QUESTION: I read an article by the Catholic Pope recently, in which he concludes that while lust may be associated with nudity, nudity in itself is not wrong.

The basis for his conclusions seemed to derive from the fact that Adam and Eve were created nude and were declared at same time, to be ‘very good’!

I agree! I have seen beautiful works of art which depict nudity (eg. Goya’s ‘The Nude Maja’) and have not felt the need to lust.

Being a normal male person with a pulse however, I have indeed felt sexually aroused by images of nudity that I have seen in the media.

To deal with this problem, I consulted with a number of my male Christian acquaintances as to what to do.

They all told me that I needed to avoid looking at such images so as not become tempted to lust.

However, most of them have since fallen over by by getting involved in pornography and the like.

In response, I have adopted a different strategy.

Instead of just trying to avoid being tempted, I have made it my practice to go out of my way to meet sexy looking females for example, so that I can practice a number of mental routines aimed at disciplining my natural tendencies to become aroused and lust after them.

I do the same thing with images depciting female nudity.

While the process was difficult at first and I did fall over a few times in the beginning, it is all second nature to me now.

I no longer feel ill at ease and sexually tempted by exotic looking girls, or images of them, regardless as to how undressed they might appear.

I am now regarded with considerable suspician and disdain by many in my congergation however, who see me as being engaged in a sinful process.

I am not convinced however. The strategy that I have used, works a lot better than the ‘hear no evil, see no evil’ type of approach that was first recommended to me.

As far as I can see, all I have been doing is practising how not to lust in the face of temptation, so as to build up an immunity against my natural tendencies to be tempted by female beauty and sexuality.

I can not find anything in Scripture that says that it is wrong to talk to good looking women (especially if I am doing so for the purpose of being accomplished at not lusting after them), or as per the Pope’s view, that there is nothing wrong with nudity in itself (once again – especially if I am using images of it to practice not being tempted or improperly influenced by it).

What do you think?

ANSWER: It is fair to point out that when humankind was created they were nude. But, when they disobeyed God’s one and only commandment, they discovered their nudity and their response was to cover it up and God later confirmed their solution by providing clothes for them. The inference here may be that in their fallen state that nudity would lead to more problems in their lives than they were presently facing. This seems to play itself out in that in the business of religious systems in the ancient world where nudity played a significant part in their worship life and these rituals were condemned by Judaism.

God seems to suggest, in his action of providing clothes, that it is important to have a social relationship where body parts are not the object of being social. One story of interest in the New Testament was the demonized person in the cemetery who was nude when he approached Jesus and after he was released from his demons, he set clothed and in his right mind. One must ask why Jesus didn’t leave the man nude.

It appears that nudity is not a biblically socially acceptable practice.

I don’t think that if you could ask the Pope about your interpretation of what he said about nudity that he would have come to your present strategy. He would not acquiesce that what he meant or what you have interpreted that he meant in the article you read as the same thing. You might want to ask yourself WPDI (Would the Pope Do It)?

Living in God’s Story means living in a story that has a different character about it. So, I would suggest that you should keep your clothes on, keep the clothes on those “good looking” women you are meeting, keep your pants zipped, and ask for the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to help you overcome your present practices.

Well, there’s what I think!

QUESTION: What is the time frame between the death and resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:1-44) and when he came to Bethany and ate with Lazarus, Martha and Mary (John 12:1-10) and the time frame from that date to when Jesus was put to death on the cross

ANSWER: There is no indication to the time frame between the story of Lazarus in John 11 and John 12.1. John 12.1 begins on Friday evening before the crucifixion of Jesus on the next Friday.

QUESTION: What say you about signs of Holy Ghost as to speaking in other tongues?

ANSWER: I have written about this on by blog drwinn.com at this link.

QUESTION: I was wondering what you thought the value that apocalyptic literature holds in today’s society and how it has been used in church history. Also, do you think that there are any dangers associated with engaging in these texts?

ANSWER: I began a online Bible study entitled “Decoding the Apocalypse. Here is a like to the section that deals with Apocalyptic Literature which is called “Apocalyptic What?. I would encourage you to signup for the whole study at: Decoding the Apocalypse.

Any Dangers? No, I think the genre of the text needs to be understood and interpreted within the boundaries of the kind of literature it is. Like all literature, if you don’t know what kind it is, poetry, narrative, etc., you might discover that when reading it you might come to a different conclusion that the author’s intent because you do not know what kind of literature he/she is using to convey the message to the reader/listener.

QUESTION: Was Jesus in Human Form in the OT?

ANSWER: No, Jesus was not in a human form in the Old Testament. Some interpret the story of in Genesis 18 that one of the three visitors to Abraham was Jesus. Others see the phrase “son of man” in the story of Daniel in the lion’s den as a reference to Jesus. A rule of thumb when interpreting Scripture is that a story cannot mean what it could not have meant to the first hearers/readers. The Old Testament folks did not have a concept of Jesus. They would not have recognized him as a character in a story presented to them to tell them of the journey of God with Israel.

John recounts the birth of Jesus and “he became flesh and tabernacled among us” as the point in time of the incarnation or the “human form” of Jesus.

QUESTION: What is the meaning of the Kingdom of God?

ANSWER: I have a thirteen week Bible study at the following link that may help you identify an answer to your question.

See Kingdom of God

I am beginning a weekly Bible study on the book of Revelation. You can sign up here.

Revelation is as much a challenge to the comfortable within their society as it is comfort for those whose commitment has brought them into tension with the host society of this present evil age. It is a challenge and protest as well as comfort and encouragement.

Prophecy “experts” like Jack van Impe, Hal Lindsey, and the recent Left Behind series by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye with their mode of interpretation which looks at the meaning of Revelation as it applies to international politics and dosmestic policies have, in my opinion, misguided readers of this book for decades.

I will attempt to “decode the visions” of Revelation with a bit more sanity. I hope you will join us for this journey.

QUESTION
What does the Bible say about Premarital sex? What did Jesus say?

ANSWER
Jesus speaks of a list of humankind habits of life in which sexual immorality is mentioned. The term “sexual immorality” is the word fornication and means “sexual intercourse” outside of the marriage relationship. Jesus’ list can be seen in the Gospel of Mark at 7.20-23.

In the New Testament book of Galatians written by Paul, he writes a list of human habits of life which are not pleasing to God. They are called the “works of the flesh.” (Gal. 5.19-21) The first three “works” and the last one comment on sexuality.

SEXUAL SINS
Sexual immorality: Sexual intercourse outside of the marriage relationship (Illustration: 1 Cor. 5.1ff). Intercourse outside of marriage breaks down the stability of a family. The word “adultery” found in the KJV does not appear in reliable manuscripts.

Impurity: The general word for immoral activity that shuts a person off from God’s presence. The opposite lifestyle is found at Matthew 5.8 where Jesus says that God will bless those who have a pure heart. One could translate “pure in heart” as “with no ulterior motives. Those empowered people will have continued fellowship with God. It is fair to say that our motives should be adjusted to God’s motives. This is a change of Story, for the story we live in to God’s Story.

Debauchery: This means lack of restraint. A love for sin so reckless that the one sinning has ceased to care what God or man thinks of his actions. No attempt is made to hide the sin; it is committed in the open (1 Pet. 4.3; Jude 4). Debauchery shocks public civility. It does not care what God or people think.

Orgies: Sexual orgies were characteristic of pagan worship.

I trust this answer will help in your ongoing discovery process.

QUESTION
Since marriage only allows two people to get married. I would like to know of the Bible’s opinion of open marriages and engaging in homosexuality while in a marriage? I think that if anyone can not be committed to one person, they shouldn’t get married.

The ancient world had open marriages. The male was married, had concubines, and visited prostitutes. The New Testament offers a different way of viewing marriage, a different Story to live in if you please, one woman with a man or one man with a woman at a time. It seems clear that Scripture does not allow for any same sex relationships in or out of marriage. Read First Corinthians and Romans (especially the first couple of chapters) for Paul’s thoughts on the subject of same sex sexual relationships.

QUESTION and COMMENTARY
Can you please show me where in the Bible God tells a wife it’s OK to withhold sex from her husband. I know that a husband should do Eph 5:25, does it say that if he doesn’t at all times it’s OK for his wife to withhold sex? When I’m doing Eph. 5:25 and my wife still withholds sex it’s hard to continue with Eph 5:25, I do still try but I am only human and I am here in the flesh.

I have found that sex within marriage is not a negotiable thing, God says a husband and wife should satisfy each others sexual needs, (1 Corinthians 7.3). And not withhold sex only when both agree and for a time to pray and then resume their normal sexual relations with each other, and this should be on a regular basis.

However, if you cannot control your desires, you should get married. It is better for you to marry than to burn with sexual desire. (1 Corinthians 7.9).

I am married and still burn with sexual desire when my wife withholds. Did I miss something in God’s word or am I just stupid?

ANSWER
First, let me say that I have no reason to think that you are stupid!

Ephesians 5.25 does not have a sexual context. There is nothing in the text that speaks about the subject of sex.

Second, the 1 Corinthians passage (7.9) does speak about marriage partners withholding sex during a specific time devoted to prayer, but then they should come back together. This passage is a correction to those in the church at Corinth who may have thought that once they had become Spirit-filled they no longer had to involve themselves with mundane human stuff like sex. Paul writes to correct them. I don’t think that Paul is saying that every day that you are going to pray that mates should abstain from sexual intercourse.

As a pastor for many years, I know that sexual problems within a marriage are only a sign of deeper marriage problems. You might suggest that you both talk about what might be causing your wife’s response (remember, I am only hearing one side of the story here). Problems within a marriage are usually not one-sided and there is usually fault on both sides.

If you cannot talk about it in private between each other, you might want to seek professional help.