Is Going Nude Around the House Christian?

[Lee_Lee]

Hey,

Interesting topic, well there is really two separate issues here 1/being nude around your partner and 2/being nude around your children. But first generically speaking:

It is my interpretation of the bible that it states that nudity is not appropriate for christians in this world. While yes in the very beginning Adam and Eve were naked and felt no shame and this was allowed, sin was introduced through the whole 'apple eating' thing and because of this SHAME was also introduced.

Gen 3: 21-22; The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, "the man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil".

So we can take away from the above scripture that God not only wants us clothed, but God was the very one who first clothed us! Thats right God was the very first ever fashion designer!!!!!

The only time that being naked in front of another is acceptable is within marriage (Song of Solomons is all about the beauty of the naked body and the joy of waiting for the wedding night!). Further, one of God's purposes for marriage is to have children:

Malachi 2:15; Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirity they are His. And why one? because he was seeking godly offspring.

I think we would find it pretty hard to fufil the above if we kept our clothes on! lol.

In terms of walking around the house in the nude! Well biblically there is nothing wrong with doing this in front of your partner! I wouldn't do it because for me it would be like having christmas every day- eventually the specialness of seeing your partner naked would wear off (this is only a personal opinion tho).

Ok the second point of being naked in front of your children is completely different. I believe that being naked in front of your children is largely inappropriate. Again the only place the bible saids its appropriate is in front of your wife/husband. In fact when the bible talks about nudity in front of your own children it saids not to do it:

Gen 9: 20-23; Noah a man of the soil proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he become drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brother's outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laide it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. There faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.

*Basically dad got drunk and was lying naked, children covered him, and walked BACKWARDS so they could not see dad naked. If it was ok for parents to be naked in front of their children, why couldn't Noah's children at least look at him while they covered him up? THEY WALKED IN BACKWARDS TO AVOID THIS. Thats not to mention the fact they covered him up...why not leave him naked..if it was appropriate?

Hope that gives some insight. Just as a side note, you do not have to be a prude, or create negative body images...you just have to place a respect on the body and what it is used for. Celebrate it, tell your children that the body is a wonderful thing! So wonderful that one day you get to share it with only one other person!

-LeeLee

 

[Johnnz]

Those Scriptures need further comment.

God clothed the couple as a type Salvation, a of covering for their sin. The story is trivialised when it is reduced to just clothing. In Genesis all the great themes of the Bible are introduced and set in context. Then, there was only one couple around at the time. Therefore if God clothed the couple it must have been to prevent man and wife seeing each other naked. Thirdly, all virtue derives from God. Shame is not a virtue. It is always results from sin, somewhere. If Christ's sacrifice is complete, then the roots of all shame have been dealt with.

You will find that modern commentators believe it was disrespect for his father in that state that bought about God's response, not the nakedness itself. Again, Noah had not acted well by getting drunk. The shamefulness was associated with the same of his sin, not nakedness per se. Other references linking nakedness and captivity with shame following the Jewish people's captivity are similar examples. Exposure to the naked human body occurred frequently in most ancient cultures as part of daily living. - no master bedroom, often many people sleeping in a single room, clothing was often discarded during manual labour, slaves were often sold or worked naked, toiletry was an open air event, as was bathing, baptisms were performed naked and so on.

John
NZ

 

[Linnis]

Honestly I think some people need to 'get over it'. Nudity all by itself isn't sexual. I think people being hypersensitive about nudity can send the wrong message to children. Yes, we should be modest but within a family the rules don't have to be quite so strict.

DH is more comfortable with nudity than I am. Our son is only a baby, he doesn't notice those kinds of things yet. Probably in a few years I'll make an effort to limit when he sees me naked. Which will probably come after I am once again allowed to go to the bathroom on my own, not nursing him anymore etc.

As far as Fathers around their DDs naked. My Dad was never around either my brother or I naked that we could ever remember. It just wasn't done. My mother was more relaxed about it until my brother got to be school aged.

 

[united4Peace]

How do you feel about being nude in your home, with your children, Husband, and by yourself?

Alot of people feel like nudity is very sexual and that if you are naked around or in the presence of your own children that this is wrong.

So what do you think?

When they were younger I didnt mind but then around the age of 5 ( I bathed with them until they were abt 4-opposite sex of me...and they showed with the hub until abt age 6) I started covering up and now we all have our privacy...though if we do see something we dont make a huge deal of it...however we do stress Privacy... as well we all need our privacy...including married couples at times....

 

[united4Peace]

Hey,

Interesting topic, well there is really two separate issues here 1/being nude around your partner and 2/being nude around your children. But first generically speaking:

It is my interpretation of the bible that it states that nudity is not appropriate for christians in this world. While yes in the very beginning Adam and Eve were naked and felt no shame and this was allowed, sin was introduced through the whole 'apple eating' thing and because of this SHAME was also introduced.

Gen 3: 21-22; The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, "the man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil".

So we can take away from the above scripture that God not only wants us clothed, but God was the very one who first clothed us! Thats right God was the very first ever fashion designer!!!!!

The only time that being naked in front of another is acceptable is within marriage (Song of Solomons is all about the beauty of the naked body and the joy of waiting for the wedding night!). Further, one of God's purposes for marriage is to have children:

Malachi 2:15; Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirity they are His. And why one? because he was seeking godly offspring.

I think we would find it pretty hard to fufil the above if we kept our clothes on! lol.

In terms of walking around the house in the nude! Well biblically there is nothing wrong with doing this in front of your partner! I wouldn't do it because for me it would be like having christmas every day- eventually the specialness of seeing your partner naked would wear off (this is only a personal opinion tho).

Ok the second point of being naked in front of your children is completely different. I believe that being naked in front of your children is largely inappropriate. Again the only place the bible saids its appropriate is in front of your wife/husband. In fact when the bible talks about nudity in front of your own children it saids not to do it:

Gen 9: 20-23; Noah a man of the soil proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he become drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brother's outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laide it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. There faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.

*Basically dad got drunk and was lying naked, children covered him, and walked BACKWARDS so they could not see dad naked. If it was ok for parents to be naked in front of their children, why couldn't Noah's children at least look at him while they covered him up? THEY WALKED IN BACKWARDS TO AVOID THIS. Thats not to mention the fact they covered him up...why not leave him naked..if it was appropriate?

Hope that gives some insight. Just as a side note, you do not have to be a prude, or create negative body images...you just have to place a respect on the body and what it is used for. Celebrate it, tell your children that the body is a wonderful thing! So wonderful that one day you get to share it with only one other person!

-LeeLee

Guess what....when I get old...my children will more than likely see me naked again...as they will hopefully be my caretakers and they and their partners will be washing me and my husband and all the fun stuff that goes along with that...sooo unless God wants us to be smelly in old age then I dont think God has a prob with that...I really think your reading into the story of Noah too much....

 

[hisbloodformysins]

Honestly I think some people need to 'get over it'. Nudity all by itself isn't sexual. I think people being hypersensitive about nudity can send the wrong message to children. Yes, we should be modest but within a family the rules don't have to be quite so strict.

DH is more comfortable with nudity than I am. Our son is only a baby, he doesn't notice those kinds of things yet. Probably in a few years I'll make an effort to limit when he sees me naked. Which will probably come after I am once again allowed to go to the bathroom on my own, not nursing him anymore etc.

As far as Fathers around their DDs naked. My Dad was never around either my brother or I naked that we could ever remember. It just wasn't done. My mother was more relaxed about it until my brother got to be school aged.

No offense but this post seems to contradict itself.... the first part says "get over the issues with nudity, don't make a big deal"... ok, well I assume when I read this that your values are that you dont see anything wrong with being nude around your children regardless of age... because it's too sexualized..

Then in the last part you mention that your child is a baby (I doubt many ppl have issues being nude around their babes) and that you'll become more descrete when he becomes school aged.

So, in the first part I'd gather that it wouldn't matter if dad was naked around daughters, and you naked around your son.... i'm seeing peace signs, tie dye and flower power all around in my mind.. oK?

So hmmmm.... I bet that most parents don't really make an issue about being nude around their kids until school aged. As a matter of fact I have just recently really started to try to be consistant in not showing my naked bod to my son who is 6, not that he doesn't ever see me in my underwear or walk in when i'm on the pot.

Maybe this post needs to be more specific about the age of children in which parents feel comfortable or not comfortable so that your point can be more defined.

It would be interesting to see the true differences among familiess... maybe some are stricter about it then I think.

My mom walked around nude all the time but I had two sisters... and she probably still does it. I think it's wrong for men to walk around in their underwear around grown daughters..... I think that is something that happens a lot. I wonder what others think of that?

HB

 

[Johnnz]

Why does the naked body become 'indecent' that our children must be shielded from parental nudity? Modesty, behaving appropriately within society, is appropriate. But that does not necessitate the degree of shame and embarrassment we associate with our sexual components.

Christian nudists probably have got it right - our body is God's temple, and neither us nor the body image industry should be allowed to take away the freedom of being really at ease with the only body we will ever have here on earth.

Importantly, modesty does not equate with either shame of embarrassment. Modesty is something positive arising from a lack of pride and self interest. Embarrassment and shame both derive from our fallenness, of having done something wrong.

John
NZ

 

[MikeK]

I think it's wrong for men to walk around in their underwear around grown daughters..... I think that is something that happens a lot. I wonder what others think of that?

I walk to the mailbox in my underwear...what's wrong with that? Boxer shorts cover the same stuff that traditional shorts cover.

 

[united4Peace]

I walk to the mailbox in my underwear...what's wrong with that? Boxer shorts cover the same stuff that traditional shorts cover.

Nothing at all....but now if you went in speedo's...well Id personally rather a guy go naked then go in speedo's...those things are scarey(should be an added commandment IMO-And God said...Do Not wear Speedo's)!!!

Bwwhahahaha....

 

[fuzzymel]

Nothing at all....but now if you went in speedo's...well Id personally rather a guy go naked then go in speedo's...those things are scarey(should be an added commandment IMO-And God said...Do Not wear Speedo's)!!!

Bwwhahahaha....

lol thats so true.

 

[Muraho]

Both pretty much always naked as soon as we get home. Much more comfy and relaxed.

Don't and won't have children to worry about.

 

[hisbloodformysins]

Nothing at all....but now if you went in speedo's...well Id personally rather a guy go naked then go in speedo's...those things are scarey(should be an added commandment IMO-And God said...Do Not wear Speedo's)!!!

Bwwhahahaha....

LOL!
But I guess I'm thinking more whitey tidies because well, I'd been to a boyfriend's house when his father walked around that way... I have this underlying thought in my head of pervs, because he was one.

HB

 

[Robinsegg]

We did the "naked thing" until our daughter was old enough to start noticing . . . However, she has seen me nurse her brother, walked in on me in shower/tub/dressing, etc. I don't react overmuch. I don't have a problem with them seeing me in bra and panties (they'd see the same if I wore a bikini), but I try not to let them see me fully naked (if I've gotten bra or panties on, no big deal). Hubby's much the same way.
Kids are now 5 & 7.
Rachel

 

[AMOG]

I love these nudity threads!!! No where else on this board will you see so many north Americans attempting to extend their social morays to the rest of the world...

Face it folks. There is nothing sexual about nudity in most of the world, thorough most of history. Our local hangups are just that. Local. (both geographicly and temporaly.)

Nudity is just fine in an environment where everyone can treat it as natural. If you have a hangup with it, that is your problem. Not mine and not Gods.

What do I do? Nudity is fine in the house, hot tub, etc, when it is just my wife and I. Its also fine at the nude beach, or anywhere else that it is socialy acceptable and not sexualized. (IE it is NOT okay at the topless bar)

The reason it is not fine when the kids are around has everything to do with social convention. We are adult enough to recognize that the US has wierd hangups about nudity, thus, modeling modisty for our kids teaches them the proper way to behave in the society they will most likely spend most of their time in. If we were in Euorpe we would be more relaxed and if we were in Iran, we would be even more conservative. It is all about social morays, not about right/wrong or good/evil.

 

[jminnesota]

growing up i seen my parents nude now and then like seeing them get in and out of the shower or getting out of bed and my mom has pics of me butt naked in the bath and running around the house naked. we were not a nudist family i mean we were dressed 90% of the time but at night it was common to be nude. and so i feel there is nothing wrong with family nudity it is not end of the world if kids see parents nude or parents see kids nude. as long as it dont get to creepy or its not forced on anyone. i am married and dont have any kids yet but when we have kids if they accidently walk in on us naked in the shower or sleeping in bed we are not going to scream and yell at em to close the door. we would be casual about it and teach them that the body is nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[Darkhorse]

Re-reading this thread from 4 years ago makes me very sad. Parents want to do the right things with their kids. But their good intentions are perpetuating the very beliefs and norms that make inappropriate contentography possible.

As usual, my family and I just returned from a Labor Day weekend at a nudist resort with about 250 other people, including many children. I challenge you to find a "cleaner", less-inappropriate contentographic, more family-oriented atmosphere than families playing, eating, swimming, and dancing with no clothes and no shame. Several of these families (including mine) are Christian homeschoolers. No sex, no sexual innuendo, just good clean fun, the way God intended. Yes, we're all sinners and live in a fallen world, but that's still true if we were covered head-to-toe.

So teach your kids real morality, like loving God with all you have, and loving your neighbor as yourself. Teach them the beauty and goodness of God's creation (including the body and its functions), and inappropriate content won't be so attractive.

 

[LinkH]

When it's just me an my wife, that's fine. I was all pro-nudity around the home when it was just the two of us, but we didn't just go around nude at home unless we had a reason to be nude back then.

Now, with the kids, I like to wear clothes, even when the baby is around. You never know when that first memory is going to stick. I think I remember a few scenes from when I was two. Wouldn't it be awful if your parents walking around the house nude was your first memory?

 

[Niffer]

My husband and I have no issues being nude, together or at a nude beach.
My family is european, so I grew up having showers with my mum, sisters and even younger brother.
I have many fond memories of running naked in the backyard through a sprinkler on hot days..

We have a little girl, and I can't say I'm too worried about her seeing me naked, (even when she's older) hubby will probably feel the need to wear boxers when she hits an old enough age; but again, nakedness isn't really a big deal for us.

Peace,
- Niffer

 

[jminnesota]

i agree i feel family nudity is not a big deal really. as long as its not forced. if a girl walks in on her dad naked or son walks in on mom naked to me it is 100% ok and i feel god even things its ok. nudity and sex are 2 different things. if i am naked in the shower i am not going to cover up if my kids open the door and see me. if i had kids that is.

 

[lillivanilli]

I like being nude when I'm by myself or alone with DH. I don't around my children any more, but I took my daughter into the shower with me until she was old enough to tackle showering by herself - around probably kindergarten age. I haven't seen my son nude since he was probably that age either and now that he's 12, that's his business, not mine.

DD has walked in on me plenty of times, either getting in/out of the shower, going to the bathroom, upstairs changing, etc. It's no big deal. DS simply doesn't barge in to the bathroom/bedroom like DD does, so he hasn't had the horror of seeing mom naked. IF he did, well, I certainly wouldn't make a big fuss about it, but I have a feeling he'd be more embarrassed than me!

I will not go nude around the dog anymore. Not since that last time he planted a wet tongue on my bare cheek. YUCK.