Father Orthoduck wishes to urge a little caution before watching this ABC News Video. Some visible nudity is present. Nevertheless, this, uhm, ah, group of people–Father Orthoduck is wary of calling them a church–claim that it is perfectly within the Gospel to worship au naturale. Please listen to their Biblical reasons for being able to do this and not contradict any Scripture. Father Orthoduck suspects a bit of rationalization is involved in this case.
Why did Father Orthoduck say, “in this case?” Well, as many of you know, Father Orthoduck lived in South America for about a decade. While there, Father Orthoduck visited the Mbya-Yuki tribe in the Bolivian jungle courtesy of New Tribes Mission. The Mbya-Yuki do not wear much of any clothes. The missionaries commented to Father Orthoduck that as they reached the Mbya-Yuki, they deliberately did not teach them to wear clothes. Now, partial clothes wearing was indeed adopted by many of them, but that was in part because they saw the protection that clothes could provide them, and, in part, because of a little imitation of the “outside” people they met. Nevertheless, to this day, the Mbya-Yuki in their territory will still worship in a mixture of clothing to very little clothing to no clothing. Here is a small entry on the Mbya-Yuki:
Around a hundred and fifty Mbya-Yuki (Hunters-Yuki) people still live in northern Santa Cruz; they are hunters and gatherers within the Amazonian Basin rain forest. The name Yuki was given by the white man; they refer to themselves as Mbya. They belong to the Tupi-Guarani group of people and are related to the Mbya-Siriono. They terminated their isolation in 1960 when some of them made contact with the New Tribes Mission; however, nobody knows for sure how many of them still live isolated within the forests. The ones out, live in Mbia Recuate, next to the Chimore River.
Below is the link to a 10 minute video on the Yuki, in part made by themselves and in part by New Tribes Mission missionaries. Caution! Remember what Father Orthoduck said about their clothing styles. There are clear unclothed views. No worship is shown, but rather the lifestyle of the Yuki. Let Father Orthoduck give you an additional warning. The Yuki hunt and eat small monkeys, etc. One of the scenes shows the hunt and the field dressing of a small monkey. Finally, Father Orthoduck wishes to emphasize that the site is NOT an official New Tribes site in any way nor is the video labeled as an official New Tribes Mission video, and the views of the pastor of that site should not be taken to reflect the views of the New Tribes Mission.
So, here is Father Orthoduck’s question for you. Would you forbid both groups from worshipping au naturale? Would you permit one group to do so and another group not to do so? OK, what is your reasoning? Yes, Father Orthoduck has a clear opinion, but he wants you to do some thinking through your Scriptures, etc. Here is another question. Is it sinful for either or both groups to worship au naturale? Why or why not? And a final question for you, if you gave either group permission to worship au naturale and you forbade that permission to another group, have you fallen into relativism? Why or why not?
And, here is a final question from Father Orthoduck. Let’s say that you went as a tourist to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome or to an Orthodox parish in small town Romania. Because of your clothing you were refused entrance to the church. If you are a woman, perhaps you wore a sleeveless dress and had uncovered hair. If you are a man, perhaps you are wearing a tank top because it is hot, or you are wearing holey blue jeans with scruffy flip flops. Would you be in sin if you then insisted on setting up a church in their town that emphasized the ability of people to come and worship in clothing styles that are considered sinful by the locals? Would there, in fact, be any difference between you and the nudist church? Why or why not?
Last summer while on vacation on the beach in San Diego, I was doing my normal morning jog, except at the water line on the beach. I noticed a local congregation holding a service under a tent on the beach, just yards from the water. I could have easily wandered up in a Speedo (I would never wear such a thing, so swim trunks and a bare torso could be a good substitute.) Nobody would have given it a second thought, even here in the States in one of the most conservative cities on earth. Sometimes it seems context is an alien from outer space.
This made me think of an e-mail I received recently. A beloved babushka named Yolita reposed about a month ago; remembering her, one of our ladies sent this account to our parish:
So, pulling from broad sections of Romans and Corinthians, it seems to me that where it doesn’t conflict with new covenant directives we are generally supposed to obey civil law, be modest, and seek peace where it falls on us. Selfish rebellion isn’t supported, breaking laws just because they are inconvenient isn’t supported, but standing on your cultural norms to the hurt of the spread of the gospel isn’t either. We are supposed to be agents of reconciliation. That also implies judgement calls, especially searching your own heart.
You asked if getting turned away from a church based on dress would cause me to start one, and I have to give a resounding no. I have actually been in that position, and I see no reason to disrupt the service and worship of God with petty arguments. Sure, I could argue that Paul also gave “shave her head” as an option and I happen to have a shaved head, but that takes the Sunday morning topic off the thing that matters, Jesus! So I put on the little white thing, try not to feel to silly, and get on what we are there for. If I lived with my southern relatives, I would need a skirt to attend church, so I would buy one for that purpose. I don’t attend with them when I visit because I don’t own one.
That said, if I lived in the hypothetical town and there was a whole unreached group or subculture that didn’t get christian outreach due to the dress code, that would induce some prayer on whether I should start something. Motivation and the focus of the project count here, as the heart condition always does. Also, can you do it in partnership rather than competition with the existent local church? There are a lot of questions, but I think it could be done without sin. The big question is whether you are building an organization to glorify the custom or that glorifies Christ.
I don’t think there is anything sinful about worshipping nude persay, but I am definitely the weaker brother on that question. It would personally put me in a lot of sexual temptation and distract me from worship. Civil, modest, peaceful seems to add up to clothes in our culture. For the Mbya, not necessarily. Ultimately, though, the important thing is that the gospel is proclaimed.
The human body does not bother me. I have been a nurse for more years than I care to mention and have seen all kinds in all shapes and sizes. Dressing or undressing in front of people—well I am a pretty modest person , but having been a part of small community theatres for a number of years where quick changes backstage can be the norm–well been there and done that–not usually down to the buff, you understand….and who hasn’t as a kid in gym class had to change and shower in the locker room. (Well, at least in my day we had to…..) I think what matters is the community norm. If I go to a nudist camp, I have to expect to see unclothed people doing what ever they are doing including church. That is the community norm. If I didn’t want to see nude people, I wouldn’t go there. Same with the folks who live in the far reaches of the earth–worship in whatever covering or non-covering is the community norm. Would I go to church in the “Old Country” without a dress with sleeves and something on my head? No and neither would the native from the jungle–again community norms. I am not going to judge someone else whether in the old country or the jungle or even the nudist camp they paid to join by my own personal standards. I tend to be rather modest and pretty covered up, but if I happened upon an informal church meeting at the beach, I would not be upset to see swimsuits. At the cathedral, I would…..It has nothing to do with the human body per se. I think God did a pretty good job with the human body and I find the human body to be a marvel, but I don’t study that marvel in its natural state where the community norms say you cover up.
Alix
I think that Tokah best said some of what I think on the subject. Frankly, I simply wanted people to think through what they believed on subjects of this type. As Tokah pointed out, there is no one easy phrase that covers the questions I asked above. Missionaries, whether at the beginnings of the Church or now, have always faced the types of questions I asked in this post, and it is not easy.
This is a refreshing view of church. Our churches have become so dry and stagnant, we are taught to judge people using worldly judgement rather than fruits of the spirit. We compare men to each other and judge anyone who has the appearance of worldliness. There are wolves amongst the sheep teaching us that ‘suite and tie’ Christianity is the only way while Jesus walked the Earth in a robe and sandals.
Instead of judging people based on what they wear, it’s time to start judging people on the effects of their ministry. Look around their community and see how they’re doing.