Honestly ,....Why do we read and participate in this forum?

I was thinking of trying to set up my first poll,but decided to get some input first.Hmmmmmm?

I was thinking of trying to set up my first poll,but decided to get some input first.Hmmmmmm?

[Burntbuns]

I've never done one but I just looked at the screens that come up when you click on "Post a Poll" down below. You probably want to be organized. Decide what you're going to call the poll, decide how many questions, what answer choices you're going to allow and whether only one answer or more can be chosen. The system will help you design the poll from there. Please design a good one, one with interesting questions, one where we all might learn something about ourselves and others. Good Luck

Burntbuns....Thanks for the reply ....I guess I didnt make myself clear. I was hoping for reasons why in reply to my question( The topic).I could then use them in my poll.

[Rik]

Outdoorbare,

Well I think Burntbuns came up with the answer when he said "...we all might learn something about ourselves and others" which is surely why we all particpate. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Other possible answers could be:

- Talking about nudity turns me on. (Nudge nudge, wink wink /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif )

- I want to discover new places to get naked. (I've tried the shower now I'm ready for the back yard)

- I'm concerned about unwanted erections, my ugly tattoes, my naked pubic region, genital piercing AND (as if that wasn't enough) the size of my penis. (Well you're in the right place!!!)

- I want to meet other nudists. (Especially overweight, middle-aged men. Right place again!)

- I want to find justification for my lifestyle. (Or I want to prove that every word in the Bible supports nudism.)

- I thought I might find a bit of porn here. (No? Oh well it was worth a try.)

- I want to help promote naturism. (Now you're talking)

- I'm always looking for an argument (Oh no you're not. Oh yes I am!!)

- I like to make smartass comments (Moi?)

Oh, the list is endless! /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Rik

[Yooper]

I am here to learn more of where I can be naked without fear of offending or being arrested. I am a long way from the nearest park or legal beach so am taking somewhat of a chance to go to the beaches along Lake Superior in the national forest. That, by the way, is pretty much done with until next June or July. I do have the ability to isolate myself in a fairly remote section of the shoreline. I am not really into getting a tan, nor am I that interested in being with other nude people, clothed people for that matter either. I am interested in learning how the rest of you have been able to live nude and not have the problems that can be associated with such a "deviant" life style.

When home alone, I am frequently nude. I am more likely to be clothed with my wife at home, but we both enjoy being nude from time to time while just relaxing or watching TV. With the children home, we are nude only in the spa or our bedroom. I am most interested in learning how to celebrate my nudity and how the world is changing toward or against acceptance of the fact that for some activities, being nude is better than being clothed.

Thanks All... Very thoughtful replys ...I think I'll abandon the idea of a poll. I'm sure Rik could do a much better job in wording such a poll. I find it hard to honestly come up with the reasons I'm here ..... /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gifMaybe a little of" All of the above".

[Kristin]

Well, out of Rik's responses, I'm here for at least 4 of those, and probably a lot more otherwise (not that I can think of them):

- I want to meet other nudists.
- I want to help promote naturism.
- I'm always looking for an argument
- I like to make smartass comments

I think it would be a bad idea to make a multiple-choice poll out of this because the list is endless. Just keep it right here open-ended.

[Bob S.]

How about: (warning, you may need a grain of salt to digest some of these answers)

No life

A chance to talk with naked people you will never see (ironic, huh?)

A way to dole out your own opinionated reasonings without sounding weird

Give useless advice to those who ask

To learn how to fight with others without getting kicked out

To compare your grasp of the English language

To keep your typing skills up to date in our highly technical world

Oh, as others have said, the list is endless.....

Bob S.

I read and participate in these forums because:
1. There's nothing else to do when I get home from work after midnight.

2. TV is boring.

3. I enjoy some of the subjects and like to add my 2 cents worth sometimes.

4. I like to communicate with other like-minded people (people who are naturists), particularly Christian naturists.

5. I even sometimes learn something useful that I didn't know.

6. I like to read how naturists are treated in other states or countries, and about their experiences.

7. I enjoy debate that is done decently and in order. That's the way decent, civilized people do it.

[gamblefish]

<font color=blue>

Honestly? Ok...It's because I do not know ANY other nudists and it's nice to know that I am NOT a weirdo...there ARE others out there who share my eccentricity. You people lend me support and encouragement and you are all fun to communicate with (well...almost all of you, anyway).


Oh yeah...I also like the smartass comment part too.</font><img src=http://pages.prodigy.net/gamblefish/aworm.gif>

[luvnaturism]

Rik - great reply up above. I love it. /infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

[Trailscout]

A few reasons of my own:

1. I was one of those weird kids your remember from school who actually liked writing essays. /infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

2. I love reading stories about new places to be nude.

3. I am sociable and this is an outlet.

4. I keep hoping someone will announce that he found the resort where all the single nudist women have been hiding. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

5. I learn from others who post here.

6. It helps to get practical advice from other Christians on how to balance our desire to return to what God intended (nude) against the reality of widespread hostility, expecially in churches toward a nude body.

[Stewey]

Rik & Bob S.: As usual, your responses are priceless. And quite true.

As for myself, I originally started posting here because I saw how many guys were writing those "I'm a single guy looking for a female nudist" posts, & wanted to show them the awful, hideous truth that there were no female nudists, in my own smartass-ish way. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

However, once I started posting here more often, I found that I actually liked it here, with one or two exceptions (anyone remember Mountainman & Galsurfer?) I realize now that no matter what we say or do, there will always be people who will still ask for nudist gals, people who will incesssantly talk about their penis, their pubic hair, etc., people who pretend that they are someone they're not, people who have no clue what they're talking about, and so on & so forth. But there will also be people who are intelligent, funny, and nudism-knowledgable, who are interesting to talk to or get to know (even if we never meet face-to-face). That's why I post here. And also to slap on that occasional smartass comment once in awhile...

[Bartamus]

Dukhat: I for one love your "smartass" comments.
You're absolutely right about the endless questions having to do with Penis size, pubic
hair etc. People will never tire of talking about
it. So we must be accomodating here.
By the way, I do hope we meet face to face one of
these days.

[greensunshine]

To All of You Gentlemen Out There,

I opt to come to this corner of the web, mostly to see who has what to say /infopop/emoticons/icon_redface.gif

The other reason I come is that there are very few nudist web pages that do manage to keep the material clean and exceptable for the most part for the rest of the world /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Greensunshine /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Greensunshine....Verygood.... Thanks for the honest input on my topic.Stay nude and dry up there in Wash.

[Lilwilly]

I enjoy reading and replyint to other nudist's posts.

I am extremely frustrated with the slow speed of this site however. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[steevo]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by outdoorbare:
I was thinking of trying to set up my first poll,but decided to get some input first.Hmmmmmm? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>i am trying to learn as much as i can about nudism. i've had cravings for as long as i can remember to experience the true feeling of being nude and not worrying about being caught. i use to have my bold times, but could not enjoy it for long. When I finally retired, it was impossible to suppress my cravings any longer. To make a long story short, it almost cost me my marrage when i finally decided, I WAS GOING TO A NUDIST CLUB. But once I tried it there was no going back. When my wife realized how serious I was she it was better to try it then to loss me. She amazed me, because she loved it the very first time. And now we both love our new lifestyle.
So now I like to come to this site to hear about other peoples experience and love for nudity.

[kiwi in china]

I read this forum as the "official" output of nudist organisations is enterily predictable .
The huge variety of responses is a better indication of what makes people take off their clothes.

[Naked Bob 2]

I enjoy reading this forum for much the same reasons as many of you have stated.

1. It makes me feel like I am not alone in my choice of recreation. In other words I am not that weird.

2. I can express myself to a reasonable degree and receive feedback. I don't get that much social interaction in the nudist environment anymore.

3. I also have let my membership to other various naturist organizations expire as I find I no longer need them to stay in touch with many of the curent events that are goin on out there. I mean I enjoy them nice, pictures and articles, but for the money they just are not that great a value.

[nudeboots]

I hooked into this forum because has become too cold to hang out on Wreck Beach and I am always busy on Saturday nights when the nude swims are held in the Vancouver area. Another factor is I am going out with a non-nudist woman now, and I miss hanging out with nudists. /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif

[TomorrowMan]

I'm here for the following reasons:

1. I'm new to nudism and wanted to learn more about established nudists' philosophies.

2. I wanted to share experiences with other "newdies" /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

3. I found this is a good place to communicate with nudists from all walks of life, without having to sift through dozens of posts from Christians trying consolidate their ambiguous dogma with a natural instinct.

4. Any forum presents an opportunity to learn something new about what it means to be human. I've learnt a lot here.

TomorrowMan, I'm not sure what you mean by "Christians trying (to) consolidate their ambiguous dogmma with natural instincts", but I'm one of those Christians.

I have no problem consolidating the two. Unlike most people, Christian or not, I've learned that there's absolutely nothing wrong with nudity. the wrong is in people's minds that have been conditioned to believe a lie. I used to be one of those people until I tried social nudism and fell in love with it. I've also lost most of my self-consciousness about my body because of it. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

[Trailscout]

Tomorrowman,

I am also a Christian and a nudist.

You are welcome to believe whatever you choose, but I simply wanted to welcome you to the forum and say that this forum and the Web overall has a fair number of Christian nudists.

Whether you accept the Genesis account literally or allegorically, Jewish and Christian scriptures both affirm that the human body was created nude and that clothes were not given to mankind because they were not needed.
I don't know any Christian or Jew, textile or nudist who disputes this premise.

The "ambiguity" emerges when people of good will examine the passages that describe Adam and Eve's desire for clothing.

Many Christians assert that because Adam and Eve tried to address their shame over a spiritual problem by covering their physical body, that we should do the same.

Christian nudists assert that to do so would only repeat their original error. The Bible is full of accounts of people who react in a physical or carnal manner to spiritual problems. Many characters in the Bible are presented "warts and all" as a lesson on how not to behave. Adam and Eve are not role models for our sense of modesty!

Many,perhaps most of the people in the textile world, (regardless of religion) wrongly assume that nudity is a prelude to sex.

The fact is, even among textile people, nudity is often merely a prelude to a shower, a medical exam, or a change of wardrobe.

When you can demonstrate that to a Christian or anyone else, you have made a solid case for social nudism.

After one has tried it, you see that social nudism tends to reduce sexual tension, not inflame it. Social nudism tends to erase social barriers and foster an atmosphere of openess and trust. What could be more Christlike than that?

Skin is healthier when it is exposed to fresh air and moderate sunshine.

Being nude is generally more comfortable than wearing clothes.

Many Christians feel that the human body was created in God's image. Such a work of art should be revealed fully to best honor and glorify the designer of the body.
Even many non-nudists recognize the beauty of the human form when represented in sculpture or on canvas. Why would they object to the actual form of a nude human when they approve of its likeness?

Being nude permits you to better enjoy the feel of your environment. That too is honoring to God, who created the natural world. I love the feeling when I swim of flowing water against my entire body. I enjoy the sensation, when nude, of wind, warm sun, and the droplets of a summer rain.

I feel an incredible harmony with nature and nature's God when I am nude.

I hope I have done a satisfactory job summing up the Nudist Christian perspective on our bodies.

[Rik]

I'm sure Tomorrowman can speak for himself but I interpreted his comment as meaning that most of the naturist discussion boards he has seen are full of so called Christian nudists articulating the struggle they have with their conscience.

They usually do this by interpreting and reinterpreting passages from the bible so that eventually they see in the words the things they want to see and proclaim it to be the truth - except usually they'll keep it hidden from their church for fear of being excommunicated which always strikes me as odd for why would you want to belong to a religious organization which espouses views with which you so patently disagree?

Trailscout, You did an excellect job! You, Rik, and a few others do an excellect job of articulating your thoughts. Even Stu, a "confirmed non-naturist" does very well at getting his point across, except as to why he finds nudity so "distasteful.

I can understand why, from what Stu said, he is uncomfortable with his own nudity, but not why other people's nudity is so distasteful. /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif

[Trailscout]

Rik,

No doubt I have taken some of Tomorrowman's oblique references to places he did not intend, but I am sure he will revisit us to elaborate a bit. But I have learned to respect your hunches, so let's say for the sake of argument that Tomorrowman has indeed been struck by the number of "so called Christian nudists articulating the struggle they have with their conscience".

Rik, are you of the opinion that nudism is incompatible with the teachings in the Bible?
(Let me take a guess and say you see no incompatibility).

If that is true, where lies the dissention?
Could it be that Christianity has deviated over the years from an original position of tolerance for casual nonsexual nudity to one of hostility?
(Again I think the evidence clearly says, "yes").

So if one comes to embrace the original tenets of the Judeao-Christian tradition, and he finds that because of it he is now on the side of social nudism, and the church he grew up with is not, it does force one into an ethical corner.

But, assuming Christian nudists are indeed closer to a Biblical view of nudism, how do we remain on the moral high ground?

You seem to imply that one do the obvious, that is to renounce all ties to one's denomination and "go independent".

While doing that would avoid moral compromise, I contend that it does not place you on the highest possible moral ground.

Would it not be better to maintain some connection with your misguided but well-intended brethren in order to help the more open-minded among them?

In a battle in which you are greatly outnumbered, facing your enemy head-on is generally not the best strategy.

Christian nudists do not have the power or numbers within most denominations to openly proclaim the virtues of Christian nudism nor to confront their most strident opponents.

Instead, we establish rapport with individuals and delicately introduce the topic of nudity in casual conversation. I have met kindred spirits in that manner and have had some limited success in presenting nudism as a viable and worthy component of the Christian life.

I live in a large urban area, but some on this board are residents of ultra-conservative towns where people tend to know one another's personal business. A few powerful families sometimes dominate such places. Churches often cast a long shadow in small towns. If a fellow from such a small town were disfellowshipped by his church for being a nudist, let's say, he might find it impossible to find a job, obtain a loan, join a civic group, etc.

I went to college in such a town and I could regale you with stories about this sort of thing. Oh, how folks love a good scandal!

[Rik]

Hi Trailscout

We're wandering off topic here but....

You said:"Rik, are you of the opinion that nudism is incompatible with the teachings in the Bible? (Let me take a guess and say you see no incompatibility)."

I genuinely have no opinion as to whether nudism is compatible with the teachings of the bible. My issue is that some people seem to interpret the bible to support their own viewpoint whereas others rely on their religious teachers to interpret it for them. It seems to me incompatible with organized religion for individuals to take a stance which is opposed by their religious teachings for surely they must ask themselves "why do I want to associate myself with an organziation which teaches things I don't believe in? Clearly they're not teaching me!".

You said: "Would it not be better to maintain some connection with your misguided but well-intended brethren in order to help the more open-minded among them? In a battle in which you are greatly outnumbered, facing your enemy head-on is generally not the best strategy."

Well if you think of your church as the "enemy" then your stategy seems to be to infiltrate them to turn their followers' minds against the authority of their leaders. Whilst I personally see no particlular problem with that approach I would have thought that it might be seen as dishonest or disloyal in the eyes of the church. Although presumably if the Christian nudist can practice nudity in defiance of their church then perhaps they have no issue with practising dishonesty as well.

You said: "If a fellow from such a small town were disfellowshipped by his church for being a nudist, let's say, he might find it impossible to find a job, obtain a loan, join a civic group, etc."

I fully understand the practical issues of being "disfellowshipped" but I suppose what I'm trying to say in simple terms is "if you disagree with the teachings of your church then don't you owe to yourself to leave of your own free will? Do you really need to belong to an organization to be a Christian?"

This is not a religious issue. I, and I guess Tomorrowman as well, have nothing to contribute to a debate on the rights and wrongs of nudity from a Christian perspective. Rather it is an issue of what appears to be confused logic which I just don't understand.

Rik

[TomorrowMan]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rik:
I'm sure Tomorrowman can speak for himself but I interpreted his comment as meaning that most of the naturist discussion boards he has seen are full of so called Christian nudists articulating the struggle they have with their conscience. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Thanks Rik, that is exactly what I was trying to convey. I apologize to the Christians here who interpreted my comment otherwise. Ironically, I actually kept my point brief because I thought an extended diatribe on my views of other nudist forums would only serve to risk misinterpretation and offence.

I certainly didn't want to turn this into a religious discussion, but I thank Jon-Marc and Trailscout for their points of view.

[Trailscout]

Rik and all,
I apologize for straying well off the topic of why we read and participate in this forum, but I hope my rambling diatribe has served to illustrate that there is no end to things we can discuss in this forum and I hope I have demonstrated that some of these issues are not mere academic exercises, but that there is a lot to be gained and a lot to be lost for people who desire nothing more than to enjoy life in their birthday suit now and then. It seems like such a harmless proposition, but I am almost driven to laughter by the intensity of the opposition to naturism (or nudism if you prefer).
Except it is not funny when the decency police come looking for you with both barrels loaded!

[Nuudnlovinit]

Life, and its related subjects.....Coworkers, if they are into the nudist scene, spouses and lovers....what allows people to be happy in life. The possibilities are endless here, use your imagination, ask a simple question, you may be astounded at the answers and replies you may receive!

[Nuudnlovinit]

I believe beyond any shadow of doubt that WE ARE ALL GOD'S CHILDREN, why feel gilty about being a nudist or naturist? I believe that God would want us to do some things that make us happy in our lives, we are harming no one having fun with nude recreation, right? Other people who see you happy wish for you to feel guilty about those things that you enjoy, Not God, not Jesus, I am certain that God and Jesus wants us all to be happy and fullfilled in our lives.

[Wm]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kristin:
Well, out of Rik's responses, I'm here for at least 4 of those, and probably a lot more otherwise (not that I can think of them):

- I want to meet other nudists.
- I want to help promote naturism.
- I'm always looking for an argument
- I like to make smartass comments

I think it would be a bad idea to make a multiple-choice poll out of this because the list is endless. Just keep it right here open-ended. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>