That quote up there about sea sickness showed up today on one of the sites I visit. I chose it as today's blog title because I was thinking about that condition yesterday afternoon. I was making a mental list of things I really, really hate, and put sea sickness on that list. I've been deep sea fishing five times and got horribly, disgustingly sea sick on three of those trips. After the last time I decided nothing about that activity balanced out the misery, especially when fish can be purchased at any supermarket for less than I had paid to spend hours on a boat throwing up, knowing all the time that it would end within minutes of getting back to the dock.
Another thing I really, really hate, and what got me making that mental list, is when I've done something that I thought was a good, helpful, constructive thing only to find out the outcomes were at the opposite end of the spectrum. Have you ever experienced that? It's a "No good deed goes unpunished" axiom on steroids. After going a fairly long stretch without getting anything that horribly wrong I've done it again. It has always been unintentional, but that doesn't make a bit of difference when the outcome is bad. Bad.
Yeah, I hate that. It may go at the top of my list.
Facebook is a bit embarrassed over action they took based on some filter used to keep their site G-rated. Elisa Barbari, an art historian living in Bologna, Italy frequently posts on FB about local features of particular interest in the area of art. Her most recent post, including a pic, was about the ancient bronze statue there of the Greek god Neptune that stands 9' tall and weighs in at 22 tons. Neptune isn't wearing any clothes and is, to put it politely, anatomically correct.
Facebook took down the post and notified Barbari that her picture violated their decency standards because of Neptune's nudity. There was a bit of a dust-up, the local paper got involved, and Facebook eventually relented and restored the post, including Barbari's photo.
I try to come at this from a biblical perspective, part of my (our?) commitment to apply biblical standards to contemporary life no matter how inconvenient, odd, or ridicule-worthy that view might be. I don't begrudge Facebook's position, before or after, because I don't expect them to conform to biblical standards. But I also don't want to roll on by something that God says should be a stop sign in my life. So, what should I do with the nude statue of Neptune in Bologna's town square?
The Bible is clear that public nudity is wrong. God made coverings for Adam and Eve immediately after their naked bodies were revealed as a result of their sin. Noah's son Ham was judged for viewing and making light of his father's naked body (Gen. 9). Almost the entire chapter of Leviticus 18 contains prohibitions agains "uncovering the nakedness" of others, including close family members. A wife's body belongs to her husband and visa versa, and the intimacy that involves nudity belongs only within marriage (1 Cor. 7 and Heb. 13:4). If it were just God's clothing of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 I think we'd have our answer, but the sum total of all biblical passages on the topic make it clear that public (and by that I mean any context outside of marriage) nudity is wrong, a perversion of God's design. Note that no allowance is made in any passage as to the purpose of the nudity, whether prurient or artistic.
This view flies in the face of contemporary cultural norms. Playboy Magazine dropped its nude photos but Hollywood still considers at least one such scene essential to any movie not aimed at the K-3 set. Sports Illustrated knows their biggest selling magazine in every year is the swimsuit issue, and one of the Christmas season's most-watched specials is the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (the timing particularly ironic).
"But wait. Those women are wearing underwear."
Really? Applying the smell test, do you think if God sat watching that show he'd say, "This is fine, and no violation of the letter or spirit of my law. Look, she's wearing 8 square inches of mesh that obscure her private parts."
This, in turn, raises questions about what most women, including believers, wear to the beach.
Years ago I read a fascinating book, Eros Defiled, by John White. One of the things he wrote, something that was an "aha" moment for me, was that among all mammals only human females have enlarged breasts when they're not lactating, and only human males have an exposed penis when they're not aroused. His point: in humans those are sexual organs, and as such belong only within marriage. So is a woman's bathing suit designed to accentuate the breasts or a codpiece consistent with God's instructions?
What about our friend Neptune? Or Michelangelo's David? Or a whole lot of Renaissance paintings, including some of biblical scenes. Should Christians run around with drapes or cans of Krylon? Though there have been places and times when that was the church's tactic I'm going to suggest what I think is a more appropriate approach in the same vein as, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."
I can (and would love to) visit Bologna. While there I would come across that huge statue of Neptune in all his glory. Knowing what to expect means I can choose not so see. "Avert your gaze." My life won't be diminished in any significant way because I didn't see that statue, but my obedience to God's instructions will be. Come across a site or visit a museum with an image of a classic painting featuring nudes? Move on down the road, quickly and determinedly. And pass on any movie with nudity. Again, will your life suffer any significant loss as compared to the benefits of the obedience you choose?
Referencing temptation, someone said, "You can't control who knocks at the door but you can control who you let in the house."
Have we allowed the world to desensitize us to the sin of public nudity?
Discuss.
2 comments:
Yeah, but what about same sex nudity, like locker rooms? Or for that matter you, as a man, seeing a statue of a naked man?
Most gym locker rooms now have private showers available. For those that don't the best I can do is "not look." Maybe I can't avoid the presence, like art in the museum I visit, but I can choose not to look.
In parts of Africa privacy is hard to come by. I once rode a bus for 12 hours across Tanzania with stops along the road for relieving oneself. Men went into the bush to the front of the bus and women to the back. I asked my host how that worked. "In America the dynamic is to create a situation where you can't see. In Africa the cultural value is 'don't look.'"
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