It was a sunny summer morning; the cheery blossom outside was starting to bloom outside of indicating that summer was coming. As I settle down in my sit, Nathan Powers, owner of the website Naturist Christains.org sits down opposite me.
Nathan, who is 64, reminisces back to his childhood and how he first became a naturist. “As far back as I can remember, I hated wearing clothing,” he said. At the age of eleven; he became a “clothes-o-phobic”.The experience he encountered at his first camporee at Boy Scouts, would lead him to become a nudist. “I woke up in a panic and became trapped in my military-issue down mummy bag,” he said. Nathan’s bag had slipped because they were pitched on a slight slope. “By the time my scoutmaster got to me, I was already turning blue,” Nathan said. Since then, Nathan has been extremely “claustrophobic and has slept in the nude since then.”
In the years that followed he grew up seeing nudity on a “regular basis” from helping his mother to wipe her breast and the babies’ mouth after she had nursed his four siblings to discovering his neighbours were nudists. Nathan took over as the Owner of naturist-christians.org website about a year and a half ago because he felt that
Christianity is the reason I find it easier to be a naturist,” he said.
“As a Christian I tend to see everything filtered through the word of God, and the Bible presents a very positive view of the human body, declaring it very good, he said.” “The only times non- Christians are exposed to nudity is in the context of sex through movies, TV, print and internet porn, he said.” Nathan has never been shunned by anyone because they discovered his inclination to be nude. “My friends and family know how much I love the Lord and know that I have deeply studied the Bible for many years, Nathan said.”
This is not the same with all Naturists. Milyogi Vince became a naturist 2 years ago because “the clothes were a restriction, it would hinder me being able to flow from one posture to another. He is new to the naturist society and has never been to a nudist resort or beach. He states the only downside he has experienced so far is when “non-nudist takes everything too seriously and makes the naked body so sexual.” Milyogi, an agnostic doesn’t believe that Christians are committing a sin by becoming naturists.
Milyogi lives with his 8 year old daughter and consequently can’t practice being a nudist has much as he would like. “My nudist is still a secret from the people around me, especially my family; I won’t have them know about it,”
Willie Holmes Jr is a card carrier with the American association for nude recreation. Nudism for him has always been part of his lifestyle since 1999. “I was always happy to be nude, but for some people I guess it is embarrassing because they feel so exposed.”
Willie is a homosexual and a Christian and believes that “nudism is not a sin; it states in the bible that it is natural, lust is a sin. You can lust while still fully clothed. “If you get aroused, you can place a towel over yourself and carry on,” he said. Naturist class nudism as non-sexual, “You get to see other people in a different way beyond sexually,” he said.
Daniel John Batchelor became a naturist because both he and his ex fiancé wanted an all over tan. “We decide to go to the nudist beach in Shoreham every weekend and from there we got more involved with British Naturism events, “he said. He modelled for Laura Pannack for a project about young naturist. “She took individual and couple shots of everyone standing, sitting and some pretending to play games.”
Daniel says he is a Christian, but accepts parts of all different religions. “I don’t think the church would see it as bad thing, take a look at the Adamites, a group of people who lived naked and in harmony with nature” he said.
Many Christians believe because Adam and Eve sinned, we can no longer see each other naked, “And their eyes were open and they realized they were naked” Nevertheless, Daniel maintains that being a nudist Christian is not a sin.
Christians should be ashamed of sin however not of anything that God created,” Daniel said. We are new creations in Christ and all of our sin, past, present and future, are covered by the spent blood of Jesus our Christ on the cross,” he said.
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