![]() "The Bible does say God created man in his image, and I think his image reflects the physical aspect of life," said John Kundert, editor of the Fig Leaf Forum, a newsletter for Christian nudists. Public nudity is associated with original sin, and most Christian denominations encourage modesty in dress so as not to inflame lustful passions.īut if churches emphasize fallen human nature since Adam and Eve disobeyed God, some nudists contend Christians can recapture a purity of spirit regarding creation. "We feel like we've been Christians for a long time, and this is our next step to get closer to God."Ĭhristian uneasiness with nudity goes back to the biblical account of Adam and Eve, who were clothed by God after eating the forbidden fruit. goal of this whole thing, ultimately, is to glorify the name of Christ," said Carol Love, an owner of the Whispering Pines Resort in Longwood where the conference was held. 24-25 conference, which ended with a Sunday worship service where ministers both robed and unrobed distributed Communion to the nude and nearly nude outdoors underneath a wooden cross. ![]() Some 40 Christian nudists from around the country stood naked and unashamed before their God at the Feb. Welcome to the first Christian Nudist Conference, where naked Christian karaoke is but one sign of a coming-out party for this tiny but growing movement of religious naturists. Take away the video screen and music and it might be just another Saturday night in a Christian campground tradition that predates Billy Graham - except the woman leading the song has no clothes on, her husband wears only a T-shirt and all the others are similarly undressed. "I think it's a really big distraction," he said."Amazing Grace" lifts softly into the North Carolina pines from the meeting room where voices gather greater fervor with each verse in praising God. "My personal opinion is that as long as we believe Jesus Christ died for us, that's the main thing," he said.īut it is not something he would be in favor of in his church. I really feel that's the way my relationship should be with humankind also."ĭeacon Larry Shreve of the Old Shallotte Baptist Church, just down the road from the nudist resort, doesn't get too excited about Christian nudism. ![]() "When I became a Christian, my sins were covered," Smith said. Gene Smith of Lexington, Ky., said that the practice of nudity follows his spiritual beliefs. Kundert believes that Christians, as redeemed people who have been forgiven by God, "need never, ever hide from our Creator again."Īt the conference, the Rev. "Nothing in these scriptures conclusively shows that shame resulting from nakedness played any part in this drama," Kundert writes. He also contends that God clothed Adam as a loving act brought about by the physical necessity of life outside the garden. In the Fig Leaf Forum, a newsletter for "Bible-believing" Christian nudists, John Kundert writes that Adam was hiding from God out of fear, not shame at his nakedness. "And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins and clothed them," according to Genesis 3:21. In the creation account in Genesis 2, nudity was part of the idyllic state in the Garden of Eden: "And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed."īut after they eat from the forbidden tree of knowledge, Adam attempts to hide his nakedness from God. The biblical foundation goes back to the account of Adam and Eve in Genesis, where public nudity is associated with the first sin. "I just feel if Jesus came back and saw me, he'd be embar-ras-sed."Ĭhristian churches have long had mixed feelings about the human body, at once celebrating it as being created in God's image and at the same time espousing modesty to protect against sinful urges of fallible human beings. "I don't know if it is the Lord after me or the devil after me," she told Love. It's not easy being a Christian nudist, they say.Ĭarol Love, owner of the Whispering Pines Resort where the conference took place, remembered one woman coming up to her in tears. "We're not going to take up a collection."And so began Sunday worship outdoors at the first Christian Nudist Conference, a gathering of some 45 "naturists" from around the country who believe that clothes do not make the Christian.īut as they gathered to play and pray in Longwood, N.C., - in the heart of the Bible Belt - two issues they kept coming back to were the desire for Christian nudists to become more accepting of themselves and to win greater understanding from other Christians. "We're going to do something unique this morning for a worship service," said the minister, who declined to be identified. He gazed at the congregation before him, sitting in folding chairs or on blankets spread on the ground. The minister, dressed in a great liturgical robe, stood before a simple wooden cross.
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