Hello there. It's been a while since I've been on an old-fashioned forum. This is not just an introduction of myself, but also my testimony of a mighty feat that God has done in my life using the naturist philosophy and lifestyle.
My name is Evan. I have been a Christian for about 15 years but I have been a practicing naturist for a month. It's not really something I had on my bingo card for 2024, but I am naked and I am writing a post for other Christians, who also like to be naked. I am an apologist and an aspiring biblical scholar, and I've made copious amounts of written, audio, and video content about a variety of topics at www.cerebralfaith.net
The way that I got into naturism was through a blog called Aching For Eden run by a man named Phillip Oak. Heavenly wrote a post called "Be Ye Transformed" and in that blog post, he talked about how naturism freed him from nearly 20 years of porn addiction. You can read the post for yourself here --> https://achingforeden.wordpress.com/202 ... ansformed/
I had been addicted to porn myself for nearly 20 years. Even though I loved Jesus with all of my heart, and I loved studying his word. I go to church because I want to not because it's an obligation. I sing hymns to my savior not just in church, but even in my room in private. Ever since I was 17, I have been madly in love with the triune God. So it broke my heart that I could not get this disgusting thing He hated out of my life.
I had trying everything. I prayed that God would take away my sex drive, I pray that he would increase my willpower to stay away from it, I thought about getting accountability partners and filters. However, like a chess player plotting several moves ahead, I knew ahead of time how I could circumvent these things. For example, I could lie to my accountability partner and even if all my devices were locked down, I could just get physical magazines. And if all else failed...there's no software to keep me from fantasizing. I first got addicted to porn at 13 years old, and I gave my life to Christ at 17. For a portion of my life, I didn't even try to get free because I didn't care. But after I was convicted, a severe struggle ensued for 15 years.
I was at the point where I was willing to try anything. Especially if I wanted to go into an academic ministry. I didn't want to be disqualified because of sexual sin.
I began reading. First, I read Phillip Oak's book "Surprised Into Freedom: The Effortless Obliteration Of Lust and Body Shame". I was sold after reading that book. But as an aspiring scholar, I still wanted to do more research to make sure naturism was really compatible with my faith. So I read David Hatton's book "Who Said You Were Naked?" And Aaron Frost's "Christian Body". I binged articles on The Biblical Naturist blog and I read the entirety of Fig Leaf Forum's "Naturist Apologia" e-book. As a Christian Apologist who has made apologetics content since 2012 at Cerebral Faith, the term apologia definitely got my attention. It was a compilation of about 40 different objections to naturism from textile Christians. At the end of it, I was convinced that there was no biblical, philosophical, or scientific grounds for not being a naturist. I had every reason to become a naturist and no reason not to.
Naturism has freed me from porn. No, God has freed me from porn. But he used naturism as a "means of grace" as David Hatton would put it. First, I learned a more proper "Theology Of The Body" from folks like Phillip Oak and David Hatton. Then I lived as though the truth were true. I have mostly been a home nudist, but I planned on reconditioning my mind to see nudity in a non-sexual way. One thing I did was I purchased several videos on Vimeo from an organization called The Naked Club. These are 30 minute to an hour and a half videos of naturists just playing around and having fun. Men and women are involved, usually college aged. The non-sexual nature of the settings was powerful. Here were these naked girls and guys just doing things you would see any textile people doing.
I'm not going to say that I didn't get aroused when I first started observing non-sexual nudity. However, I did not act on it. I gave my penis a death stare until the erection went away, and I continued to watch the nudists on screen having innocent fun. I didn't realize it at the time, but this reconditioning strategy is what naturist blogger Jochannan called "Breaking Naked". He talks about it in a guest post on Aching For Eden here. --> https://achingforeden.wordpress.com/202 ... jochanaan/
My mind no longer associates nudity with sex. I no longer look at women as sex objects. And I am no longer enticed to lust by the mere site of a woman. No matter what she is wearing. Or if she isn't wearing anything at all!
It's funny what happens when you fight a battle God's way instead of man's way. I hope Oak gets a big reward in Heaven for inviting me to naturism as the catalyst for my freedom. I have been one full month without pornography, and guess what? I have no filters, no Covenant Eyes, no accountability partners. I just do. not. want. it. I no have a desire to indulge in pornography than I have to eat a bowl of excrement. I no longer objectify women. I no longer see women as a collection of breasts and butts. I see people made in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27) and, if they are Christians, Holy Spirit temples (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Again, if you're not familiar with Oak, he's got a whole blog called Aching For Eden. You will find a lot of my comments in the comment section (RationalChristian315). God used nudism as a means of grace to clean up my mind and I will never stop praising Him for it (Romans 12:2). After 15 years of failed prison breaks, I am FREE!
"Jesus replied, 'Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." - John 8:34-36 (NIV)
There is NO sin in your life that Christ can't conquer. The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us (Romans 8:11). As my friend Dr. Tim Stratton Of FreeThinking Ministries once said, every Christian is a walking stick of dynamite! There is no cage of the enemy that can hold us! Praise His Holy Name!
You know, if you would've asked me, if I was a misogynist, I would've denied it. After all, I had no emotional dislike of women. In fact, women have been a very positive influence in my life for my whole life. My mother is the top example, but all of my elementary school teachers were Female, and my first boss was a woman. They have all played a pivotal role in positively shaping who I am. I had a great relationship with my mother. And I did not hesitate to learn from female Christian thinkers such as Carmen Joy Imes and Lydia McGrew. However, in hindsight, I can see that I hated women by my actions. Every time I used one of those virtual prostitutes, I showed contempt for them. Every time I sexually objectified a woman, I showed contempt for that woman. No, I had no emotional dislike of women, but I showed hatred towards women by my actions. I am proud to say that that is not who I am anymore.
Another thing that naturism did for me, was help me with body issues issues. For the past two or three summers, I was very hesitant to take my shirt off for the pool. having entered my 30s, I developed a minor case of "dad bod." Just as pornography is usually thought to be a male exclusive problem, body image issues are thought to be a female only a problem. However, I had both. I thought that because I didn't look like a Magic Mike dancer or Captain America right after he stepped out of the Super Soldier chamber, that I was not a sexually attractive man. Just as women desire to be beautiful and desirable to the opposite sex, we men do too! We're just not as vocal about it. After seeing so many natures men, and comparing myself to normal men, I actually think that I'm quite an attractive man! One day, I was staring at my face and my naked body in the bathroom mirror, and I said out loud "When did I become so handsome?" I know that I am beautiful. I know that I possess masculine beauty. Do I have a mild amount of fat on my belly? Yes. But so do a lot of men! It's actually quite common to look like I do. Actually, I know a lot of guys who have way bigger guts than I do!
I'm so happy that I feel like I'm going to break down tears of joy writing this. I don't know what some of my Christian friends will think about this if they find out. I don't know if this will possibly prevent job opportunities given the stigma. But as Paul said in Philippians 3, I consider all things garbage compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ, my Lord. If being a naturist helps me to live out my high sexual ethics, and to be close to God, then, so be it. His accolades are the only ones that matter anyway. Whether I ever get letters after my name or am ever called "Professor" doesn't matter to me. I just want to hear "Well done, my good and faithful servant". I know God will use me in one way or another, and that's all that matters to me. Thank you, Jesus.