| There is a
spirit (good) - body (sinful) dualism
that has been part
of Christian thought since the first century, and has had a very strong
negative influence since the third century. This heresy is rooted
in Greek Gnosticism rather than scripture and does not honor God, our
creator.
Just as there was a time to challenge the belief that the Earth was the
center of the universe, and other errors or false doctrines, there is a
time to challenge the error that parts of the body which God created
should
be treated as sinful, indecent, shameful, and the cause of impure
lust.
I believe that this is that time.
 I believe that
challenging these beliefs will open new doors for many. Doors to
experience new dimensions of God's love and acceptance as people learn
to see ALL of the human body as God's good, pure, and decent
creation.
Something to be respected, honored, and fully accepted, not maligned,
exploited,
or rejected as indecent.
Treating the human body that our creator and
God
lovingly provided for
us as "indecent" (clothed or unclothed) is the result of ungodly
deception!
(Note: The sexual exploitation of unclothed bodies is another matter
and
not what I am referring to here. That exploitation in fact
results
from treating the body as indecent.) Responding to the body with
shame dishonors God and has from the beginning.
 Godly, wholesome,
and pure attitudes toward the body can never be built on a foundation
of
shame. Impure thoughts come from indwelling sin (how we think
about
a clothed or unclothed body), not from seeing a clothed or unclothed
body!
We should be treating the human body (that God has given us) with
respect
and honor, not the disrespect and abuse it has been treated with for so
long.
Col 2:20-23 says, "Since you died with Christ
and
were made free from
the ruling spirits of this world, why do you act as if you still
belonged
to this world by following rules like these: "Don't eat this," "Don't
taste
that," "Don't even touch that thing"? These rules refer to
earthly
things that are gone as soon as they are used. They are only
man made
commands and teachings. They seem to be wise, but they are only
part
of a man made religion. They make people pretend not to be proud
and
make them punish their bodies, but they do not really control the evil
desires of the sinful self." The rules in this world against
unclothed
bodies are man made and help us pretend to be more modest and pure,
i.e.
not proud. These rules make us punish and deny the goodness of
our
bodies. They do nothing to deny the evil desires of the sinful
self;
in fact they stir up and increase those desires. They seem to be
wise, while actually enticing our sinful nature!
 Shame and negative,
repressive attitudes about the body cause people to struggle more with
impure lust, not less! Whole body acceptance diminishes this
struggle.
God never intended or wanted us to struggle so with this and would
never
create anything that would cause us to sin. (see Titus
1:15,16)
God never intended that we treat his good creation as indecent and a
source
of impurity. It is time for Christians to learn to accept the
human
body (clothed and/or unclothed) in a thankful, wholesome, and pure way
and praise God for the goodness of His creation rather than treating it
as something indecent, impure,
and sinful.
I hope this site challenges you to
prayerfully
consider changing your
attitude toward the human body if you currently consider it (instead of
actions and thoughts) to be in anyway indecent. It is my prayer
that
the information here will be helpful to you and challenge you to accept
more of Gods love, grace, and goodness. If you have found this
site
to be of benefit it is my hope that you will share it with
others.
May God's peace, grace, and love always be yours richly.
David Blood
Founder – Shame Breakers
Copyright © 2001 Shame
Breakers
Artwork from "Tree of Life" by
Cliff McReynolds
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