“All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the
servant of Godmay be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today
and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
The Bible has been a source of
wisdom, teaching, and peace for many centuries.
It is the best-selling book of all time and the first book printed using
the printing press. The Bible provides
people with the basis for much of today’s guidelines for right and wrong, inlcuding
the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Jesus and his Apostles. Many of these
guidelines are strictly spelled out, with “thou shalt” and “thou shalt nots.”
However, there are many other guidelines
discussed in the Bible that are more debated within the Christian community,
such as musical instruments and women’s roles.
The discussions generated from these topics, and whether certain aspects
are sinful or not, have split churches into several doctrines and denominations.
Often we decide as Christians that because there is not explicit direction from
the Bible that we are free to make our decisions and choose to congregate with
others who accept (if not support) those decisions; but we do not label those we
disagree with as any less of Christians.
Another topic which is not
often discussed, but raises controversy is nudity; specifically, nudism, and
naturism, and whether or not nudity itself is inherently sexual. There are several instances in the Bible
where a lack of clothing is specifically mentioned and others places where it
might be logically implied. Let’s examine these instances.
“And the man and his wife were both naked and
were not ashamed.”
(Genesis 2:25)
“And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the
garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’ He said, ‘Who
told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded
you not to eat?’” (Genesis 3:10-11)
“And the Lord God made for Adam and
for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”
(Genesis 3:21)
We see in Genesis that when God created man and
woman, He made them perfect and in his own image; He did not give them garments
because they did not need them. He
proclaimed that all of his creation was good.
When they ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they became
of aware of sin and the shame that comes with it; they were also aware of their
vulnerability. In attempts to hide from
God and from the shame of sin, they made coverings for themselves; after God
banishes them from the Garden, He knows they will be vulnerable to the
elements, so He makes better garments for them, because God is still a loving
father who takes care of children. These
verses explain that while there is a reason for clothing, to protect ourselves,
but not be ashamed of what God created.
“At that time the Lord spoke by Isaiah
the son of Amoz, saying, ‘Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take
off your sandals from your feet,’ and he did so, walking naked and barefoot.”
(Isaiah 20:2)
“And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too
prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it
is said, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’”
(1 Samuel 19:24)
In these two
verses, we see intentional nudity caused by God. In Isaiah, God tells his
prophet to remove his clothing; Isaiah continues his ministry in the nude for 3
years. In Samuel, God sends the Holy
Spirit down on King Saul and his men, causing them to strip naked and prophesy. Contextually, this did not seem unusual to
the people, other than Saul’s prophesying.
The fact the God caused these instances of nudity is especially
intriguing; it seems to be a reminder from Him, the we are his creation, and
should not be ashamed of what God has called good.
“And a young man followed him, with nothing but
a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth
and ran away naked.” (Mark 14: 51-52)
“so he got up from the meal, took off his outer
clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist…” (John 13: 4)
“Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went
straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as
the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still
lying in its place, separate from the linen.” (John 20: 6-7)
“That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said
to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put
on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the
sea.” (John 21: 7)
Here in these
verses, we see examples of Jesus himself (as well as some of his followers). In
Mark 14 and John 21, we see followers of Jesus in situations where they are
bared different reasons; the young man (who many scholars believe to be the
gospel writer Mark himself) was stripped of his garment during Jesus’ arrest. The
apostle Peter had removed his garment for his work day on the fishing boat.
The other two
verses concern Jesus himself. The scene in the upper room, Jesus removed his
own clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist before washing the feet of his
apostles. After the crucifixion, Jesus was laid in the tomb with his body wrapped
in linens. When the stone was rolled away and Peter and John enter, the linen was
there, but the body was not. Some might take this to suggest when Jesus was in
the Garden of Gethsemane, he was undressed in nature.
There are also those who suggest baptisms took
place nude. This is based less on the works of scripture, but many renaissance
artists depicting scenes of nude baptisms. Mosaics in the Byzantine Church and artwork
within the Roman catacombs show baptisms occurring nude.
There are many
other cases of nudity mentioned in the Bible including Joseph fleeing
Potiphar’s wife, the man possessed by the demon Legion, Bathsheba bathing on
her roof, and a group of men who attempted to cast out a demon in Acts. All of
these cases and more, occurred for different reasons, but no verse condemns the
nudity, or say that it is shameful in the eyes of the Lord. There are several verses which use where the
word ‘naked’ is said metaphorically, as to expose sin; other verses speak
metaphorically about clothing (for example, to clothe yourself in righteousness),
but these verses are looking at the heart and actions of mankind.
We see several
cases in the Bible of non-sexual nudity, but also a purpose for clothing. While the Bible does not outright support the
idea of nudism or naturism, it does not condemn it either. There is reason to
think that the philosophies involving casual social non-sexual nudity are
perfectly acceptable, if that is within your realm of enjoyment. God and His
ways are perfect and He does everything for a reason. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
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A very good and thorough study. Love it !