There is a spirit (good) - body (sinful) dualism that has been part of Christian thought since the first century, and has had a very strong negative influence since the third century.  This heresy is rooted in Greek Gnosticism rather than scripture and does not honor God, our creator.  Just as there was a time to challenge the belief that the Earth was the center of the universe, and other errors or false doctrines, there is a time to challenge the error that parts of the body which God created should be treated as sinful, indecent, shameful, and the cause of impure lust.  I believe that this is that time.

I believe that challenging these beliefs will open new doors for many.  Doors to experience new dimensions of God's love and acceptance as people learn to see ALL of the human body as God's good, pure, and decent creation.  Something to be respected, honored, and fully accepted, not maligned, exploited, or rejected as indecent.

Treating the human body that our creator and God lovingly provided for us as "indecent" (clothed or unclothed) is the result of ungodly deception!  (Note: The sexual exploitation of unclothed bodies is another matter and not what I am referring to here.  Except that the exploitation of nudity is a result of treating the body as indecent.)  Responding to the body with shame dishonors God and has from the beginning.

Godly, wholesome, and pure attitudes toward the body can never be built on a foundation of shame.  Impure thoughts come from indwelling sin (how we think about a clothed or unclothed body), not from seeing a clothed or unclothed body!  We should be treating the human body (that God has given us) with respect and honor, not the disrespect and abuse it has been treated with for so long.  God didn’t make the body indecent; he made it “very good” and like God, that never changed!  (Gen. 1”31)  So it’s actually not the body that need’s to be redeemed, it’s our thinking that must be redeemed.

Best selling Christian author Neil T. Anderson says; “Viewing sex as evil is not an appropriate response to what God created and pronounced good.  ‘Everything God created is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer’ (1 Timothy 4:4,5).  On the other hand, Satan is evil, and sin distorts what God created.  Denying our sexuality and fearing open discussion about our sexual development is playing into the devil’s hand” 1. The same is true of the human body clothed or unclothed. 

Col 2:20-23 says, "Since you died with Christ and were made free from the ruling spirits of this world, why do you act as if you still belonged to this world by following rules like these: "Don't eat this," "Don't taste that," "Don't even touch that thing"?  These rules refer to earthly things that are gone as soon as they are used.  They are only manmade commands and teachings.  They seem to be wise, but they are only part of a manmade religion.  They make people pretend not to be proud and make them punish their bodies, but they do not really control the evil desires of the sinful self."  The rules in this world against unclothed bodies are manmade and help us pretend to be more modest and pure, i.e. not proud.  These rules make us punish and deny the goodness of our bodies.  They do nothing to deny the evil desires of the sinful self; in fact they stir up and increase those desires.  They seem to be wise, while actually enticing our sinful nature!

In A Way of Escape, Neil Anderson says “The law not only can’t help us do right, it actually has the capacity to provoke what it is trying to prohibit.  Forbidden fruit always appears more desirable.  If you don’t believe it, tell your child he can go here but he can’t go there.  Where does he immediately want to go? There!” 1.  Walking blindfolded on a sunbathers beach or making nudity taboo, does not deal with the condition of the heart. 

Scripture says a lot about reaping what we sow such as “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (Galatians 6:7)  When we sow the idea that the human body is indecent or causes lust we will reap trouble!  Shame and negative, repressive attitudes about the body cause people to struggle more with lust, not less!  Paul wrote, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  However you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the spirit of God dwells in you” (Romans 8:8,9).  God’s Spirit does not view God’s creation as indecent, obscene, or something to lust after, those are “fleshly” responses.  We are no longer in the flesh; we are in Christ!

God never intended or wanted us to view his creation as indecent and He would never create anything that would cause us to sin. (see Titus 1:15,16)  It is time for Christians to learn and believe that we are in Christ. And that in Christ we can and should accept the human body (clothed and/or unclothed) as He does, in a thankful, wholesome, and pure way, praising God for the goodness of His creation rather than treating it as something indecent, impure, obscene, and sinful.

Again Mr. Anderson says: “There is no greater sin than the sin of unbelief.  On more than one occasion the Lord made statements like, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you’ (Matthew 9:29).  Paul wrote, ‘Everything that does not come from faith is sin’ (Romans 14:23).  If we choose to believe a lie, we will live a lie, but if we choose to believe the truth, we will live a victorious life by faith in the same way that we were saved.” 1.

How we think is very important and one of the primary ways we program our minds is through our eyes.  If the primary way your mind has been programmed regarding nudity is through sex and pornography it needs to be reprogrammed.  You can't reprogram simply by eliminating pornography (although you MUST do that) you need to replace those images of pornographic nudity with wholesome, non-sexual, non-provocative, non-pornographic images of nudity.  While there are some good images of non-sexual nudity on the internet and nudist/naturist magazines, but they are still flat, impersonal images.  The best way to reprogram your mind regarding nudity is to replace the impersonal pornographic images, with personal, real life non-sexual nude experiences with people of both sexes and all ages, sizes, shapes, and colors.  In other words replace the retouched illusion of perfect bodies in pornography with reality.  You cannot replace harmful, fantasy images with nothing; they must be replaced with something real and positive.  Among family and friends, in a small fellowship of like minded Christians, at a family oriented nudist club or beach are great ways to do that. 

“Satan is the father of lies, and he will work on our minds to destroy our concept of God and our understanding of who we are as children of God.”  “If Satan can get us to believe a lie, he can control our lives.  He is intent on destroying our proper perception of God, ourselves, members of the opposite sex – including our spouses, and the world we live in.  Our problems don’t just stem from what we believed in the past.  Paul says we are to presently and continuously take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). 1.  Is seeing the human body as indecent a Godly perception or a Satanic one?  Is lusting after a body taking our thoughts captive or being obedient to Christ?

This may seem hard but it really isn’t.  You’re saved because you believe God and what he said and did.  Hopefully, you live acting on what you believe.  God created the human body and said it is good.  He also said it is wonderful (Psalm 139:14), His temple (1st Corinthians. 6:19,20), and pure (Titus 1:15).  Since God said that do you believe that?  If you do, act like it, don’t act like the body is bad, indecent, or shameful that is Satan's lie!

I hope this article challenges you to prayerfully consider changing your beliefs toward the human body if you currently consider it (instead of actions and thoughts) to be in anyway indecent.  It is my prayer that the information here will be helpful to you and challenge you to accept more of Gods love, grace, and goodness.  If you have found this to be of benefit it is my hope that you will share it with others.  May God's peace, grace, and love always be yours richly.

David Blood

1. Source: A Way of Escape – Freedom from Sexual Strongholds: Neil T. Anderson, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR, 1994

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