Why is nudity offensive?

[Stravinsk]

Again, these verses spoken by Jesus strongly suggest at the very least that we should clothe those who are naked. Why? Because nakedness is a symbol of shame.

I have a feeling though, that no matter how much scripture people on my side of the argument use, all others will do is simply try and say we have taken it "out of context" or try and justify public nudity.

Nice post Welshman - I honestly haven't made up my mind completely on the issue.

However - I don't necessarily think that because Christ talks about the need not to be naked - it indicates shame. That's not a contextual argument - it's a pragmatic one. People need to be clothed for perfectly practical reasons - to protect them, for instance, from the elements.

And yet - for our pets - no one thinks of it as shameful when they see a dog relieve itself or lick it's privates. Our animal friends walk around "naked" all the time and no one thinks twice about it. What about the human body sets it apart as shameful in the nude?

And as far as shame is concerned - that seems largely culture dependent. In some Islamic cultures it's shameful for women to walk around with their head uncovered (in some cases completely) - while in some tribal African cultures head, breasts etc find no inherent shame among the people.

I'm sorry, but the non-Biblical arguments such as someone feeling "free" or not having the pain of ending up with "sand in their shorts" is absolute and utter nonsense. Sorry...I know some people on here might think that's a bit strong...but it is. Maybe some just won't say it. Sometimes I feel even the non-believers in the world look at us and think..."what on earth is he/she doing?" Even they wouldn't go play volleyball or tennis naked because they know it's just...wrong (and I'll be honest...I find it weird)

For what it's worth, those are my opinions on it anyway.

Everything that is not common to the individual and his upbringing and culture is "weird". In some Asian countries - honey dipped grasshopper or other bugs on a stick is a treat. It's weird to us because it's not part of our culture. In Jewish culture - it's "just...wrong" to eat pork. Yet - for most Westerners, including many Christians, bacon and other pork products are just fine and dandy.

While not commenting on the "inherent" shame or sinfulness of public nudity - such as playing volleyball or tennis naked - I'd wager that someone who grew up in a nudist colony wouldn't think twice about it.

 

[jamandcrumpets]

yay! love it.. some scripture to start gnawing on... no rude comments, just throwin the scripture out there! Bring on some more of the good stuff lol... might inspire me to actually throw open the old book instead of just usin the brain lol...

 

[jamandcrumpets]

ok... couldn't help myself found LOTS of verses pertaining to wearing clothing and even rules in Leviticus about not wearing clothing made from 2 different types of material... but we all wear clothing and so we know they did also... for lots of reasons... BUT is nakedness shameful???... well first verse I found Revelation 3:18 I advise you to buy gold from me - gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. And also buy white garments so you will not be SHAMED by your NAKEDNESS. And buy ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.

Deuteronomy 28:47-48 Because you have not served the Lord your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have recieved, you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. You will be left hungry, thirsty, NAKED, and lacking in everything. They will oppress you harshly until you are destroyed.

Anyway, It's a start... btw I'm also looking for verses that claim nakedness is NOT shameful, in order to get some truth on the matter...

 

[Stravinsk]

ok... couldn't help myself found LOTS of verses pertaining to wearing clothing and even rules in Leviticus about not wearing clothing made from 2 different types of material... but we all wear clothing and so we know they did also... for lots of reasons... BUT is nakedness shameful???... well first verse I found Revelation 3:18 I advise you to buy gold from me - gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. And also buy white garments so you will not be SHAMED by your NAKEDNESS. And buy ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.

Anyway, It's a start... btw I'm also looking for verses that claim nakedness is NOT shameful, in order to get some truth on the matter...

In Revelation as in Genesis - I lean towards "nakedness" - not as a physical condition - but as a spiritual one. "Naked" means - "exposed". Why "white garments"? Why not brown or black? Or red? Clothing and the colour of clothing is symbolic in Scripture - just as the fruit of a tree is symbolic. We aren't trees and don't bear physical fruit - but we are likened to trees and fruit by our attitudes and actions.

 

[jamandcrumpets]

I'm getting tired ok here is one more:

1 Cor 13:22-24 In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen, while other parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.
[/

I definitely don't think nudity is shameful, and in your own home it's no biggie. If you can handle it with your friends and your heart is pure (lets face it - GOD WILL KNOW), then go for it.... but as for the normal human heart, I still believe Lust is too big an issue, as is feeling exposed around people you don't know you can trust... Let's face it - Satan is still on earth, and so is sin...

Well, unless someone can provide an argument otherwise that would change my thoughts on the matter... lol I guess thats my conclusion...x

 

[Rev.Ross]

Very good point. Clothing is more for protection from sun and elements, not from each other. Blessings, Rev.Ross

 

[MarkSB]

Very good point. Clothing is more for protection from sun and elements, not from each other. Blessings, Rev.Ross

That doesn't really address the verses from 1 Corinthians 12:22-24 -

"On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment."

Not to mention the verses from Genesis, which were mentioned earlier in this thread, where one of Noah's sons is punished for looking upon him while naked.

It's also difficult for me to think that Jesus would sit around with the 12 apostles and have the last supper in the buff, only to make a point about society's false connection between sexuality and the nude human form. I don't think he would have gained too many followers that way, and it probably would have raised a couple eyebrows to boot.

 

[Rev.Ross]

I would have to say that in Genesis, clothing is not a punishment for nudity.
Noah son saw more than just Noah being naked, it was probably Noah having ses with his wife that was seen. Paul wrote in a time when there were public bathes in Corinth, and there is no condemnation of Christians bathing there. As far as the unpresentable parts being treated with modesty, that is generally descriptively true. Men do not walk down the street with the genitals hanging out in everyday society. This is not prescriptive against public nudity.
As far as Jesus, he stripped down to wash the disciples feet, how far we do not know. Peter was a fisherman and often stripped to fish in the nude. Jesus was not embarrassed by the affection of the woman who washed his feet with her hair. She was probably clothed. The woman taken in adultery was probably thrown before nude, and Jesus did not flinch. He wrote in the sand and looked at her and said "Where are your accusers?"
Jesus was not shy around women, as all things and all people were created through Him, since He is God. For the first 300 years of Christianity, baptism by immersion in the nude was the norm. This signified the new birth in a dramatic way. Nude public baths were common for both sexes, and there is zero counsel against Christians bathing there. Women dressed a little more openly than now, and one breast was often exposed. So all in all, as a saved and redeemed Christian, I would say nudity is not sinful, evil or porn. It is how our culture since 300 AD has taught us. Jesus never said the body was evil, only lust. Seeing a naked body is not lustful, unless in our hearts we bring lust into the picture.
Thanks, Rev.Ross

 

[MarkSB]

Noah son saw more than just Noah being naked, it was probably Noah having ses with his wife that was seen.

Pardon me reverend, but have you read the Bible?

 

[Rev.Ross]

Mark,
Yes, I have in Hebrew and Greek. "Naked" in Hebrew often means more that just that. It often implies sex. Nowhere in the OT, is plain nakedness seen or taught as sinful. Thanks and God bless you, Rev.Ross

 

[welshman]

See Hab 2:15

Mark,
Yes, I have in Hebrew and Greek. "Naked" in Hebrew often means more that just that. It often implies sex. Nowhere in the OT, is plain nakedness seen or taught as sinful. Thanks and God bless you, Rev.Ross

 

[Rev.Ross]

This verse indicates that they got their neighbor drunk to expose their nakedness. The Hebrew word is MA'OR which can mean "nakedness" or "exposed genitals". I think the person getting them drunk wanted to do more than peek, they wanted to use the other person for sex. It like a guy in college getting a girl drunk to have sex with her
Thanks, Rev.Ross

 

[Rev.Ross]

Referring back to Noah's nakedness, another word for this is used: "ERWAH". This can be literal nakedness,metaphorical nakedness (the spiritual kind) or "in connection with sexual relations" , as in Leviticus 18:6.
Thanks, Rev.Ross

 

[from scratch]

This verse indicates that they got their neighbor drunk to expose their nakedness. The Hebrew word is MA'OR which can mean "nakedness" or "exposed genitals". I think the person getting them drunk wanted to do more than peek, they wanted to use the other person for sex. It like a guy in college getting a girl drunk to have sex with her
Thanks, Rev.Ross

I've read some rabbis discussion on the topic and seem to recall him saying there are 2 different words used in Genesis translated naked. Would that be correct?

 

[Rev.Ross]

I think I have counted at least 3 words in Hebrew in Genesis.
Sometimes the word is used literally as in naked bodies, sometimes in a figurative way to indicate spiritual poverty or loss, and sometimes as a euphemism for sex,as in the Noah account. That is my understanding. Thanks, Rev.Ross

 

[chris4243]

While from the story of the garden of Eden it seems that God had no problem with nudity, at least not before they sinned, later on God does not want nakedness near His altars:

Exodus 20:26
And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’

Exodus 28
39 “Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen. The sash is to be the work of an embroiderer. 40 Make tunics, sashes and caps for Aaron’s sons to give them dignity and honor. 41 After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 42 “Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh. 43 Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die.

 

[Rev.Ross]

These laws were for the priests to maintain strict holiness for sacrifices and approaching the altar of God.
None of this proves nudity is sinful We are under grace and not law. Christ is our final sacrifice once and for all for sin (Hebrews), and He was crucified nude. He was at once the altar and the sacrifice, and He abolished the old sacrificial system and priestly laws. Thanks, Rev.Ross

 

[MarkSB]

I think I have counted at least 3 words in Hebrew in Genesis.
Sometimes the word is used literally as in naked bodies, sometimes in a figurative way to indicate spiritual poverty or loss, and sometimes as a euphemism for sex,as in the Noah account. That is my understanding. Thanks, Rev.Ross

The problem with that is that interpretation of the word in the Noah account doesn't fit at all with the surrounding text.

Are you saying that Ham saw Noah drunk and having sex, so he went and grabbed Shem and Japeth - and then Shem and Japeth went and threw a blanket over Noah as he was having sex? How in the world does that make any sense?

These posts are getting stranger by the minute.

 

[Rev.Ross]

That makes more sense, and is harmony with the Hebrew word for nakedness in this context. There were times when the sons of Noah saw him naked and it was not sinful. All of this was before the Mosaic Law. Better scholars than myself have this view who are very fluent in Hebrew. Thanks, Rev.Ross

 

[MarkSB]

That makes more sense, and is harmony with the Hebrew word for nakedness in this context. There were times when the sons of Noah saw him naked and it was not sinful. All of this was before the Mosaic Law. Better scholars than myself have this view who are very fluent in Hebrew. Thanks, Rev.Ross

Genesis 9:20-25 in the NIV reads:

Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded[a] to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.

24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,
“Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers.”


The scripture implies that not only was Noah naked, he was passed out from being drunk. How does your interpretation make more sense than that? And exactly where do Noah's sons see him naked elsewhere in the text?

I'm starting to wonder if this is a really a serious poster. Either way it looks like this thread has turned into a waste of time.