|
|
|
|
|
Users viewing this topic:
none
|
|
Login  | |
|
is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/4/2009 2:02:21 AM
|
|
|
2hit6
Posts: 7
Joined: 6/4/2009
Status: offline
|
hi i'm new here and i have a question that bothers me for a while. i hope i can find some answers here.
i found myself enjoy looking at the pic of "nude art" website. there's no sexual activity shown in those pic, only naked girls in beautiful, natural settings. is it a sin? at first i thought it's a sin of the eyes and blame myself from looking at those. but when i look at those pictures, i found myself only appreciate their beautiful face and figure, but i don't think i have any lustful thoughts (i.e no sexual fantasy between myself and the girl), nor do i have any physical sexual response. so is it still sin?
i'm confused. please help!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/4/2009 11:27:34 AM
|
|
|
fosco_bunce
Posts: 12
Joined: 12/5/2006
Status: offline
|
I know for me, the act of looking at another person, whether they have clothes on or not triggers memories.
All of them acting out with them. I have to surrender these to God and ask him to remove them from me. I haven't been able to look at people without thinking of acting out with them without being spiritually fit. If you MB like I did I was that much more susceptable to thinking of acting out with them sexually. So for me I can't look at someone naked, it is not safe. My mind will always fantasize. I would be sure that I am not in denial of my intentions and look at the reasons why you prefer looking at naked women and saying to your self that you are not fantasizing about touching them. or doing things with them.
The other thing when I looked at porn, it degraded my wife. I was comparing my wife to those women. She was never enough. There was someone that looked better somewhere. The images to me were always about them as a sex object and not about who they are as people. Your playing with fire in my opinion, be careful and not in denial
JamesL
_____________________________
F.R.O.G
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/4/2009 12:01:08 PM
|
|
|
John_O
Posts: 7890
Joined: 9/5/2006
Status: offline
|
Wow. Good tough question.
God created women to be beautiful to men. We have a natural appreciation of that beauty. If (AND ONLY IF) you ar eable to appreciate the beauty and totally disassociate the sexual aspect from it, then I wouldn't see it as sinful.
There are some nudes that I can look at and just admire the beauty (A lot of art deco stuff is like that to me) and there are some where I can't get the sexual angle away from it. So for the most part I avoid it.
As f_b said in post 2 this is a form of playing with fire. Be careful that you don't get trapped into something.
Perhaps one way to gauge it would be to ask yourself, "If Jesus was right here beside me in the flesh, would I still be looking?"
_____________________________
Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/4/2009 6:44:29 PM
|
|
|
bobbyb_
Posts: 112
Joined: 5/27/2009
From: long island
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: John_O
If (AND ONLY IF) you are able to appreciate the beauty and totally disassociate the sexual aspect from it, then I wouldn't see it as sinful.
I think this is the key to this entire subject, John! As long as you can look at the "nude artistic photography" without feeling any sexual tension/pleasure, then I don't really see it as sexual; it really is purely admiration for the creatures our Father created.
If at any time you feel even the slightest bit tension out of it, then it's time to change your habits.
_____________________________
THE GREAT COMMISSION
Matthew 28:19
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/4/2009 9:14:56 PM
|
|
|
2hit6
Posts: 7
Joined: 6/4/2009
Status: offline
|
first of all, thank you all for posting your opinion.
quote:
If you MB like I did I was that much more susceptable to thinking of acting out with them sexually.
no, i don't MB when / after looking at them. Previously, i also stumbled on watching porn and MB while watching them, but by the grace of God i've freed myself from this sin. Praise the Lord! Pardon my emphasis on stressing the difference between porn and these "nude art pic". i know clearly it's sinful to watch porn (& MB). it's exactly because i know the sexual feeling when watching porn and i don't have that when looking at these pic brought me to this tough question.
quote:
and look at the reasons why you prefer looking at naked women
that's the key question i asked myself. the answer is that the girls, naked or not, are simply beautiful. of course if they're not naked i wouldn't know their body is beautiful...i'm afraid it's human nature to like beautiful "things", like beautiful scenery, beautiful cars, gadgets etc. as a man, i have certain ideas about what makes a female beautiful, and once i see one - whether in person or online - i enjoy looking at them. BUT, is it what the Bible called "lust of the eyes"? i think i can say it's not lust of flesh since i don't have sexual feeling/thoughts, but is it lust of the eyes? after all, people enjoy looking at beautiful people/things because it's pleasing to their eyes, right? but how come enjoying beautiful scenery is not lust of eyes, but beautiful naked women is? is there something special about naked women body?
another key question is, i know that it'd be sinful if i met a beautiful clothed woman and imagine her naked. so i don't do that. but does that also mean it's sinful to see other naked girls in pic online? since they're already naked, i don't need to imagine them naked. to bring the point further, sometimes i think seeing women in certain type of clothing cause more sexual tension to me than simply naked women! so i'm confused.
quote:
the other thing when I looked at porn, it degraded my wife.
i used to have that feeling too when i used to watch porn. since i quitted porn, i don't think that way any more. now even after looking at the nude pic, i don't compare them with my wife.
quote:
God created women to be beautiful to men. We have a natural appreciation of that beauty. If (AND ONLY IF) you ar eable to appreciate the beauty and totally disassociate the sexual aspect from it, then I wouldn't see it as sinful.
quote:
I think this is the key to this entire subject, John! As long as you can look at the "nude artistic photography" without feeling any sexual tension/pleasure, then I don't really see it as sexual; it really is purely admiration for the creatures our Father created.
thank you John & Bobby. that's exactly how i feel - i simply enjoy seeing beautiful female. but, i don't want to rely on how i feel about those pic to determine if it's a sin or not. is there any support from Bible? i've searched online and i've seen arguments from both sides (both quoted Bible) so i'm confused.
quote:
Perhaps one way to gauge it would be to ask yourself, "If Jesus was right here beside me in the flesh, would I still be looking?"
that's a good point. most of the time when i found a beautiful nude girl in those pic, i was like "wow". would Jesus disapprove of it? certainly Jesus won't have that reaction, but He is God and I'm a human man. I know as a Christian I should try to be like Him, but I don't think I'll ever - not even close - to be like Jesus.
**disclaimer** by the way, i'm not whether it's OK or not to see those nude pic - i'm confused myself and i don't want to stumble other brothers by misleading them it's OK to see those nude pic. currently i've been praying to God and ask Him to decide for me. I confess to him that as a man, i have a (natural) tendency to admire beautiful, naked women. if it's not OK by His standard, I pray to Him to change my heart to NOT enjoy those images. so far I've stopped looking at them and await an answer from Him. But I also want to hear from my fellow brothers in Christ - perhaps God will use this forum to guide me, you never know right? :)
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/5/2009 9:09:29 AM
|
|
|
ctpruitt
Posts: 384
Joined: 4/25/2009
Status: offline
|
Huh...never thought about naked women like this before...guess it depends on which "naked woman" you are looking at! Hahahahah...
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/5/2009 11:52:30 AM
|
|
|
2hit6
Posts: 7
Joined: 6/4/2009
Status: offline
|
quote:
guess it depends on which "naked woman" you are looking at!
i meant naked women in pictures online, photographed beautifully rather than in an obscene way.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/5/2009 3:32:00 PM
|
|
|
terryjohn
Posts: 325
Joined: 3/23/2007
Status: offline
|
To value beauty is no sin but then again what is beauty? Are not all things beautiful? Well no! Beauty is more than flesh and bone and many women who allow themselves to be expoilted in such ways may in fact be demonic themselves. We all admire goodness and perfection and to some extent we have come to value criminals who are good at what they do.
Now you may value a woman for her beauty while naked but will you not value her more if she remained dressed while maintaining her dignity and honour? Is she valued for her love, joy, goodness, gentalness, generousity, kindness or intelligence? These girls are someones daughters and sisters. There is no way I want the women I love to degrade themselves before me or other men by doing such things. You could say no man wants to see his mother naked even if she is a super model.
I may love looking at pictures of fast sports cars but my love for my sister in Christ cannot be compared to the love I have for cars. Addiction is a sure sign of there being something wrong. That is if you find yourself having to look at the same pictures time and time again there is something wrong. The only addiction a man needs is to faith and love for the one he marries.
You could say we should weep that a woman feels the only way she can gain our respect is to take her clothes off. I guess I am saying if we just loved women less naked photos of them all over the place would be okay.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/5/2009 10:40:49 PM
|
|
|
nuclear_sidewalk
Posts: 206
Joined: 6/8/2008
Status: offline
|
I'm just going to go ahead and say you should start liking abstract art instead. 
It's a slippery slope, and my best answer is that there's a serious appearance of evil. If someone walked in on your viewing 'art,' what would you say? More importantly, what would they think? (thinking of the weaker brother here, for sake of argument, who might think it's okay to look at nudies then)
< Message edited by nuclear_sidewalk -- 6/7/2009 5:39:23 PM >
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/6/2009 2:02:22 AM
|
|
|
yankeedoodled
Posts: 194
Joined: 5/29/2006
Status: offline
|
Resist and flee from temptation, men looking at naked women is hardly doing that. Playing with fire is not without it's hazards.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/7/2009 8:39:06 PM
|
|
|
evry1needsgod
Posts: 1611
Joined: 2/4/2008
Status: offline
|
My honest question would be this: Why are you looking at this "art"? What's the point? I honestly see no value is looking at this type of "art." You mentioned that you fought the battle of porn. I think it would be wise for you to look at no other naked woman other than your wife (either present of future wife...I don't know your situation). Honestly I just could not imagine Jesus looking at "naked women art" if he were alive today. Think about it...
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/9/2009 11:17:13 PM
|
|
|
DoveMinistries
Posts: 299
Joined: 6/8/2009
Status: offline
|
quote:
if he were alive today.
Man he is alive. He Lives!!!
quote:
i found myself enjoy looking at the pic of "nude art" website.
And man that is porn. Try some girls with cloths on, see if you think they are still beautyful? then you will have your answer.
God Bless
R Dove
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/10/2009 12:52:12 AM
|
|
|
2hit6
Posts: 7
Joined: 6/4/2009
Status: offline
|
thx for all the inputs and comments. while i respectfully disagree with some of you on certain points, i do agree that it's a slippery road. it would be better to avoid temptation than playing with fire.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/10/2009 11:32:52 AM
|
|
|
evry1needsgod
Posts: 1611
Joined: 2/4/2008
Status: offline
|
quote:
it would be better to avoid temptation than playing with fire.
Exactly. I don't feel it necessary to look at naked women to see their beauty. There's a reason why God covered mankind's nakedness after the fall. God obviously had a reason for that and knew what He was doing.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/10/2009 6:14:07 PM
|
|
|
AnalystsAreUs
Posts: 176
Joined: 4/12/2005
Status: offline
|
If you desire(purely emotional) them, you are coveting.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/10/2009 9:27:40 PM
|
|
|
Godhead
Posts: 289
Joined: 1/28/2006
Status: offline
|
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (Jude 1:6) There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:4)
I wonder if Jude was talking about the account in Genesis 6: 1-4?
A comment in, Albert Barnes notes on the Bible is worth mentioning.
"Some of the later Jews supposed that they relinquished heaven out of love for the daughters of men”
Whether this is true or not it certainly is interesting to contemplate. That the beauty of the woman even brought the angels down from Gods abode to desire ours. That they fell from heaven out of a lust of the eye. That they considered the beauty of a woman more to be coveted then the beauty of Gods holiness. If there is a lesson here I think it should be that wisdom is to be coveted which leads to life (Proverbs 3:13-19) rather then the beauty of an adulterous woman which leads to death (Proverbs 5: 3-8). Don't make the same mistake that they did and receive the same reward as they are being reserved for.
_____________________________
"Faith consists in the knowledge of God and Christ. It is always by his word that he manifests himself to those whom he designs to draw to himself." (John Calvin)
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/14/2009 7:59:49 PM
|
|
|
nuclear_sidewalk
Posts: 206
Joined: 6/8/2008
Status: offline
|
Yeah, Jude was referring to Genesis.
I think a more applicable reference might be David's "appreciation" of Bathsheba's form. (2 Sam 11:2)
quote:
2 Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.
We all know what that led to.
|
|
|
|
YES! It is a sin unless.............. - 6/15/2009 1:13:26 PM
|
|
|
Teaching_The_Way
Posts: 50
Joined: 4/18/2006
From: Teaching The Way Ministries
Status: offline
|
Yes it is a sin unless the naked woman happens to be your wife. IF not your wife, then it is lust (adultary or fornication)!
As it is written; Matthew 5:28
28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. NKJV
If the women is your wife, it is written;
Proverbs 5:15-20
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.
16 Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with the wife of your youth.
19 As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be enraptured with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman,
NKJV
And as it is written; (About Lack of Self Control and Sexual Immorality)
1 Corinthians 7:1-6
2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
NKJV
God Bless Friend, Always refer to scriptures for answers, not mans opinions that usually reject scriptures
_____________________________
http://teachingtheway.org/
If our opinions does not line up with
the scriptures, then our opinions are
dead wrong! Gods words are more important
than our opinions!
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/15/2009 3:23:34 PM
|
|
|
rawr.ben
Posts: 2672
Joined: 5/16/2005
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: 2hit6
i meant naked women in pictures online, photographed beautifully rather than in an obscene way.
What you are admiring is the naked beauty of someone who is not yours to have. Could very well be someone else's wife.
And who are you to discern what is "beautifully" as contrasted to "obscenely" photographed?
My friend is just got his masters in photography. One of his photography students had taken pictures of his own mother masturbating with a carrot, I think it was.
While you may consider that "obscene," to the photographer, and many of the other students, they looked at it under the scope of critical analysis and so the extreme attention to detail concerning lighting, composition, composure, angles, editing, etc.
What would be obscene to me was beauty to them. . . but is it acceptable? Is it holy and pleasing to God?
_____________________________
rawr.ben
Facebook
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/15/2009 11:05:26 PM
|
|
|
jn1010lf
Posts: 516
Joined: 4/20/2005
Status: offline
|
Hello 2hit6
Dude, as a 72 year old guy let me say that you're just kidding youself. It is a rare man that doesn't lust at one time in his life. Why do you think artists painted those nude women. So yes, lust is a sin. Check out what Jesus said about it.
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/16/2009 11:42:03 PM
|
|
|
JHerr
Posts: 331
Joined: 4/15/2009
From: Michigan
Status: offline
|
First off, make sure (posters) you notice the OP is saying there is no lustful thoughts from this.
That said, because (as others, including the OP have stated) you are playing with fire, it would be best to stop
~~~~~~~~~~~~
quote:
ORIGINAL: evry1needsgod
Exactly. I don't feel it necessary to look at naked women to see their beauty. There's a reason why God covered mankind's nakedness after the fall. God obviously had a reason for that and knew what He was doing.
Could you please place reference to this? I am not trying to argue, I honestly have never read this (I still have a lot to read)
_____________________________
My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak of my own. John 7:16-17
http://vaporzone.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/17/2009 9:05:31 AM
|
|
|
SavedByGraceMD
Posts: 1273
Joined: 2/13/2008
From: the poconos
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: JHerr
First off, make sure (posters) you notice the OP is saying there is no lustful thoughts from this.
That said, because (as others, including the OP have stated) you are playing with fire, it would be best to stop
~~~~~~~~~~~~
quote:
ORIGINAL: evry1needsgod
Exactly. I don't feel it necessary to look at naked women to see their beauty. There's a reason why God covered mankind's nakedness after the fall. God obviously had a reason for that and knew what He was doing.
Could you please place reference to this? I am not trying to argue, I honestly have never read this (I still have a lot to read)
Genesis 3
The Fall of Man
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel."
16 To the woman he said,
"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you."
17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'
"Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return."
20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
_____________________________
Isaiah 41:10
"Fear not for I am with you,
Do not be dismayed for I am your God,
I will strengthen you and help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand"
http://followtheleader-mat1624.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/17/2009 10:42:40 AM
|
|
|
iwillfearnoevil
Posts: 3645
Joined: 11/6/2007
From: upstate NY
Status: offline
|
something has been bothering you for awhile you say, maybe it's conviction ...
you've had a problem with porn in the past, why dabble with fire ...
i think it reduces the impact of your testimony, "God has freed me from the bounds of porn but i look at nude art websites" ...
you are appreciating beauty, how will this affect your appreciation of your wife or future wife ...
_____________________________
Photoblogging My Life
|
|
|
|
|
RE: is it a sin to appreciate the beauty of naked women - 6/17/2009 12:36:32 PM
|
|
|
rawr.ben
Posts: 2672
Joined: 5/16/2005
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: JHerr
First off, make sure (posters) you notice the OP is saying there is no lustful thoughts from this.
Well, that's not exactly what he said, and I would tend to say a fascination with nude women is lust, even if you don't get a tingle below the belt.
_____________________________
rawr.ben
Facebook
|
|
|
|
 New Messages |
 No New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/ New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/o New Messages |
 Locked w/ New Messages |
 Locked w/o New Messages |
|
 Post New Thread
Reply to Message
Post New Poll
Submit Vote
Delete My Own Post
Delete My Own Thread
Rate Posts |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forum Tools
Printable Version
)
