to...

SEX , NUDITY and ... THE ORIGINAL SIN
Last edited by JehovahsWitness on Mon Jun 28, 2021 4:20 am, edited 2 times in total.
Memorial of Jesus’ Death: Sunday, March 24, 2024
FIND A LOCATION NEAR YOU: https://apps.jw.org/ui/E/meeting-search.html#/memorial

Image

DavidLeon
Under Probation
Posts: 701
Joined: Sat May 23, 2020 12:07 pm
Has thanked: 50 times
Been thanked: 31 times

Re: why is public nudity still seen as a negative behavior??

Post #13

Post by DavidLeon »

It's a cultural thing. Adam and Eve were created naked and there was nothing wrong with that until they chose to decide for themselves what is good and what is bad. Only then did they feel ashamed. People in the U.S. are, for some strange reason, more perverted in their thinking when it comes to nudity, equating it with sexuality, due, I suppose, to their own insecurities. Often horrified that their children should see the human form unclothed. Of course, young children themselves will often run around naked without any shame at all. Christians, I think, often present themselves in light of a sort of facade of morality. Not unlike Adam they make up their own minds what is good and what is bad. In Europe and in primitive peoples it is only natural. In primitive people rape and sexual crimes are only introduced into their society after the missionaries get hold of them and introduce them to clothes and shame.

Des Moines, huh? In the winters?! Iowa. The Land of Intrigue, as native Berkeley Breathed called it. Lived briefly in Burlington myself, until the flood of the Mississippi in '93.

Anyway, back to religion and sexuality in 2020 . . . the apostle Paul ate food that was devoted to idols. He knew that there wasn't anything wrong with this, but he abstained from it in order not to confuse and stumble newly interested people in the faith. (1 Corinthians 8 - a short chapter on the subject) That's sort of the attitude I would take, on public nudity, I suppose. Now in my younger unbelieving days it was quite a different story. But I was, it was often pointed out to me, almost stunningly attractive. Now, I suppose, vanity would prevent this fat, ugly old sack of turd to even sport a speedo. I know. The primitive people weren't concerned with such nonsense but I guess I was. So, I cancel my subscription to National Geographic and sport a T-shirt that fits like a Moo Moo to preserve what's left of my own imagined sense of dignity.

But to each his own. I'm not offended my it.
I no longer post here

User avatar
Mithrae
Prodigy
Posts: 4304
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:33 am
Location: Australia
Has thanked: 100 times
Been thanked: 190 times

Re: very good point and good question.

Post #14

Post by Mithrae »

wetwo wrote: Sat May 16, 2020 4:40 pm clothing should be used to protect the body from sun and cold and anything else that would damage or arm what God has created for us to live in while on earth. I also have no issue with people being more comfortable in clothing but I would see using clothing to hide the body as being a sin. I would also see those who treat nudist differently as clothed people, they too, are also sinning.
I wonder how Christian opponents of public nudity reconcile their views with the fact that the prophet Isaiah went around naked for three years (Isaiah 20)?

A couple of years ago someone started a thread on another forum about a group of women who'd done an anti-Trump political ad, without wearing clothes. A lot of the critics insisted that "its hypocritical for them to use their sexuality to get attention when they constantly rail about being sexual objects": I pointed out that this implicit assumption that whenever a woman doesn't cover up her body enough it must be for the purpose of male titillation is a very problematic attitude. (And in relation to Christianity, seemingly counter-productive to treat bodies as some kind of tantalizing forbidden fruit which can't even be viewed without falling prey to 'sin'!)

Took me a while after posting my response to that topic to realize that I've got a naked guy in my avatar, there as here :lol: I wonder how many Christians object that Michaelangelo's Creation of Adam fresco or his David sculpture are somehow 'sinful'? Maybe in their heads they classify art as being somehow different, but I think it's just that same thing that people implicitly (or explicitly) associate unclothed bodies with sexuality as a general rule, with few if any exceptions. Probably the best way to get past that hang-up is to overturn the taboo by having some more nudity!

In the second book of C. S. Lewis' space trilogy, Ransom travels to Perelandra (Venus) to meet and help guide the Eve of that planet, its first woman. She wears no clothing and in the hot climate Ransom finds it best not to bother either, but one day he awakes to find that the demonic creature who'd also arrived had taught her how to make clothes out of bird feathers, and she asks Ransom why he hadn't already shared that knowledge with her, which the people of Earth all understood?
"Ah," said Ransom, "but it is different there. It is cold."
"So the Stranger said," she answered. "But not in all parts of your world. He says they do it even where it is warm."
"Has he said why they do it?"
"To be beautiful. Why else?" said the Lady, with some wonder in her face.
"Thank Heaven," thought Ransom, "he is only teaching her vanity"; for he had feared something worse. Yet could it be possible, in the long run, to wear clothes without learning modesty, and through modesty lasciviousness?

User avatar
Miles
Savant
Posts: 5179
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:19 pm
Has thanked: 434 times
Been thanked: 1614 times

Re: very good point and good question.

Post #15

Post by Miles »

Mithrae wrote: Thu Jun 18, 2020 6:44 pm
I wonder how Christian opponents of public nudity reconcile their views with the fact that the prophet Isaiah went around naked for three years (Isaiah 20)?
No doubt they recognize that even god has limitations, which in this case pushed him into useing a naked Isaiah as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush. Now why Isaiah wandering naked around the country would would serve as sign and omen concerning Egypt and ancient Ethiopia is anyone's guess, but evidently that's what naked bodies meant back then. :tunedout:
I wonder how many Christians object that Michaelangelo's Creation of Adam fresco or his David sculpture are somehow 'sinful'?
My guess is, just about all of them; although, rather than appear Puritanically prudish and without a trace of art appreciation they hold their tongues while furtively stealing glances at nether regions.
Probably the best way to get past that hang-up is to overturn the taboo by having some more nudity!
It certainly hasn't hurt Germany. Nudism (Freikoerperkultur (FKK), Free Body Culture), in Germany is quite common. At least far more common than in other "civilized" countries.

.

Icey
Student
Posts: 59
Joined: Sun May 31, 2020 2:02 pm
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: why is public nudity still seen as a negative behavior??

Post #16

Post by Icey »

wetwo wrote: Fri Apr 10, 2020 11:10 pm My husband and myself have been born again Christians since our teens and we were both raised in nudist families and we have raised our two kids in the lifestyle as well. We can't understand why in the year 2020 that the Christian Church is not more open to nudist lifestyle and is not more acceptable to public nudity.
when our Pastor heard that we were nudist, he asked us to give a two session representation to anyone in our church that was interesting in hearing the pros and cons of being nudist. The first session we did fully clothed and the second we were did completely naked and oddly enough it was accepted pretty well.
We welcome your thoughts and comments on the subject and maybe we can get an interesting discussion going.[/img]
It's different, uncommon. Christians, in my experience, don't like change. And they tend to be strict when it come to sex and nudity; it makes them uncomfortable.
I guess it's ingrained in many from years and years of sexual, and anything that's not male, oppression.
But there's so many different Christians with so many different beliefs that there's probably not one, absolute answer

User avatar
AgnosticBoy
Guru
Posts: 1612
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2017 1:44 pm
Has thanked: 203 times
Been thanked: 153 times
Contact:

Re: why is public nudity still seen as a negative behavior??

Post #17

Post by AgnosticBoy »

wetwo wrote: Fri Apr 10, 2020 11:10 pm My husband and myself have been born again Christians since our teens and we were both raised in nudist families and we have raised our two kids in the lifestyle as well. We can't understand why in the year 2020 that the Christian Church is not more open to nudist lifestyle and is not more acceptable to public nudity.
when our Pastor heard that we were nudist, he asked us to give a two session representation to anyone in our church that was interesting in hearing the pros and cons of being nudist. The first session we did fully clothed and the second we were did completely naked and oddly enough it was accepted pretty well.
We welcome your thoughts and comments on the subject and maybe we can get an interesting discussion going.[/img]
Another observation I have to support our common view regarding public nudity is our reaction when it comes to viewing non-human animals in the nude. Take dogs and cats for instance. We don't cloth them. Doing a simple youtube search reveals many videos of pets revealing themselves and even mating. Youtube doesn't ban this nor considers this objectionable and it's most likely because we don't associate it with human sexuality.

User avatar
Miles
Savant
Posts: 5179
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:19 pm
Has thanked: 434 times
Been thanked: 1614 times

Re: why is public nudity still seen as a negative behavior??

Post #18

Post by Miles »

SamanthaClarkson267 wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 7:03 am Of course you can profess whatever morality you want,
So why is it a moral issue in the first place? What is inherently wrong with nudity?

but we are no longer living in prehistoric caveman times, when man didn't care.
Yet even today there are primitive cultures where nudity is quite acceptable. So why should some of us care now?----"While nudity in mainstream American culture is generally considered to be sexual, here in Germany, stripping down isn’t uncommon in certain everyday situations."*---What is inherently wrong with nudity?

* source


.

benchwarmer
Guru
Posts: 2268
Joined: Mon Jun 06, 2016 8:40 am
Has thanked: 1929 times
Been thanked: 722 times

Re: why is public nudity still seen as a negative behavior??

Post #19

Post by benchwarmer »

Miles wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 4:32 pm
SamanthaClarkson267 wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 7:03 am Of course you can profess whatever morality you want,
So why is it a moral issue in the first place? What is inherently wrong with nudity?
I don't get this either. We are born nude and usually the first thing we focus on is a nipple. Young children don't care about nudity until someone tells them it's 'bad'.

I find the attitude towards nudity completely warped. Many shows on US TV have no issue showing someone getting killed, maimed, etc. But show a nipple and all of a sudden it's 'indecent' and requires censorship.

It's a strange, warped world we live in sometimes.

User avatar
Purple Knight
Prodigy
Posts: 3461
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2020 6:00 pm
Has thanked: 1128 times
Been thanked: 729 times

Re: why is public nudity still seen as a negative behavior??

Post #20

Post by Purple Knight »

I don't get it either.

There are greedy rights-misers today who will tear you to pieces for implying they don't have the right to do exactly as they want, even if it endangers others, like driving drunk.

But they still go eww a naked person and call the cops.

The debate in rights versus safety never includes this. It includes things that might actually hurt people, but you don't have anyone screaming about their right to be nude, which doesn't. If people were logical this would be the easiest fight to win.

This totally validates me that almost everyone besides me is just a powertripper who likes that they can have control over the behaviour of others, or they like that they can harvest a benefit earned by everyone being safe (relatively safe roads) while not contributing to it, and making others bear the burden of them being on the road drunk.

You want to be naked? Be naked. I agree with the OP that if children aren't taught nudity = sexual, mere exposure isn't going to mess them up.

Post Reply