Nuditycontinued ....

NUDITY AND THE BIBLE

As this series on ethics is written from a Biblical point of view we regard it as helpful to refer to its pages, and it may sound strange that nudity crops up in its earliest chapters. It was connected with Adam and Eves' disobedience of God's command. Theologians usually refer to this as The Fall of man, indicating that our first parents fell from a condition of favour with God into a condition of sin and disfavour. Humanity has since been living on a lower plane spiritually.

In respect of the Fall, there does seem to be a connection with sexuality, because immediately after the disobedience of taking the forbidden fruit, it states that "they knew they were naked" (1). There is however nothing explicit about this.

The human body as such is by no means condemned or ignored in the Divine literature, and it certainly disagrees with the Greek concept of duality eg that the soul is pure but the body is corrupt. It rather enhances the dignity of the body particularly for the Christian believer by calling it the temple of God. (2) And temples are regarded as holy places - parts of which are reserved for private or semi-private purposes. The term then implies a sacredness of sex and the human form. But the Bible is not prudish because in the Song of Solomon (3) there is an appreciation of the human form of both male and female in some detail.

The general tenor however of Biblical writings is that of modesty (4) which obviously rules out the indiscriminate display of nudity.

Starting with Adam and Eve it shows that their nakedness was a source of shame and embarrassment. A little later Noah gets drunk and ends up without his clothes. His son Ham discovers him and gloats over the incident (5). The two other brothers, hearing of it, very discreetly cover their father's nakedness. Ham, actually earned himself a curse for his voyeurism.

The priests of Israel were warned not to go up by steps to the altar, "that their nakedness be not discovered thereon" (6). At other times people were threatened with the stripping off of their clothes as a punishment for lewd behaviour. They would be embarrassed and humiliated (7). St John in the Revelation announces a blessing on those who keep their garments, lest they walk naked (8). Then St Peter maintains the theme by calling for modesty even when dress is worn (9).

From a psychological point of view it is obvious that the modest person (particularly the female) holds a far greater attraction by playing on the mystique of gender rather than its exhibition. A vulgar flaunting of flesh either by nudity or semi-nudity may attract, but it will the wrong people who respond, and the fact that nudity is enjoying a resurgence today may very well be because of society's moral and spiritual degeneracy.