QUOTES 5/23/2017

“In the first four centuries of the Church many of our Christian forbears found no contradiction whatsoever between nakedness at worship, and holiness.  Rather, they found deep theological significance in nakedness at baptismal rites.  These were not private occasions.  Baptismal candidates found themselves ‘naked in the sight of all, and unashamed,’ as Cyril of Alexandria reminds his flock. . . What was it about baptism that led Christians to consent to being baptized naked 'in the sight of all'?  What did they want to ‘say’ that made nakedness an appropriate vehicle for its expression?  I contend here that their reasons were explicitly and powerfully theological, speaking to us critically of our obsession with the body-perfect, and the connectedness of nakedness, bodiliness, sexuality and sin. . . Cyril of Jerusalem (AD 387-471) writes, 'Immediately, then, upon entering, you removed your tunics.  Having stripped, you were naked. ... Marvelous!  You were naked in the sight of all, and were not ashamed.'  Theodore of Mopsuestia (pre-AD 428) says, 'You draw near to the holy baptism and before all you take off your garments.  As in the beginning when Adam was naked and was in nothing ashamed of himself.....' Tatian (Circa AD 160) remarks how initiates 'stepped naked into the baptismal pool.' . . . Augustine likens baptismal birth to our coming naked into the world.  The setting aside of shame is a constant theme.  Tertullian understood baptism as a dying for Christ, observing that as martyrs die naked, so we are baptized naked. . . in naked baptism, we enact in a symbolic washing from head to foot a foretaste of the restoration of the innocence, shamelessness and joy that is only for those who find themselves in the presence of God and without sin.” – Michael P. Wilson, https://cnfellowship.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/wilson-2006-modern-believing-2002-reworked.pdf

“Naked Dunes” (Video) - https://vimeo.com/178084211

“But couldn't all this amazingness happen when you're clothed?  Do you really have to strip to be one with yourself?  For me, yes.  I've done regular yoga before.  I've tried solo meditation.  None of that has liberated me quite as much as this did. . . nudity removes distractions.  I wasn't comparing my outfit . . . My sports bra wasn't digging in . . . I didn't get a wedgie every flow sequence. . . Maybe you're worried about cellulite, or small breasts, or . . . a bloated stomach.  All of that disappears when you're naked.  You're forced to accept your body for what it is and embrace it for its faults and strengths.” – Robyn Smith, http://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/news/a56818/i-did-naked-yoga-and-ive-never-felt-better-about-myself/

“. . . nudism is about better health, mental and physical, and emotional and spiritual . . . That doesn’t mean that better health is automatic when you remove your clothes, but that doing so with some understanding is an important component of good health, deeply considered, in the right context . . .” – Paul Rapaport, http://youngnaturistsamerica.com/nudist-naturist-defined/