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God's revelation in creation
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bornnakedman

Posted: Apr 22, 2010

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 I have known ever since becoming a Christian that God revealed Himself in creation, the vastness of the Universe and the smallness of sub-atomic particles. But there was something I was missing. What of all God made was in His image? Us! We and only we are in His likeness. And yet we run to cover up His greatest work of art. We even make it illegal to reveal this to others to see. What absurdity, what a heretical culture we live in. To see how the human body is treated in the mass media, you'd think the devil made us. I won't name this as blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, but perhaps it comes close. What I'm learning to do now, and it all seems strange at times because of a lifetime of immersion in a distortion of reality, is that there is no shame at all in revealing the work of art that God created, my body. Not all bodies are beautiful by the standards of our society, but are those standards the best way to judge? Obviously not. What is housed in these bodies is a person, in each one of us; thinking, feeling, learning, believing, striving to find the truth in a world that hides it. Now my eyes are opening, seeing what society had hidden behind mistaken values and misplaced shame. Sure, the image of God in man and woman is flawed by sin. It's blurry and wobbly, but it's not gone altogether. So next time I look up at the heavens and marvel at God's glory, I'll look around to see who is near me, and marvel at them too.

Premium Member
bornnakedman

Posted: May 31, 2010

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 In God's Image

In databases, several words are used to describe the classification, storing, and retrieval of information: entity, attribute, and relationship. What do these mean, and how do they relate to us as human beings?

In the Bible, there are many words used to describe our attributes: heart, mind, emotions, will, thoughts, feelings, flesh, body, spirit, soul, and others. Do each of these words describe a different separable entity in each of us? Or do they describe an attribute of the single entity of a person? Can we narrow them down to 2 or 3 entities? I think one is the right number. Does thinking and feeling always involve our body and all our senses? I believe it does. Thinking and feeling describe the same process, just a difference along a sliding scale of focus; from dreaming, to sleepiness, to writing poetry, to doing math problems. Even dreaming can be observed in brain action and eye movement. There is no division between spirit and body before death. Our feelings and thoughts are modified by thousands of chemicals flowing throughout our bodies, especially, but not only in the brain. If we, as human beings, are a single unified entity, what does that say about us being created in God's image? It should certainly affect how we see each other, and how we consider the human body. A Christian's body is the home of God's spirit. He lives in and through us in this world. This is not idolatry. We are still the creation, and He the Creator, but it is also true that God has chosen to make Himself revealed in what He has created, but most especially in the only part of creation made in His image. Even the angels are not created in God's image. God became a man, a fully functional human being, in Christ. The Bible even declares that those who deny Christ's physical body to be false teachers.

An error in classification has been made by our society in naming only a few square inches of our bodies as "sexual organs", then requiring those areas to be hidden from view, thus ensuring the exploitation, fetishization, and pornographying of these "naughty bits" (a disgusting and inaccurate term). What areas of our bodies are actually involved in the sex act? Is it not the whole body, all the senses, and most especially the brain that is involved. If that is the case, and we must hide our sexuality completely, shouldn't we cover our whole bodies and live as hermits in caves? The absurdity of that thought is laughable. The more sensible course is to just accept that the whole human being is made in God's image and rejoice in the pleasure of the beauty that gives us. God doesn't want us to live in constant pain, shame, and denial of seeing His glory revealed in all that He has created. We may have to endure pain for a short time sometimes, but it is always to gain far greater pleasure in the future.

Your body is the home of God, do you take care if it? Do you give it the full exposure to sun and wind that it needs to feel really alive? Do you permit others of like mind to see and know you without hiding behind the culturally imposed rags of "fashion"? He is the master designer. Enjoy Him and enjoy His handiwork.

Uriel2

Posted: Jun 12, 2010

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 Hi to all sorry for the lateness of this reply. I am selective to what I reply to and this post interested me a great deal.
There's something we need to remember as we try to walk down the path of spiritual enlightment and furtherment of social nudity. That perhaps ours maybe more than almost any other in the world needs to unlearn alot of what we have learned, from society, environment, parents friends and so on.
Much of what we believe is in error and one has to fix themselves before they fix the aura societies ills. First as Christians we need to understand much of what most of us were taught growing up about nudity and the bible is just plain wrong!
In bible times nudity was so common place as to be a non issue. It was practiced so widely that I think the early apostles and followers of Jesus didn't find it necessary to talk about it! They lived in a Roman world where nudity was an everyday occurence, as it was in Greece before that! Women suckled their babies in public, there were public baths because there was no inside plumbing, the fishermen like Peter did it nude, games were played nude the list goes on and on.
I can remember reading a Christian Gnostic book from the first century where Jesus told the people who can to listen, that unless they could remove all their garments and stomp on them laughing like a little child they would in no what inherit the Kingdom of God.
There are more than a few illustrations in the bible supporting this thinking. What was condemned was not nudity but lust! We as naturists should understand this difference!
There are probably quite a few reasons why the textile mindset took over, probably the most graphic example was Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. Prior to them coming to the throne there were the beginnings of social nudity in England probably brought there by the Germans who seem to have started the ball rolling in more modern times. Queen Victoria probably hated her own body and made it a crime to be nude, which of course caused a great deal of twisted victorian hypocrisy! On the surface moral correctness but under the surface and in secret many were involved in sexual clubs and deviant behavior.
In more modern times I think the ban on public nudity has been mostly promoted by those who have the most to gain, Cosmetic's, textile manufacturer's. and of course the sex and magazine industry!
I find myself completely repulsed by their behavior their ad's having the reverse effect they intend! I think if we get to a place where the public's reaction is similar to mine we will all see and change and be happier for it!
Thanks and God Bless
It is shameful to be ashamed of God's creation. Where do we worship God? In his house. Where is his house? We are his house - our bodies. We are created in his image, and he lives in us. Jesus Christ lives in our bodies. We should not be ashamed of his house, where he lives. Male and female he created us, in his image and likeness. When we look at another human being, especially when not covered in shame, what do we see? Do we look as Satan taught us to look, ashamed and hiding from God; or forgiven and cleansed, the home of Jesus Christ? We don't worship the house of God, but we worship in the house of God, open and unashamed, with a new heart and mind, made perfect, as God sees us, Christ in us, living through us. Do we care for God's house, or abuse it with excesses of alcohol and tobacco? We should eat healthy, get enough exercise, spend some time absorbing vitamins from the sun, and getting adequate rest and sleep. And enjoying the rest of God's beautiful creation: human, plant, mineral, and animal. It is unfortunate that most of the churches we are part of are ashamed of and despise the true temple of God. We should not be swayed by their distorted view of God's greatest creation, even though we live among and in the church.
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