Talk to a Friend
Nowhere does the Bible imply that the practice of slavery was acceptable to God.
"Thou shalt not keep slaves" would be pretty unambiguous. But no; what you find in the Bible is a law that you must not keep a fellow Israelite as a permanent slave, but only as indentured for six years; but a slave from another nation, captured in war, is perfectly acceptable. Leviticus 25 goes into considerable detail about this.
Now as to talking to a friend about nudism, you should ask yourself, why do you want to? Does the friend need to know for some reason? I can think of some possible reasons, for instance, you were outed as a nudist to them. If there is a legitimate reason, I would begin with the separation of nudity from sex -- since that has to do with people's usual objection. Depending on the situation, it might also be appropriate to bring up that Christianity has not, historically, always been opposed to nudity, with some examples.
To the original question, just like any topic you can bring up an article you read or saw such as Nude Hiking Day or something about a nudist beach to use as a non-personal discussion topic. It will help you determine if there is any interest or significant push back. Last year I had a church friend helping me build a barn and it was hot. I had been doing much of the work nude but with him helping I wore some boxer shorts and a shirt that I eventually took off. It was just too hot. But, he mentioned that nude hiking day was coming up. Anyway, we eventually figured out we both liked being nude. Now we dont bother with clothes when working on projects around the house.
If the other person is against nudism then just keep your nudist life out of the conversation. No need to create an issue.
At the request of my wife, I met with a friend and pastor of mine to ask him if he considered it a sin to go nude at a nude beach. Was not sure what the answer would be? He asked why I would want to do this, how I felt when I had been there before, and reactions I or others displayed. He said no, it wasn't a sin for me since sex and lust was out of the equation for me. He said he did not think the same for himself so it was not the right fit for him. I would think if it is a good friend that would ask you why you would want to be a nudist, and it wasn't for lust or exhibition they would not have a problem with it. I think the big question is if this is a true friend and their is respect for each other that counts. Not easy in this day and age to not be judged with unwanted opinions and beliefs that require no thought. I believe one must ponder why you want to expose your self (mentally) and take the chance of rejection.
Id echo too that its not particularly important to convince Christians to accept nudism (certainly not as important as pointing other nudists toward Christ), but the important ideas behind why people embrace nudism body acceptance, appreciating creation, not being ruled by shame are worth discussing among Christians.
I think the big question is if this is a true friend and their is respect for each other that counts. Not easy in this day and age to not be judged with unwanted opinions and beliefs that require no thought. I believe one must why you want to expose your self (mentally) and take the chance of rejection.
Good thread here. I appreciate the idea of stating what I believe - body acceptance, appreciating creation, not being ruled by shame - and taking a stand against judgment with unwanted opinions and beliefs that require no thought. I'm not one to confront people with their own beliefs - if you think this, then I judge this about you - but I'm becoming increasingly comfortable with choosing authenticity over gauging the right response to the right people. I figure if I'm going to be judged for some reason by people I respect or have a good history with, I might as well do it sooner than later.
People have a lot of body shame and assume it's justifiable and that I have it too. One neighbor friend said she often sees me bare chested through the window walking by and asked what's up with that. I told her I was glad to remember my pants and she was embarased for bringing it up.
If Christians bring up an issue with nudity, a good response could be "yes, just like Jesus said about the naked lilies of the valley" and leave it at that. They can decide if we can open their minds or if they should close us off from friendship. At least we don't need to be the ones feeling uptight about it.
Does anyone know how to bring up nudism to a friend, who is a Christian.
I start by slowly investigating. Making a joke about it or mentioning a nearby club and wondering about it. If reactions are negative then just drop it. If you get something positive then gradually move forward. Possibly thinking bout a club or beach visit. or hinting you like to be nude at home.
A male child needs exposure to a nude daddy and other nude males in common everyday life with zero sexual component to it when he's a child between the ages of 5-15 in order for his mind to develop free of same sex drive compulsion.
I'm glad you know other people's lives better than they do.
Now, if you had kept this personal, just your experience, that would be fine. But now you are making general statements about everyone, and that is not okay. You know nothing of the childhoods of most homosexual men.
To keep the peace between heterosexual and homosexual, I bring up the first sentence in the post which clearly says he is talking about his own life experience, no one else's. The comment could have been worded better, but his opinion is his and he is the only person who knows his life. Nudism is healthy to be around, the earlier the better. I surely wish more parents understood that.
What is bothersome in this post is the suggestion that there is a compulsion for same sex activities due to a child lacking some form of close, non-sexual contact with a nude, adult male, during their formative years. This comment is problematic, with a majority of doctors who study sexuality in humans and are trained in the origins of sexual desire have come to believe that an interest in engaging in sex with one's own gender forms very early in our brains, and that homosexuality is not learned at all, but instead is an innate trait in about 10% of human brains. Research still goes on, as it needs to, but consensus seems to point to homosexual tendencies forming very early in our gestation, during the first three months after conception, if I'm remembering what I've read on the subject correctly. Do your own research if you like, I wish your would, and please correct me if I've missed a scientific journal, and cite it, as well.
Furthermore, there is a flawed and debunked idea roaming around the some religious circles that homosexuality can be cured, and that is not only wrong but dangerous. This is a big world, and we have a right to change what sexual direction we care to go, and bisexual, transgender, polysexual, etc. folks get to do what they like, but that is not my point.
The focus of the original topic was asking for advice on how to bring the word of nudism to a Christian. I wish it had kept going in that direction, but then that's one of the coolest things about True Nudist - we can head anywhere our heads take us. The part that saddens me about this side topic is, there are religion-based groups that are pushing the false idea that homosexuals can be cured of gayness. That is demonstrably not true, and young people are being damaged and dying from crazy like this. We need to do better about following science and its seeking of the truth through research and peer review, instead of forcing young adults who have so much to deal already contend with junk ideas like homosexual reconditioning.
The focus of the original topic was asking for advice on how to bring the word of nudism to a Christian. I wish it had kept going in that direction, but then that's one of the coolest things about True Nudist - we can head anywhere our heads take us. The part that saddens me about this side topic is, there are religion-based groups that are pushing the false idea that homosexuals can be cured of gayness.
The part that saddens me is that someone tried to hijack the original question and turn it into a thread about sexual orientation. I am in another Christian group on here where there have been several threads on that subject, and they go pages and pages of people talking past each other. It is one of those subjects where everyone thinks they have to hold forth.
Here's an idea: think of the Sistine Chapel. Lots of depictions of nudity there. You could frame it at first in terms of art, and how your friend feels about nudity in that context. Do the nude bodies depicted in the Sistine Chapel honor the Creator, or distract from the worshipful purpose? You can then take the same question away from art to living people.
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