*turns serious now*
termyt is absolutely correct. In fact, Adam and Even didn't even know they were naked until they ate the fruit. This means had all gone according to plan, we'd all be naked, but we wouldn't know we were. Then they ate the fruit, and felt shame. First thing they did was create some makeshift clothes.
This says a lot to me, because there wasn't anyone else around to see them, and they were already "husband and wife," and yet they still felt shame. This tells me that rather than being worried about making others lust, or whatever, that they instead felt vulnerable.
It's the same reason why when you dream that you're naked at school, it's embarassing, even if you consider yourself attractive. You feel defenseless. You feel weak. Everyone is laughing at you.
I thought nudity was the default state for sexual activity.
Nudity is the default state for sexual activity, but that doesn't mean nudity = sex. Just because you're naked when you have sex, doesn't mean that they're interchangeable.
A car needs an engine to run, but the engine isn't the car.
Also, I wonder then why the vast, vast majority of people are sexually aroused by viewing healthy members of the opposite sex nude.
The vast, vast majority of people are sexually aroused by viewing healthy members of the opposite sex fully clothed too. I know termyt already said that, but I wanted to repeat it for emphasis. If a girl is attractive, I'll be aroused by her if she's clothed OR naked. It really doesn't matter. If she was naked it'd just leave less to my imagination, kind of like, if you look at a paint by numbers picture, you can still see the picture if it isn't painted, you just kind of have to use your imagination to know what it looks like. Painting it just helps.
The point is, no matter how you show yourself, there is a risk of someone taking it the “wrong” way. The impression you will leave on your intended audience is important and needs to be considered, but I would not let a bunch of worst case scenarios keep you for doing anything.
^This this this X 1,000,000.
You could do the most inoffensive thing you can think of and I guarantee you it would offend somebody somehow. All this talk about "If it offends someone don't do it!" is all well and good. I'm not going to sit here and say Christians should do what they want and to hell with what others think.
What I AM saying is that what others will think or do in response is good to consider, but it shouldn't be what makes our decisions for us. Look at C.S. Lewis. You know when he wrote the Narnia series, he knew full well many ultra-conservative Christians would say "He wrote a story with magic and portrayed Jesus as an animal, that means he's evil and his books should be burned!" Should that have stopped him from writing them, just because a bunch of people would be offended by it? Nope.
Have even Christians fallen into the "no personal responsibility" trap? It's so common in the real world, when somebody murders, or steals, or rapes...it's not my fault! I had bad parents! I went to a bad school! These twinkies I ate did it! These video games I played are the cause! I watched a violent movie!
Are we now in the same boat? It's not my fault I lusted, it's all her fault for being attractive! It's her fault for taking artistic photos! It's her fault for bending over to pick up a quarter she dropped!
NO. It is NOT her fault. Each one is tempted when,
by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. From James. Emphasis mine. If you sin, it's not someone else's fault. It's YOUR fault, and nobody else's BUT your fault. Take some personal responsibility. Also remember the first part of that verse, God won't allow anyone to be tempted beyond what they can handle. So if someone takes nude photos and you see them, that means you SHOULD be able to resist that temptation. If you can't, it's still not that person's fault, it's YOUR fault for not resisting like you should be able to.
It's easy for me to say this, but as everyone here knows, I struggle with lust. A LOT. Like probably more than anyone here. I'm not trying to sound like I'm on a high horse or playing holier-than-thou. Because I'm worse than most of you and I fall to a lot of temptations I should be able to resist. I'm just saying, how other people interpret what we do is nice to consider, but shouldn't be the final word.
One last thing. We all know that above all else, God looks at intent. This is why if you call your brother a fool, it's as bad as murder. The intent is the same. This is why if you say "Forget you" to somebody, it's as bad as "F*** you" to God. The intent is the same.
So why are you taking these pictures? You are taking them for artistic purposes, you have said. I think God will honor that intent. He won't be offended by it because your intent is good. I mean if you were posing for a smut magazine, then the intent would not be good, and I would say no, definitely not. If someone else sees these pictures you intended for decent purposes and gets off on them, that's their problem, not yours, and it shouldn't prevent you from doing what you decide to do (assuming you feel God is leading you to do it).
Now to be less serious.
Warrior 4 Jesus wrote:I'd advise against doing anything involving nudity (except in marriage)
No showering until I'm married? You got it buddy!