Christians strip to build a new Eden

[emad]

Christians strip to build a new Eden
Tony Allen-Mills, New York



IN THE beginning was the word of God and God never said anything about brassieres or boxer shorts. Thus was born Natura, America’s first Christian nudist camp.
After two years of biblical debate over Adam and Eve and their fig leaves and whether or not nudity is sinful, a 67-year-old Quaker grandfather is preparing to open a modern-day Garden of Eden 40 miles north of Tampa, Florida.

Bill Martin’s ambitious plan for a 200-acre Christian- oriented Family Naturist Village has survived legal challenges, doctrinal disputes and a plague of internet prudes. Land is now being cleared for the opening next year of what may become the world’s only Christian community to feature nude volleyball.

Despite howls of complaint from fundamentalists who have likened Martin to the Antichrist — and described his nudist plans as “graphic evidence of America’s moral collapse” — Natura intends to build 50 houses around a non-denominational church where clothing for services will be optional.

He has fought with his neighbours over property rights, fallen out with other nudists over his promotional material and sparked a vigorous internet debate over whether the true path to godliness really involves getting naked.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1938165,00.html

[atommom]

1. FWIW, I know a very conservative Baptist minister who has been

attending a nudist camp with his wife for years. They conduct naked weddings and everything. ;) And nobody's morals have collapsed in the process.

[iamjoy]

3. Some Say Nudists Are Less Promiscuous

or less likely to be promiscuous than non-Nuditsts. There are a few justifications for this theory. One is that when one sees nude bodies all the time it ceases to become sexual - a woman's breasts are no more erotic than her nose. So sex and intimacy is really about and emotional connection. Also, any curiousity kids have about the naked body is satisfied, it's no big deal. Finally, and don't discount this, just because some one is a nudist does not mean that person has the type of body most of us would want to SEE. That can actually be a bit of a turn off, rather than a source of arousement. Of course, I personally have no interest in nudism, but my parents have friends who live in a nudist colony, have gone to visit & shared their observations. I've also read some articles on it. I think nudism is highly dangerous because some parts of the body are more sensitive to sun exposure than others - I have to wonder if there is a higher incidence of melanomas amongst nudists.

[atommom]

6. From their descriptions (and from the photos they shared), I don't

think there was any sexual element to the nudism at all. Most of the members of their camp were in their 40s and 50s, and none of them were there to hook up. They said there were rumors of other camps that were wilder, but no one knew whether the rumors were true.

I've wondered about the skin cancer risk too. There are many parts of the human body that don't fare well in the sun...

[BR_Parkway]

8. All that makes perfect sense, but if I might add in one slightly

smart assed observation. In general, the people that seem to be into nudism - are not normally the folks that you'd want to see with their clothes off. That probably does alot to dampen desires also.

The guy starting this is 67? That would be like catching my grandfather naked - not an image likely to be forgotten by my libido for the the next few days

[crikkett]

9. I think it has something to do with the hangup over towels

that everyone has to carry around so they can sit down. I've never gotten around the logic that a naked body is okay and beautiful and natural, but don't you dare let your dirty butt touch the park bench.

So then you have to drag this towel around, and carry it in your hands, because people will stare at you if you, say, wrap it around your waist. And then what do you do with your keys, since you gave up all your pockets? There's something to be said for pockets and belts.

But back to the point of promiscuity among nudists: if promiscuity is a result of lowered or missing inhibitions, naturalists wouldn't be more promiscuous, because it seems that people don't shed their inhibitions with their clothes at a nudist camp. They pick up a towel, practice looking people in the eye, and try to ignore the stinging plumes of Chlorine coming from the hot tubs.

:)

[papau]

14. Canadians Can Have Group Sex in Clubs - Top Court

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-sex.html

December 21, 2005
Canadians Can Have Group Sex in Clubs - Top Court
By REUTERS
Filed at 10:25 a.m. ET

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Group sex between consenting adults is neither prostitution nor a threat to society, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Wednesday, dismissing arguments that the sometimes raucous activities of so-called ``swingers'' clubs were dangerous.

In a ruling that radically changes the way Canadian courts determine what poses a threat to the population, the court threw out the conviction of a Montreal man who ran a club where members could have group sex in a private room behind locked doors.

``Consensual conduct behind code-locked doors can hardly be supposed to jeopardize a society as vigorous and tolerant as Canadian society,'' said the opinion of the seven-to-two majority, written by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.

The decision does not affect existing laws against prostitution because no money changed hands between the adults having sex.<snip>

In indecency cases, Canadian courts have traditionally probed whether the acts in question ``breached the rules of conduct necessary for the proper functioning of society.'' The Supreme Court ruled that from now on, judges should pay more attention to whether society would be harmed.<snip>

[iamjoy]

2. Will They Be Vegan Too?

The consumption of animal products, like the wearing of clothes, is associated with original sin and man's fall from grace, right?

I don't know a lot about original sin, but Genesis 1:29 & 1:30 indicate that God gave man & the creatures of the earth (and sky) herbs and trees to be their meat.

[crikkett]

10. Those 2 verses aside, the rest of the Old T. says meat is a go.

I've never found quoting the Bible one verse at a time to work for me.

God liked the burnt offerings of sacrificial animals, remember? Jealousy over His Preference motivated Cain the gardener to slay Abel the shepherd.

Anyway, while meat is murder today, once upon a time people needed it to survive. On the other hand, people were also once much more sensitive to the sacrifice of their dinners' lives.

I read a theory that our brains evolved the way they did because of the increased proteins in humans' diet. So no matter what angst you may have when others around you eat meat, you may thank the generations of your omnivorous ancestors (and the souls of their dinners) for your electricity, keyboard and cushy chair.

[iamjoy]

12. Oh, I Love Meat

Went to a charruscaria tonite, in fact.

As for taking one biblical passage at a time, well, isn't that what many do?

I'm just making a point by it.

[crikkett]

13. dang, all that indignance, wasted

:hi:

[emad]

4. Bare butts for Jesus tattoo business opportunity coming soon?

?

[crikkett]

5. silly, you're not supposed to actually LOOK at the butts

and if you feel any tingles anywhere, you're supposed to roll over until it goes away.

[emad]

7. as in roll over and play dead?

As if Jesus cared!

[crikkett]

11. ..until the feeling passes.

Jesus, shmeesus. :)
Jesus won't kick you outta the park for tingling. Not that anyone's supposed to be looking.

(Disclaimer: not speaking from personal experience. Never personally tingled or sensed anyone else's tingling, the warning was part of an orientation lecture.)