can christians NOT be nudists

[Matthew Neal]

We find in scripture that fine linen is the righteousness of the saints...

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. - Revelation 19:8

8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. - Matthew 22

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. - Revelation 16:15

So my advice is that one had better not try to appear before God naked. If he does so it is at the expense of his immortal soul!

Great set of passages, Rocky!

Let's look at them more closely and see if they indicate that physical nakedness is shameful and sinful...

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. - Revelation 19:8

As you correctly pointed out, the clothing of heaven is not made of linen or any other cloth at all... the clothing of heaven is completely spiritual... and it is the "righteousness of the saints," which we know is actually the righteousness of Christ since we have no righteousness of our own.

So, does that require us to wear physical clothing? Not at all. Physical clothing can never commend us to God or render us "righteous."

11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

Is this a physical lesson or a spiritual one? Spiritual, of course. And in that day, who was it that provided the "wedding garment?" It was actually the one who is presenting the wedding; guests literally received their wedding garment from the host!

So here again, is this about not going naked physically? No, it's about showing up in the afterlife without the garments of righteousness provided by the King Himself.

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. - Revelation 16:15

Once again... is this speaking about a physical nakedness and shame? No, the entire context is all about being ready for the return of Christ. The ONLY way we can be ready for the return of Christ is to ensure that we are dressed in His righteousness. If we end up on the other side without His righteousness, we will be spiritually naked, and spiritually ashamed.

Incidentally, this is one of the passage that gives us a glimpse into to the real life of laborers in the fields during biblical times. In order to not soil the only one or two garments that they owned, the dirty work (tilling soil or tending a garden or fishing) was performed naked. Evidently, the typical practice was to strip off at the house, then walk into the fields naked. The illustration (physical nakedness as a picture of spiritual nakedness) would simply make no sense if workers never worked nude... and if they always kept their clothes close by. Jesus is contrasting the practice of leaving your clothes back home (physically) with the need to not be caught without your clothes, spiritually.

So my advice is that one had better not try to appear before God naked. If he does so it is at the expense of his immortal soul!

Absolutely! Spiritually speaking, that is.

At least I hope that's what you mean, because it would certainly be false theology to suggest that I can ensure my place in heaven by making sure I wear clothing on my physical body... or that I might forfeit my place in heaven because I fail to keep clothing on my body...

These passages can only be referring to spiritual nakedness before God, else we could never even bathe or take a shower or go to the bathroom... because we would be appearing "before God" naked. And sexual intimacy with our own spouse would be sinful before the Lord, too, since it's two people shamefully naked before God together.

==========
Bottom Line...

We have all heard dozens of verses quoted here and there from the bible throughout our lives as "proof" that physical nakedness is somehow shameful and sinful and sexual and forbidden by God. But I have studied every last one that I've ever heard... and you know what? Every last one of them fails to support the nudity-taboo when the passage is carefully and honestly interpreted.

Your list of verses here from Revelation are the same... none of them refer to physical clothing or physical nakedness. Consequently, they cannot be used to create moral obligations about physical clothing. Any attempt to define them as physical clothes equates to teaching a works-based salvation!

What you or I wear on our bodies will never commend us to God one little bit. But if we appear before God naked... that is without the garments of righteousness that HE provided us through Christ, what a shameful moment that would be indeed!

Like the old hymn says:

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne.

We will not have one thread of human clothing on us in heaven. And if we don't need it there to be righteous before God, we don't need it here to be righteous before God.

Matthew Neal

 

[rockytopva]

The old Methodist way was to obtain sanctification, not as a clothes line, but inside the character. Once this experience entered into the character they could tell by the resulting sweet spirit. Once the spirit of sanctification was obtained he needed not a teacher to teach him right from wrong.

23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. - Galatians 3

And it was in the Wesleyan teachings to keep the apparel modest and simple...

9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. - 1 Timothy 2

I am not trying to make a case of making people dress in longsleeve shirts and pants. I myself enjoy short sleeved shirts and shorts when going on vacation to warm and sunny places. But we must dress ourselves in away not to lust after one another...

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. - Matthew 5:28

 

[rockytopva]

In my Pentecostal Holiness church we had altar experiences in which we would stress the following experiences

1. Salvation - Sinners prayer
2. Sanctification - Sweet spirit
3. Witness of the spirit - With speaking of tongues

I was brought up in the Marine Corp and it was not considered manly for men to touch one another. I was also cold and arrogant. My point of view changed with the likes of the early 1900's type Pentecostalism in which I spent the summer after high school with my grandmother and had a rather eventful run in with the Pentecostal Holiness church, as this area of Virginia was in a time capsule, I got an experience of early 1900's Pentecostal anointing.

I fell in with the Pentecostal Holiness church not because of the tongues, but because of the people, which were the finest I have ever met in my entire life. Pictured below is Dallas Linkous JR, which is probably the 'shoutingest' man I have ever met in my entire life. As a teenager I would put up hay with him and go with him to the revivals at night. Both him and his wife were tongue talking, shouting, happy type Pentecostals. The joy was there equally there at home as well as at work. Every one of the fruits of the spirit lamped within their lives like a great over heated pot belly stove. There was also a decency among the people like I have never seen. My grandfather was good friends with Dallas. In the 1950's they would have revivals that would go for weeks and early in the AM. Granny said that grandfather could worship the Lord until 2 AM and not have any trouble at all rising at 6 AM for work.

As in the Wytheville, VA Cripple Creek revivals the men would pray on the left side of the altar and the woman on the right. While sitting back in the pews the old timers would weep. When making eye contact with my amazed look they would cry, "The Holy Ghost!" "The Holy Ghost!" While pointing to souls laid out about the altar.

I remember well as a young man Dallas coming behind me to pray with me at the alter, with tears running down his cheek and onto my neck. As a guy who did not like to be touched this was quite profound. At the end of that summer we had a good revival in which the Lord seemed there in a mighty way. On reading the book, "Run Baby Run," by Nikki Cruise, I felt a voice telling me to put the book down. I paused, and then continued again to read. The voice said again "Put the book down." I slept in my Grandmothers living room on an old fold away cot by the open living room door. The Katydids seemed to be singing very loud that night. There in my Grandmothers clean linens I heard the Spirit speak again, "Where is all the stress, worry and hatred?" In which, upon examining my heart, there was nothing there but pure beauty. I thought to myself. "Oh my! I got exactly what those people got!"

Holiness came into the heart first and came out in the lifestyle. There were no thought inside innocent minds of nudity.

 

[rockytopva]

It is my conviction that the churches are seven...

Ephesus - Apostolic - We all like to think our church is the closest to the Apostolic!
Smyrna - Martyr - Early Orthodox formed in this time.
Pergamos - Orthodoxy formed in this time... Pergos is a tower... Needed in the dark ages
Thyatira - Catholicism formed in this time - The spirit of Jezebel is to control and to dominate.
Sardis - Protestantism formed in this time- A sardius is a gem - elegant yet hard and rigid
Philadelphia - Wesleyism formed in this time - To be sanctioned is to acquire it with love.
Laodicea - Charismatic movement formed in this time - Rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing?

I must say here that the spirit of Jezebel has long left the Catholic church for greener pastures such as Islam. But she could raise her head up again in any one of the churches if we become to big and mighty in the flesh. My dad attended seminary to become a priest in the Catholic church. As a young boy dad would take special interest in Holy Week.

Before I came to Pentecostal Holiness I was Baptist. And as they came out of the Sardisean church age so they were very decent. I remember going on youth conferences in the upper parts of Michigan where it seemed like the young men and woman looked like angels, very pretty and dressed up. The youth conferences were also very well run and organized. I remember going to Gatlinburg,Tennessee where a Christian conference was being conducted. The young people looked very sharp and I could tell that their church was Sardisean in nature.

One thing that bothers me about Phildelphian based churches is that they are not as descent as the Sardisean. The conferences are very poorly planned, I went to the local Salvation Army a few years back and the place was filthy and not very well run. I must say that the Wesley revivals in their time were superior, but we can too easily take the Laodicean swing from hot ---> lukewarm--->cold.

In Laodicea times we have the worry about going totally cold for God. And Christ speaks that,

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. - Matthew 24:12

So it seems that Laodicean times are 180* from Sardisean. The issues of the Sardisean age may have been that they were too strict, the issues of our time are clearly that we are too liberal.

 

[Matthew Neal]

And it was in the Wesleyan teachings to keep the apparel modest and simple...

9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. - 1 Timothy 2

I am not trying to make a case of making people dress in longsleeve shirts and pants. I myself enjoy short sleeved shirts and shorts when going on vacation to warm and sunny places. But we must dress ourselves in away not to lust after one another...

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. - Matthew 5:28

Hi, again, Rocky.

So... do either of these verses indicate that we need to wear physical clothing in order to be righteous before God?

No, they don't. Let's take a closer look.

9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. - 1 Timothy 2

I could make a case (and this article does it well) that the translation of this verse using "modest apparel" is actually an inaccurate and misleading translation (the Greek word translated "modest" does not mean "modest" and the Greek word translated "apparel" is not any sort of clothing at all), but I'll leave that aside and just look at the words you actually quoted...

So... if a woman is NOT supposed to "adorn themselves" with braided hair, gold, pearls and costly clothes, what ARE they supposed to adorn themselves with? Any kind of clothing? What does Paul say? He says, women should adorn themselves with "good works."

This means that while a woman may be immodest by what she wears, she is only modest by what she does!

Does this mean that clothing is required to be "modest"? No... that's not what Paul said! He is telling women to not put their wealth on display, but rather to serve others in humility!

If Paul WERE talking about the need for women to wear clothing... how much must they wear? Exactly what parts of the body should be covered to fulfill "modesty"? Should they wear burkas? No... that's not Paul's point at all! The "modesty" that Paul is talking about has nothing to do at all with sexual propriety or covering certain body parts!! That presumption is added by the modern (and false) nudity-taboo mindset. It is not in the text AT ALL!

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. - Matthew 5:28

Notice that this passage is 100% in the heart of the observer and 0% in the attire of the observed. Period.

Furthermore, the command to not lust is completely independent of the attire of the woman... whether she's fully dressed or fully naked, the onus is on the man to not look with lust.

Honestly... there's less "lusting" going on at a naturist resort than at your standard beach or swimming pool! The clothing does nothing to prevent lust. Period.

======
Bottom Line...

Once again, the verses touted to promote the nudity taboo ALL fail to do so under honest biblical scrutiny.

Matthew Neal

 

[rockytopva]

Behold the prophecy to the Laodicean church age!

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. - Revelation 3

 

[bhsmte]

I don't have an infatuation with nudity, bhsmte, I have a commitment to truth.

The truth is that the nudity-taboo held so firmly by so many Christians is not biblical. So, if we truly want to be biblical Christians, we must not hold the taboo as a conviction, for it would be adding to Scriptures.

When it comes to the issue of nudity, however, it is not the "naturist" who is infatuated with it, for the naturist considers the fully exposed body to be no more noteworthy than a bare head or bare feet. You see, none of us take exception to someone taking off their hat or shoes when they get home because it's simply a matter of being more comfortable. The fact that other people may be around and see their head or feet is of absolutely no consequence at all.

A bare head means nothing. Going bare-footed is not a social statement, let alone a sexual statement. It's about being comfortable physically. That's exactly how a naturist feels about nudity. It's not a social statement, and it's not sexual... it is simply comfortable.

So the question is... why do non-naturists attach so much meaning to nudity? Why are THEY so "infatuated" with assigning artificial meaning to the natural state of a human being?

For me, I care about the truth... I care about God's Word, correctly interpreted and applied. So, I refuse to subscribe to or promote a false "rule of righteousness" about avoiding nudity that God never gave us.

Furthermore... it really matters.

The church today--in the main--considers the exposure of the unclothed human form to be a sexual event. To see someone naked is to experience them sexually. To allow oneself to be seen is a sexual invitation. This posture attaches a sexual meaning to the exposed skin that trumps any and every other meaning of the human form (including the clear biblical teaching that our bodies are made in God's image... a doctrine so utterly neglected that many reading this may even consider that claim to be false).

But that view is false. Nudity is not first and foremost "sexual." It's a lie--literally from Satan, the enemy of our souls.

So... what exactly should we expect to find if the church holds a perverted--even pornographic--view of the body... a view that is from Satan himself? Shouldn't we expect that a lie about the meaning of our bodies would result in sin bondage related to our view of our bodies? If we believe sexualized lies about our bodies, shouldn't we expect sexual bondage relative to our bodies?

And isn't that exactly what we see in the church and the world today?

So... it is not an "infatuation" that I hold about nudity... it is a deep conviction that the church has been deeply damaged by embracing a false view about the human form... and I long to see the church set free from its bondage.

Here's a blog post I wrote about this very point...

I Don't Promote Naturism

I put it this way... I write what I do for two reasons: The Glory of God (as revealed by the Imago Dei in our bodies) and the purity of the church (in deep sexual bondage rooted in the false view of the body).

Matthew Neal

I understand.

I just noticed all of the different threads on this same topic.

There is no question, many Christians have a hang up about this topic and other topics as well.

 

[Matthew Neal]

Holiness came into the heart first and came out in the lifestyle.

Absolutely true.

As Jesus taught in Mark 7:14-23, impurity has its source inside of us... never is it external. What you see can never make you unclean or impure.

There were no thought inside innocent minds of nudity.

This statement is utterly presumptive... for it presumes that nudity is not "innocent"... and it presumes that no "innocent" person has ever thought of or enjoyed nudity.

Have you ever innocently looked forward to a warm bath or shower? Of course you have. Then you have had positive thoughts about your own nudity... with an innocent mind. If you don't believe that the nudity is part of what you're looking forward to, just try having those same positive feelings about a shower fully clothed.

To the pure all things are pure... even nudity.

To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. Titus 1:15

If nudity is "impure" to you... then it is not a problem with the nudity. This verse tells us rather that your mind and conscience are both "defiled" (which matches Jesus' teaching in Mark 7).

It is not naturists who have an impure understanding of nudity, but rather those who insist that nudity leads inexorably to impurity... even though that claim is in direct opposition to Jesus' teaching.

Matthew Neal

 

[Matthew Neal]

Behold the prophecy to the Laodicean church age!

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. - Revelation 3

And since there are still more verses cherry-picked in a vain attempt to support the false "nudity-taboo" narrative... here's yet another one. It fails the test, too.

A few questions for you Rocky...

• Were the people Jesus was talking to physically naked?
  
• Were they physically poor?
  
• Where they physically blind?
  
• Where they physically "wretched"?

In all cases, No. Physically, they were none of those things.

Some related questions...

• Is physical blindness sinful and "shameful"?
• Is physical poverty sinful and "shameful"?

Of course not.

• Is spiritual blindness sinful and "shameful"?
• Is spiritual poverty sinful and "shameful"?

Of course it is.

So... what may we conclude about physical nakedness? Is it sinful and shameful? No. No more so than blindness or poverty.

What about spiritual nakedness (showing up before God without the righteousness of Christ)? Is that sinful and shameful? Absolutely. Just like spiritual blindness and poverty.

Does this passage teach us that physical nakedness is actually shameful? Is it even attempting to teach us anything about physical nakedness at all?? No, and No.

Correctly understood, it actually demonstrates that physical nakedness is not a source of shame... just as blindness and poverty are not.

=======
Bottom line....

This passage also fails to support the false nudity-taboo narrative when honestly evaluated and interpreted.

Matthew Neal.

 

[rockytopva]

As I believe that the Wesleyan movement came out of the Philadelphian church age...

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. - Revelation 3:12

This is the big disadvantage to the Wesleyan movement, we are in and out of revival. And when we are out of revival all kinds of strange things can come in. The Lord says that before his coming,

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; - 2Thessalonians 2:3

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron - 1Timothy 4

... Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; - 2Peter 2:14

There is a danger of the people of this revival to depart wholly from the Lord... This also happened to Noah who was at one time a preacher of righteousness...

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. - Genesis 9

We can only guess that Ham uncovered his fathers nakedness, possibly committing a homosexual act as well. It is not the will of God to behold one anothers nakedness...

6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the Lord.
7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.
9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.
10 The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman.
13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.
14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.
17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.
19 Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.
20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.
21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.
24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:
25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. - Leviticus 18

 

[Matthew Neal]

Here we go again...

Rocky, you need to study these passages honestly before you post them as if they prove some imaginary idea that nudity is sinful and shameful. The passages simply do not support that conclusion!!

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron - 1Timothy 4

Mark my word, Rocky, the "doctrine of demons" is not the teaching that nudity is OK, but rather that nudity is NOT OK.

And I can demonstrate it scripturally...

Exactly who is the "Who" of "Who told you that you were naked?" (Gen. 3:11)?

Clearly, God did not approve of their concern over their nakedness... and it was literally proof that they had been listening to Satan!

God saw their nudity and declared it (along with the rest of creation) "Very Good" (Gen 1:31)

God even made a point of mentioning the goodness of their nudity in Gen 2:24... proclaiming for all time how perfect it was for His human creations to be "naked and unashamed"... forever establishing that the nakedness found in the Garden literally was HIS idea and HIS ideal for humanity.

One verse later, the serpent shows up to stir the pot and convince Adam and Eve that their nudity WAS a problem after all!

The anti-nudity rhetoric is literally the doctrine of Satan!

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. - Genesis 9

Aside from how difficult it is to understand this story as to exactly what happened and why, tell me where God gives us any sort command in this passage. No command? Well, does God even offer any divine commentary on the narrative so that we know what we're supposed to learn from it? No? Hmmm... Are we supposed to just assume that there's some sort of teaching about nudity here? What might it be? The guy who was nude wasn't even rebuked... seems to me he was actually the prophet who issued the curse in God's name. Exactly what part of Noah's culture are we intended by God to emulate? It just doesn't say, does it?

So, why do we want to put a command (or even divine commentary) in this passage where God chose to be silent?

No, this passage is NOT given to us to provide us moral direction regarding nudity.

6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the Lord.
7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
{plus many more verses saying, "Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of ... thy ... kinswoman.}

This phrase "uncover the nakedness of" is a euphemism for incest. Plain and simple. The passage makes perfect sense when understood that way, but makes very little sense if taken literally.

Don't believe me? Then why is the reason for "not uncovering nakedness" given EIGHT TIMES as "kinswoman" or "close relative" or a real-life, close family relationship (vss 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17)? It is the close relationship that defines the fact that it is incest... so it's not about simple nudity!

Add to all that the fact that modern translations don't even bother translating the literal "uncover the nakedness of"... instead they correctly understand the euphemism for incest and render the phrase as "Do not have sexual relations with..." There is absolutely no doubt that this rendering correctly communicates the intention of the passage. It simply is NOT about simple non-sexual or social nudity!

If this passage is NOT talking about incest--and the "uncover nakedness" really is literal--then the passage makes it very clear that it does NOT apply to ANYONE except my close relatives. So that would mean that we ARE allowed to "uncover the nakedness" of other people... provided they are not a close relative. Sadly, no one who attempts to use this passage to oppose social nudity ever bothers to pay any attention to the biblically stated limits to its application.

Again... if we're honest with the scriptures, every one of those passages used to support the false "nudity-taboo" narrative fail to make the case.

Matthew Neal

 

[rockytopva]

At least Shem and Japheth had the decency not to behold their fathers nakedness...

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. - Genesis 9

24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:
25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. - Leviticus 18

and to couple this scripture with the Revelation scripture...

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. - Revelation 3

When God looks down on the state of society he gets sick to his stomach. It is an unholy thing to behold each others nakedness in doing so we risk being spewed out of the Lord's mouth as well as out of the land.

 

[rockytopva]

18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) - Philippians 3

“What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.” - John Wesley

If this generation is tolerating nudity what will the next generation embrace? I say that the culture will become worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. And peoples glory today is in their shame. In other words it is their wickedness that is the source of what they are most proud of.

 

[Matthew Neal]

At least Shem and Japheth had the decency not to behold their fathers nakedness...

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. - Genesis 9

Indeed, Ham dishonored his father, while Shem and Japheth honored him. Even so, where exactly does it say in this passage--or any other passage--the the simple sight of another person's naked body is wrong?

Even the command to "honor your father" is NOT found in this passage... it is only illustrated here.

24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:
25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. - Leviticus 18

and to couple this scripture with the Revelation scripture...

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. - Revelation 3

When God looks down on the state of society he gets sick to his stomach. It is an unholy thing to behold each others nakedness in doing so we risk being spewed out of the Lord's mouth as well as out of the land.

Do you not see that it is utter presumption to consider the simple sight of someone's body as "unholy"?

• Is it "unholy" for a male doctor to see a female patient's naked body?
• Is it "unholy" for a male doctor to see a MALE patient's naked body? (Remember Noah...)
• Is it "unholy" for a mother to see her son's naked body? (Did you know that Zipporah circumcised her adult son... literally saving Moses' life? Exo. 4:25)
• Is it "unholy" for a man to see his wife's naked body? ("Of course not!" you say... but can you prove it from the bible?)
  
• Is it "unholy" to even view your OWN naked body? If nakedness is offensive to God, shouldn't our own nakedness be offensive to ourselves?

Has it ever crossed your mind that perhaps what God will spew out of His mouth are those who add to His Word because they presume His failure to establish clear moral standards regarding the exposed Imago Dei in human flesh?

Matthew Neal

 

[Matthew Neal]

At this point, I'm not going to respond to any more postings from Rocky giving yet more verses that have been wrongly used to support the false "nudity-taboo" narrative... I just don't have the time to respond to every last one, and over the years I've already dealt with all of them on my blog site, The Biblical Naturist.

It should be self-evident by now that all these passages fail to support that false doctrine.

If he lists something else and anyone else thinks it really deserves an answer, just post a response and highlight the passage you want me to address and I'll take it on.

Thanks for reading.

Matthew Neal

 

[rockytopva]

For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications... Mark 7:21

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. - 1 Corinthians 6:18

Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. - 1 Corinthians 10:8

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; - Ephesians 5:3

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: - 1 Thessalonians 4:3

You are not fleeing fornication but inviting it by being a nudist.

 

[Matthew Neal]

You are not fleeing fornication but inviting it by being a nudist.

That is a lie. Period.

 

[rockytopva]

And the root word for fornication... Porn!

Stay away from it!

 

[rockytopva]

For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. - 1 Cor 7:14

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. - Proverbs 27:17

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord. - Proverbs 18:22

I must emphasize here the need of finding a good wife or husband and good friends. Ones that will help keep you on the straight and the narrow and sharp.

 

[Taom Ben Robert]

And the root word for fornication... Porn!

Stay away from it!

Nudity =\=fornication