Modesty, the Early Church, & Sexual Immorality

A few days ago, I received a comment on my article, The Objectification of Women – Part 1.

The man who posted the comment did so respectfully and thoughtfully. His answered deserved more of a response than just another comment on the blog, so I told him that I would address his questions in a new post altogether. Here are his comments in full:

Hi, My name is Kwame and I read over your blog posts on Biblical naturalists and nudity. I had a few questions. Firstly, I didn't do a thorough in-depth review of your site and beliefs so forgive me if I misquote, misrepresent or don't accurately capture where you stand: 1. Since we are in a fallen world, do you advocate that women should not pursue dressing modestly and covering the areas that cultures, churches and certain ethnicities, religions objectify? 2. Yes, God created us naked and we were to live in paradise as such but when Christ came and rose the early church still had clothes and they still warned women to adorn themselves in modesty. So how does that factor in to your call of men to lead the way in explaining this naturist path? 3. I agree with you, men ought to clean up their minds more and succumb their passions and desires to the greater good who is God. However, we know not all are in the same place in this Christian race and should we not care and be on best behavior towards our brothers who are weakest in Christ? 4. When Paul says that our body's are not our own and to flee from sexual immorality. Aren't these safe practices (dress code) the church has taken to make this possible? In Christ, Kwame

Now allow me to respond one paragraph at a time…

My name is Kwame and I read over your blog posts on Biblical naturalists and nudity. I had a few questions. Firstly, I didn't do a thorough in-depth review of your site and beliefs so forgive me if I misquote, misrepresent or don't accurately capture where you stand:

Thanks for mentioning that. I hope you will take the time to read more of the articles on the site. You might consider starting from the beginning, since the articles are not time-related, so the older posts are still as “current” as the latest ones.

1. Since we are in a fallen world, do you advocate that women should not pursue dressing modestly and covering the areas that cultures, churches and certain ethnicities, religions objectify?

Let me point out two assumptions in your question which I believe are in error:

1. You assume that God gives us instructions about clothing to address the fact that we’re “fallen.” Look again… you will not find in the Bible. Some take Gen. 3:21 and interpret it that way, but the biblical text does not support it (see The Biblical Purpose of Clothing where I address God’s purpose for clothing Adam and Eve in a multi-part series).
2. You also assume that our standards of conduct should be based on cultural, ecclesiastical, ethnic, or religious standards. The truth is that if any of those contexts teach something that is contrary to God’s Word, we have no obligation to abide by it. The fact that we are pretty much forced (legally) to abide by those false standards in our culture does not make those standards right or healthy.

2. Yes, God created us naked and we were to live in paradise as such but when Christ came and rose the early church still had clothes and they still warned women to adorn themselves in modesty. So how does that factor in to your call of men to lead the way in explaining this naturist path?

Clothing has been used throughout human history… including the time of Christ on the earth. However, the assumption that nudity is indecent and forbidden is historically quite recent. In Christ’s day, Jewish and (later) Christian baptisms were performed nude (read this). Fishermen fished nude (read this). In the OT, prophets evidently were regularly nude (read this). No, the Bible never tells us that we must be nude, but neither does it tell us that we must be clothed.

It is also important to note that simply because something was practiced in bible times does not mean that it is a requirement for our practices today (should we still have arranged marriages or slavery?)

Regarding “modesty,” there’s only one verse in all the Bible that talks about modesty (1 Tim. 2:9-10) and Paul wasn’t talking at all about making sure the body is covered… he was talking about wearing things to show off one’s wealth (Read this and C. S. Lewis on Modesty/Chastity). Furthermore, even the translation of that passage as “modest clothing” is difficult to defend when you really examine the underlying Greek text (Rightly Dividing 1 Tim. 2:9).

3. I agree with you, men ought to clean up their minds more and succumb their passions and desires to the greater good who is God. However, we know not all are in the same place in this Christian race and should we not care and be on best behavior towards our brothers who are weakest in Christ?

If a brother is “weaker,” we are supposed to be sensitive to that, but should we not make the effort to turn a “weak” brother into a “strong” one? Often, I fear this passage is misused to tell someone that they cannot do something that someone else thinks is wrong! That’s not what Paul was trying to communicate in Rom. 14 and 1 Cor. 10. But I have another blog post in the works that addresses those passages specifically.

How do we help men “clean up their minds”? Men think that whenever they see a woman’s body that they will automatically have a sexual/lustful response. So… we never let them see a woman’s body. Does that help them clean up their minds? No… it only confirms and strengthens their sexualized view of a woman’s body. They never ever see a woman’s body except when they are having sex with their own wife, or using pornography to sexually gratify themselves. Does that help them clean up their minds? No, it only reinforces their view that nudity is all about sex.

The fastest way a man can get to the point of treating the sight of a woman’s body with respect—remembering that she is a person and not an object—is if he actually has the opportunity to see a woman’s body in a non-sexual context where he is compelled by simple courtesy to treat her with the dignity she deserves.

You know how they train young doctors to treat the nudity of their patients with respect, avoiding a sexual response? They don’t.They simply let them serve their patients. They discover immediately that the “automatic” response isn’t automatic at all (read My View of Nakedness by a male obstetric nurse who’s also a pastor.

4. When Paul says that our body's are not our own and to flee from sexual immorality. Aren't these safe practices (dress code) the church has taken to make this possible?

You’re assuming that a “dress code” actually works… but does it? Does the sight of unclothed human flesh “automatically” result in sexual arousal? Or is that a conditioned response? Is that a biblically valid purpose for clothing? Does God ever command clothing to abate or prevent lust? (Read this)

The truth is that that notion is completely man-made. Paul told us in Colossians 2:20-23 that man-made rules will never help us to suppress fleshly indulgence… no matter how “wise” the rules appear.

Quite frankly, I believe the exact opposite is true… when we treat the unclothed human form as if it is lust-inducing and only sexual, we actually ensure that people will struggle with sexual sin. Simple curiosity about the human form is interpreted as “sexual” interest, yet that curiosity is actually God-given and quite normal! Why shouldn’t be be drawn to the beauty of God’s highest creation?

But you tell me that it’s wrong to see it… you tell me that observing it is a sexual event… I now expect to experience sexual responses, so I do. Now I have no recourse but to assume that I have a disordered sexual interests that I can’t shake free of.

You asked me your questions because you read The Objectification of Women – Part 1. But did you read Part 2? It speaks to the fact that if there are certain parts of a woman’s body that must be covered in order for me to avoid lust, then those parts of a woman’s body are what I am objectifying.

Jesus wouldn’t have lusted after a woman even if he saw her completely naked. Instead, He would treat her with respect and dignity. If we aim to be Christ-like, then we must make that same response our standard of behavior… nothing less.

Why I am a Naturist…

Some might wonder why I am a naturist. It is not because I have an unhealthy or sinful interest in nudity. Rather it is for two primary reasons:

1. The Glory of God
   
   God is insulted by the fact that we have so redefined His image as found in the unclothed human form that we only see a temptation to sexual misconduct, rather than seeing His glory on display
   
2. Moral Purity
   
   You have assumed that clothing is needed is to promote sexual purity, but I believe that frank, respectful exposure has the very best chance of achieving that goal… in my life, the life of my children, and anyone who is willing to let go of their pornographic view of the body.

These reasons and others are developed in much more detail in my three part work called Naturist by Biblical Conviction???. I also talk about the various reasons that would NOT motivate me to be a naturist in I would NOT Be a Naturist If… 

— Matthew Neal

Inconceivable Omission…

Daily Decision

I went to church this morning.
After my shower, I had to pick out something to wear. Once I got to church, a simple glance around confirmed that every other person there had faced the same decision.
It’s a decision that we’re very accustomed to… we all make it every day. We’re naked when we step out of the shower, but we can’t go out and about in that condition, so we have to decide what clothes we’re going to put on.

What to Wear… How To Decide….

But on what basis do we make that decision?
Wow… there are probably a gazillion different cultural or “personal experience” answers to that question… but there is one answer that will NOT be among them! That answer is:
     “I’ll just wear what the Bible tells me to wear.”
The Bible never gives us any instructions about what to wear. Did you realize that? Wait… I take that back… it tells women who are under authority to wear head-coverings while praying in public (1 Cor. 11:5-6)… but that’s not exactly about covering our nakedness. Aside from that verse, however, there’s nothing.
Let me restate it this way…
     The Bible never tells us what clothes to wear, when to wear them, or what body part to cover.
Period.
Yes, it tells specific people to wear specific things at specific times, but there’s no general command that applies to all people at all times. There are no guidelines provided. There are no standards of “godly” attire in the Bible.

What about “Biblical Modesty”? That’s in the Bible! No, it’s not… at least not like in the way everyone seems to believe. Modesty is always an attitude of the heart; it is never the presence or absence of clothing on certain body parts. 1 Timothy 2:9—the only passage in all the Bible that one could possibly use to promote the false “biblical modesty” notion—does not tell anyone to get and stay dressed, nor does it tell us which body parts must be covered to satisfy “biblical modesty.” Paul’s instructions actually tell women what not to wear. His concern is not about the amount of skin on display, but rather the amount of wealth on display (read the text again… I’m not making this up). There are millions of horribly immodest (“designer-dressed” to impress) women (and men) in churches all across America every Sunday. Yet, in direct disobedience to James 2:1-7, such immodesty is often applauded and rewarded with preferential treatment and tacit or public acknowledgment of the person’s importance or position in the church. So… if anything, truly biblical “modesty” instructs us in what not to wear; it is certainly not—and never was—a command to wear something. (I encourage anyone who disagrees to explore this issue further. Read Rightly Dividing 1 Timothy 2:9 and C. S. Lewis’ chapter on “Sexual Morality” from his book, Mere Christianity—available online here).

What Shall I Do with My Nudity?

Every human being who has ever lived on this planet has had to answer—every day(!)—this question: “What shall I do with my naked body?”
We all have assumed that the correct answer is “Cover it up!”… but that answer is not found in the Bible.
We have all assumed that we must cover our genitals, but that’s not found in the Bible, either.
We’ve all believed that we are not permitted to be seen naked by anyone other than our own spouse, but that’s not in the Bible…
Oh, and we take it for granted that it’s OK for our doctors to see or even touch our genitals, but… well… that’s not in the Bible, either.
And, of course, all the ladies must keep their breasts out of the sight of other men… everyone knows that, right? So it doesn’t actually need to be in the Bible (and, of course, it isn’t).
See the pattern here?

Why Isn’t It There?

If everyone who has ever lived needed to know how to righteously respond to his or her own nudity, why don’t we find anything in the Bible that gives us the instructions we need?
It is a rather Inconceivable Omission… but is there any reasonable explanation?
Could it be…

• God just forgot to include it? After all, there’s a lot of other important information in the Bible, too. 
  • Covering up our bodies really is necessary to live righteously, but God just neglected to include those instructions in the Bible. We just have to be smart enough to “figure it out.” Right?

Wrong. The Bible tells us in 2 Peter 1:3 that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness. God did give us everything… including all the instructions we will ever need to live a godly life. If God didn’t give it, we don’t really need it.
Could it be…

• Everyone just knows and does it naturally? After all, the Bible never tells us to breathe, either!
  • Some things are so instinctual and automatic that there’s no reason for God to give us special instructions to do that which we do naturally. Right?

Wrong. Just look around you… clothing may be pretty common in our culture, but there’s still a LOT of different opinions about nudity! Some may judiciously hide it, but others believe that nudity in art or even recreation is not a problem. Still others use the partial or full exposure of their bodies to tantalize, tempt or titillate. Beyond our own borders and timeframe, the worldwide response to nudity throughout history has been anything but consistent or automatic; some cultures have even lived socially nude almost exclusively.
Could it be…

• It wasn’t a problem when the Bible was written? After all, the Bible doesn’t tell us that smoking is bad, either.
  • People didn’t even think about going around naked until after the Scriptures had all been written. There are always going to be sins in a modern society that are not addressed in the Bible since those sins didn’t exist in Bible times. Right?

Wrong. The Biblical authors were not unaware of human nakedness; references to nakedness are found throughout the Bible. Furthermore, in New Testament times, one of the significant elements of Greco-Roman culture was the use of the public bath and “gymnasium” (named for the Greek word gymnos, which means “naked”). Every NT author knew about them… there was even an active gymnasium in Jerusalem when Jesus walked its streets (Built or rebuilt by Herod the Great [and this link]. See also  1 Maccabees 1:14).
Every person to whom those authors wrote was familiar with the baths and gymnasiums. Buildings and practices that encouraged and enabled public nudity were cultural cornerstones of the day. Undoubted, most (if not all) of the Gentile believers to whom Paul and other NT authors wrote had actually been to—and participated in the naked activities of—the local gymnasium and/or baths. Yet… those NT authors never warned their audiences to avoid visiting the baths or gymnasiums! (see Hellenism: Center of the Universe and A Day at the Baths)
Could it be…

• That God has just shown us the “principle” that nudity is shameful? After all, when we read about nudity in the Bible, it’s never a good thing.
  • God doesn’t give us a black and white answer in the Bible to every ethical question. Many times, principles are taught in the Scriptures that we have to apply to our lives in order to make ethical decisions. We know that God wants us to stay clothed because public exposure to nudity is always shameful. Right?

Wrong. To be clear, it is correct that we must make a lot of ethical decisions based upon principle, and so there are many clothing decisions that have to be made that way. But this is not a principle that is being promoted here… we are discussing something which has been put forth as a moral absolute! We have been told that God requires us to be clothed. Principles are never absolute in their application; they are guidelines to point us towards wise choices. Moral absolutes—such as the Ten Commandments—are always directly declared in the Bible.
Furthermore, even principles must be directly declared before we can have full confidence in them. They are stated like: “No one can serve two masters” (Matt. 6:24); “the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10); or “the borrower is servant to the lender” (Prov. 22:7). We know the principles are true because God declared them to be true. We each apply them in our own lives (and only our own lives) as the Lord individually leads us. There are no principles declared in the Bible that speak to the nature of nudity, our bodies, or any requirement for clothing.

Finally, the statement that in the Bible, nudity is “never a good thing” is simply in error. 

• Adam’s and Eve’s nakedness in the Garden was a good thing (Gen. 2:25).
• Isaiah’s obedience to the Lord and prophesying naked for three years was a good thing (Isa. 20).
• King Saul’s being overcome by the Spirit of God and prophesying for a day and night naked was a good thing (1 Samuel 19:9-24; see also this article).
• The nakedness of Jews and Christians as they were baptized (including Jesus) was a good thing (see paragraph How Immersion Was Done in this article).
• Jesus’ taking his clothes off to wash His disciples’ feet was a good thing (John 13:4-5; see also this article) .
• Christ leaving all his grave clothes behind in the tomb was a good thing (John 20:6-7).

We simply cannot categorically declare that every instance of nudity in the Bible is “never a good thing.”

(As I demonstrated in this series of articles, “good” and neutral instances of nudity have been systematically translated out of the modern versions of the Scriptures, leaving us with the false impression that nakedness really is always bad.)

Wait, it was God that clothed Adam and Eve after the Fall! That’s for us, too! No… read Gen. 3 again. God clothed Adam and Eve, but did not even give them a command to stay clothed. There’s simply no command at all that they—or we—must remain clothed! (see also The Biblical Purpose for Clothing) I once had a brother in Christ take me to that passage to “show” me that God wanted us to stay clothed. Only after some rather heated discussion did he finally admit that, “Well, the command isn’t actually there.” I said, “Great, now that we agree on that point, let’s look in the Bible to see if there’s anywhere else that God commands us to be clothed.” As I recall, that was the end of our conversation and his attempt to show me that God commanded clothing. Unfortunately, it was not also the end of his conviction that God does require clothing.

Could It Be… That It Isn’t an Omission After All?

It is utterly inconceivable that God wants us to keep our nakedness covered in public at all times, but simply omitted those instructions in His inspired Word. As I stated before, every person in all of human history has had to deal with their own nudity. Divine instructions on this issue would be critically important and applicable to us all.
The only tenable explanation for the “omission” is that it was not an omission at all! God did not include instructions for “godly attire” simply because clothing was not, is not, and never will be a requirement for righteousness living.

How Dare We?

Despite the fact that instructions concerning any requirement for wearing of clothing are completely missing in the Bible, most Christians in America seem content to “add them in” anyway, claiming that it really is God’s will for us all.
But how dare we presume to know and speak the mind of God on requirements for righteousness when He Himself has chosen to be silent? Is it not a personal insult to the Almighty to suggest that He didn’t quite “get the Scriptures right” or that the inspired Word is “incomplete” or lacking in any way?

Holding A Non-Biblical Conviction

I mentioned in the side-bar above that a brother in Christ was unable to demonstrate that God commands clothing, but he was also unwilling to dismiss his conviction that God does require clothing.
I am astounded how common this reality is among professed Bible-believing Christians. They cannot adequately defend their beliefs about nudity or clothing from the Scriptures, but they hold to their conviction anyway (see: A Surprising Admission).
For my part, I’m simply unwilling to do that. If I can’t conclusively demonstrate from the Bible that God speaks clearly on an issue, I cannot and will not maintain adherence to an absolute position on it.
I have stated and written that I am a “Naturist by Biblical Conviction,” but if you read that work carefully, you’ll see that the convictions are not about “nudity” or “naturism,” but about the fact that I cannot defend—and must reject—the nudity taboo that is assumed and taught in the church today. I cannot reject that taboo and continue to live as if it is right. The only way I know to do that is to actively and intentionally live contrary to it. That is why I am a naturist.

How About You?

• Can you demonstrate from God’s Word that God is offended by the unclad human form?
• Can you find any Scripture that commands all people to restrict their nudity to the marriage bed?
• Can you locate a passage that describes which body parts are in moral need of covering?
• Can you quote any verse that permits the “exception” of nudity for “medical necessity”?

If you cannot, how do you explain the omission?
— Matthew Neal

Squeamish Translating – a Response…

Someone wrote a comment in response to the series on Squeamish Translating that I thought deserved more exposure than just the Comments section under the Prologue…

It was signed as “Anonymous,” so I don’t know who wrote it nor can I validate the claims made. Still, it’s a very striking statement. If what he (she?) says is true, it means that my assessment of “Squeamish Translating” is spot on. The troubling truth, however, is that it was evidently more openly intentional than I was prepared to suggest.

Here’s the text of the comment:

I just finished reading your PDF file “Squeamish Translating”. Well done!

I attended a seminary which required proficiency in translating Greek and Hebrew. (We weren’t even allowed to have English translations of the Bible in the classroom!) It may surprise you to learn that the biases of the NIV and other modern translations were openly discussed and are common knowledge, at least to the clergy of my denomination.

What may be even more surprising—and I have no more than my anecdotal recollections to prove this—is that the translators of the NIV in particular were very open in academia with their desire to water down Holy Scripture on these points! They seemed to have a passion for keeping the Bible g-rated, though I don’t remember exactly why, presumably to keep the Bible accessible to the general population.

Nudity isn’t the only topic they watered down. Bodily functions of all types, slang idioms, and acts of violence all fell victim to the translators good intentions. By the way, I found your blog via Fig Leaf Forum. Blessings!

Brother or Sister—whoever you are—thanks for writing. If you ever find any documentation for your statements here, please let me know.

I’d welcome knowing the name of the seminary, the name of the course, and the professor(s) who taught it. I just might do some snooping of my own on the topic.

(I’d prefer the information in a private email, but if you’d rather not send it directly to me, post it in a comment and I will get the information. Then I’ll decline posting the comment to the blog)

— Matthew Neal

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Squeamish Translating

Prologue
Introduction
Part 1 – Naked Disciples
Part 2 – An Unclothed Savior
Part 3 – Writing Scripture Naked
part 4 – Unclothed Servants
Part 5 – Speaking of Genitals
Summary

Squeamish Translating (PDF of the entire series)

Squeamish Translating – Prologue

My Reticence to Write This

Christianity and Naturism are seen by most Christians today as morally incompatible. Yet, I have proclaimed myself to be a Naturist by Biblical Conviction. In other words, not only do I see them as morally compatible, I have found that my commitment to Biblical truth forces me to counter the lies of our culture (including Christian culture) by literally embracing naturism.

For many Christians today, that fact alone puts a bull's-eye on my forehead. Being a “target” for attack and condemnation is certainly not something I need to make worse.

But… suggesting—as I will in this series of articles—that the Bible has been translated into modern English in a way that communicates a bias against nudity might be like begging people to take more pot-shots at me. They might feel justified in claiming that I don’t respect the Scriptures and that I’m just trying to “explain away” any negative reference to nudity; as if I were saying, “I don’t like that passage… I’ll just claim that it’s a bad translation.”

I recognize that some might assume that… or want to make it appear that that’s the case, but it is not.

My View of Scripture

I have the utmost respect for the Scriptures. They are inspired by God and without error in the original documents. They are true and authoritative.

And it is precisely this commitment to the inspired text that drives me to write these articles.

The English translations are not “inspired” (none of them!). Only the original language text is inspired by God. Therefore, every translation must be assessed according to its accuracy to the true meaning of the original language text. Thorough study of the Bible must include an examination of the original language words used to ensure that the process of translating the text into English neither obscures nor adds to the meaning intended by the original author communicating with his original audience.

How I Discovered This Bias

When I first began to study the Bible’s perspective on nudity, I searched the Scriptures for every place where nudity is mentioned or implied. My search was conducted primarily by finding the original Greek or Hebrew terms that reference nakedness, then examining every passage that uses those terms in multiple English translations.

To my surprise, it seemed that every time there was a passage that spoke of nakedness in a positive or neutral way, the modern translations rendered the passage in a way that would allow the reader to avoid imagining or thinking about nakedness. Conversely, whenever a passage criticized or condemned a negative expression of nakedness, the modern translations did not shrink at all from using the word “naked.”

The pattern was consistent enough that I began to suspect a bias.

Hats Off to the KJV!

I am not suggesting that all English translations are biased against nakedness. Where the NASB and the NIV were evidently squeamish about the N-words, the KJV was bold and accurate.

The real question is this: if the KJV translators were willing to use the word “naked” wherever the original authors of the Scriptures did, why weren’t the NASB and NIV translators willing to do the same? If the KJV narratives describe contexts where nudity was possible (according to the original language text), what compelled the NASB and NIV translators to modify the meaning or add words that preclude that understanding?

I Have to Write This

My commitment to Biblical accuracy compels me expose the evidence for this bias.

Some may dismiss the evidence as inconclusive or meaningless. Some will dismiss anything I say because I have dared to criticize the highly trained and skilled people who gave us God’s Word in English. Some will declare that it is I who am unwilling to hear what the Scriptures are saying and that I am only attempting to explain away that which I don’t like.

But, others will look honestly enough at the evidence to question their previous assumptions. They may find that things they’ve always thought the Bible taught aren’t actually there after all. They may see—as I do—a squeamishness on the part of the translators that prevented them from translating the inspired text as accurately as they should have.

Either way, I write to promote the truth. If I take some shots in the process, so be it.

— Matthew Neal

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Squeamish Translating

Prologue
Introduction
Part 1 – Naked Disciples
Part 2 – An Unclothed Savior
Part 3 – Writing Scripture Naked
part 4 – Unclothed Servants
Part 5 – Speaking of Genitals
Summary

Squeamish Translating (PDF of the entire series)

Squeamish Translating - Introduction

My Choice in Scripture Translations

I was raised on the King James Version. Growing up, my father always preached from the KJV. As a child, it was the KJV that we memorized in Sunday School class.

I was never taught that the KJV was the only valid translation; my father correctly believed and taught that Scriptural authority is to be found in the original language texts rather than a translation into a modern language by fallible men. Consequently, he regular read and considered the renderings of other translations as they became available.

I myself have embraced the New American Standard Bible (NASB) as my translation of choice. Like the KJV, it is intentionally translated to maintain a word-for-word alignment with the original Greek or Hebrew texts. This means that for most words I read in the English text, I can trace them back to the specific Greek or Hebrew word from which it was translated. This ability is very important to me in my effort to be a student of the Scriptures.

My Approach to Biblical Study

I use the close connection to the Greek or Hebrew text as a springboard from which to dive into the original language words used for any passage that I’m studying. Using the amazing electronic tools available to us today, I can find the Greek/Hebrew word wherever it is used in the entire bible and use that to discern what the original term means (blueletterbible.org is a great online resource).

Often enough, the meaning of an original language term is slightly different than how we understand the English word used to translate it. When that is the case, we must lay aside any implications derived from the English which are not found in the Greek or Hebrew. Furthermore, we must expand our understanding to include any implications found in the original languages which did not survive the translation into English.

If you are brutally honest about doing this, it can be very disruptive to your current understanding of the Scriptures. You might find that things you’ve always believed aren’t really scriptural at all. Or things you never would have found in the English are implied in the original texts… and that also will have a profound impact on how you understand God’s Word.

Of course, this reality is unavoidable; it is simply the result of having to translate God’s Word into the languages that people speak. We have to recognize it, study through it to the best of our ability (not actually knowing the original language), and allow what we learn to inform our Scriptural interpretations and beliefs.

The Challenge of Translating

I so appreciate the herculean efforts of those who have studied for years to gain the knowledge it took to translate the Bible into modern languages! Where would we all be if they had not done so?

An Authoritative Statement on Translating The Forum for Bible Agencies International has produced a document stating their Basic Principles and Procedures for Bible Translation (available here). All of the principles they present are excellent, but some of the principles that are especially worth noting for the purposes of this series of articles (emphasis mine): 1. To translate the Scriptures accurately, without loss, change, distortion or embellishment of the meaning of the original text. Accuracy in Bible translation is the faithful communication, as exactly as possible, of that meaning, determined according to sound principles of exegesis. … 4. To represent faithfully the original historical and cultural context. Historical facts and events should be expressed without distortion. Due to differences of situation and culture, in some passages the receptor audience may need access to additional background information in order to adequately understand the message that the original author was seeking to communicate to the original audience. 5. To make every effort to ensure that no political, ideological, social, cultural, or theological agenda is allowed to distort the translation “Squeamish Translating,” as I have defined it in this Introduction, is a violation of these principles, particularly those specific statements that I have underlined above.

But translating is never an exact science. The effort has surely been made to translate the original text as accurately as possible, but it is literally impossible to completely rid oneself of every pre-understanding or cultural perspective in order to get it right. The translators are human after all.

Consequently, we should not be surprised if—from time to time—we can discern a bias in the English translation that inadvertently hides a meaning that should be there in the English text or introduces a meaning that was not there in the source text. To acknowledge this possibility is not to disrespect the translators. To suggest that it has happened is not to discount all the high-quality work that has been done elsewhere in the text.

Squeamish Translating

I already mentioned that I left the KJV behind when I transitioned to the NASB as my study version of preference. However, I still compare multiple versions—including the KJV—when I’m digging into something.

Rather unexpectedly, I found my appreciation for the KJV deepened when I began studying the issue of nakedness in the Bible. The reason for this is that by comparing the KJV, NASB, NIV and other translations to the original language texts, I found that the KJV was the most likely to “tell it like it is” whenever nakedness was mentioned or implied. In the KJV, if the word was “naked,” in the Greek, it was “naked” in English. By contrast, the NASB and NIV seemed to shy away from using the “N-word.”

This tendency is one I call “Squeamish Translating”… and no, I’ve never heard anyone else describe it that way. Let me define it this way:

• Squeamish Translating of the Scriptures is the phenomenon where Scripture passages which mention or imply nudity are:
  • reworded to soften the words describing the nudity
  • given additional words that slightly change the meaning which obscures the idea that nakedness may be possible or implied.
  • translated word for word, but only when the nakedness is cast in a negative light.

I do not doubt the purity of motives of those who translated the Scriptures in a squeamish manner, but I am suggesting that there exists in our culture today a bias against nudity. It is perceived as wrong and sinful in any but a marital or medical context. I believe that bias has made its way into the modern translations.

The KJV translators, however, did not display that sort of squeamishness! For this reason, my appreciation of their work has grown.

I Will Show You What I Mean…

In the posts that follow, I will show you where I have found evidence of this squeamishness in the NASB and the NIV. At the same time, I’ll show you how the KJV translates the Greek text more literally. In all cases, the comparison will be made to the words in the source text, for every translation stands or falls based on its fidelity to the original language meaning. For the sake of keeping the series of articles manageable in quantity, I have limited my examples to New Testament passages.

None of the passages I review here will, by themselves, prove that there is any sort of bias against nudity. In each case, the translations provided are not without justification. But collectively, they betray a subtle prejudice against any nudity that is not presented in a negative way. In each case, the translation is such that we may not have to create any sort of mental image that someone may literally be naked… and we don’t have to read the N-word, even if that’s the word used in the Greek or Hebrew.

I will first present the Scripture text in Greek, KJV, NASB, and NIV, then offer some observations or comments. The texts will not be altered in any way except to highlight the words of interest in a contrasting color. There will be no dispute about the textual data. My comments, on the other hand, will likely meet with some objection. I ask my readers to hear me out… and see if you discern a bias as well. And bear in mind… the bias you discern may be your own.

— Matthew Neal

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Squeamish Translating

Prologue
Introduction
Part 1 – Naked Disciples
Part 2 – An Unclothed Savior
Part 3 – Writing Scripture Naked
part 4 – Unclothed Servants
Part 5 – Speaking of Genitals
Summary

Squeamish Translating (PDF of the entire series)

Squeamish Translating – Part 1 – Naked Disciple(s)

In this series of posts, I intend to demonstrate how modern translations seem to be squeamish about how nudity, particularly when that nudity was a natural part of normal life.

Peter was Naked…

The first example might be a familiar one… it comes from John 21:7b. Here are the texts… the word in red is the Greek word gymnos (G1131) which means “naked.”

Greek	οὖν Πέτρος ἀκούσας ὅτι ὁ κύριός ἐστιν τὸν ἐπενδύτην διεζώσατο ἦν γὰρ γυμνός καὶ ἔβαλεν ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν
KJV	Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt [his] fisher's coat [unto him], (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
NASB	So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea.
NIV	As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.

Comments

There are several important things to note in this passage, but let’s start with that which is easiest to see.

The simple reading of the various versions demonstrates quite clearly that the KJV uses the English word “naked” because that’s the word found in the Greek text. However, in both the NASB and the NIV, different words are used. They do not require the reader to face the word “naked.” Instead, the wording is such that common usage might employ either phrase to describe someone who was not, in fact, completely naked.

Was Peter fully naked? Well, that’s the word used in the Greek. Perhaps the word gymnos could describe someone who was not completely naked, but there’s no other word in Greek to describe anyone who is any more naked than gymnos.

In any case, the Greek word used by the author is not in question. It would seem that the best approach to translating it would be to use the English word that most closely matches the root Greek word that God chose to use. That way, the reader can take in the words as God inspired them, studying the passage more closely if needed to discern its true meaning.

Yet, for some reason, the modern translations do not allow us to see it that way. I suggest that this is an example of squeamish translating.

Allow me to discuss a few additional thoughts in support of this claim.

Was Peter Alone?

First of all, the fact that Peter was uncritically described in the text as gymnos means that we have no basis in this passage to criticize him ourselves. If we ask why he was gymnos, the text itself provides the answer; he was naked to do his work… he was fishing.

But Peter was not fishing alone. There were six other disciples that went with him and the text tells us the names of all but two of them (the “sons of Zebedee” were James and John). Could Peter have been the only one who was gymnos? I find that highly unlikely. If Peter was naked because he was fishing, surely those who shared his task also matched his “attire.”

Peter, James and John had all been professional fishermen before they met Christ. This fishing trip was not a casual outing with a can of worms and a hook on a string to pass the time; it was a return to their previous profession, complete with a fishing boat and nets. They worked all night long, intending to catch a boatload of fish to sell, earning some money.

Fishing with nets on a boat is a dirty, wet, and smelly activity. Clothing was valuable and had to be hand washed every time the laundry needed to be done. Taking off clothes to avoid soiling them was a very sensible strategy to keep clothing in wearable condition. Going naked on a boat, particularly while fishing, was most likely the standard practice at the time (see the ancient stone relief image below… the men in the boat are all naked).

I found the picture above in a Bible-History book in my church library. It is a 2nd or 3rd century stone relief showing three boats and their sailors battling a rough sea. Note that all of the sailors are completely nude. Click the picture to see it full size.

I don’t believe that Peter was naked alone. I suspect that the only reason we were told that he was naked was because he took the time to grab his garment before jumping in the water to swim ashore. The narrative focuses on Peter and he was the only one who acted, so he’s the only one whose attire—or lack thereof—was mentioned.

A Boat Full of Naked Disciples?

The logical path I have just trod is not difficult to traverse, nor is the conclusion at all unlikely. But if I am correct in that conclusion, it means that there were seven naked guys in the boat… and all disciples of Jesus at that!

That’s not a mental movie clip that plays well in the modern Christian mind. Most people—including, perhaps, the translators—would simply say, “well, surely they weren’t all naked….” The next thought, of course… Peter probably wasn’t really naked either…

As it turns out, the translators had the opportunity to soften the blow—to “protect” us from having to think about a boat full of naked fishermen. So… Peter was “stripped for work” (NASB). Or even more palatable, Peter was just putting on the “outer garment” that he had “taken… off” (NIV). Now we don’t even have to visualize Peter naked, either.

Is that squeamish translating? Maybe… it sure smells fishy to me (pardon the pun). But for sure, the words the NASB and NIV translators used are different than the natural meaning of the Greek word. I would prefer that they gave us the real word, then trusted us to seek God’s enlightenment as to its true meaning.

But There’s More…

My study of this passage has revealed a couple of other oddities that bear examination. The first has to do with the garment that Peter grabbed before he jumped into the water.
The Greek word is ἐπενδύτην (ependytēs - G1903).

• This is the only place this word is used in the Bible.
• It is not the same word used in the NT to describe the tunic or robe typically worn in that day.
• The KJV translators acknowledged this by calling it a “fisher’s coat,” but evidently this was something of a guess, since other translations do not render it that way.
• The precise type of garment Peter had is not known for sure. Extrabiblical sources mention the garment, but generally as something of an ornamental garment worn over other clothes (and it has no specific relation to fishing).
• Consequently, while it is probably accurate to call it an “outer garment” of some sort, it would be a mistake to conclude from that translation that it was just a robe.

These observations have more significance when we also look at the verb used to describe how Peter put on the garment.

The Greek word is διαζώννυμι (diazōnnymi- G1241).

This is one of the only two places this word is used in the Bible, the other being when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. It is not the same word typically used for “girding” oneself, which is περιζώννυμι (perizōnnymi – G4024).

I will address this word more fully in Part 2, but for now, suffice it to observe that not only was the garment Peter put on an unusual garment, the word used to describe how he put it on is unusual. This means that the precise definitions of diazōnnymi is impossible to determine from its contextual usage alone.

Summary

My points here are these:

• The original text describes Peter as gymnos, “naked.”
• Simple reason concludes that he was probably not the only one.
• There is no compelling textual or historical reason to avoid the the word “naked” in the modern translations.
• Our knowledge of the garment Peter had and how he put it on is very minimal, so even this provides no justification for altering the English rendering of the Greek word, gymnos.

This may be evidence of an intentional avoidance of the word “naked” in a Scripture text where the nakedness was normal, natural, and not condemned.

— Matthew Neal

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Squeamish Translating

Prologue
Introduction
Part 1 – Naked Disciples
Part 2 – An Unclothed Savior
Part 3 – Writing Scripture Naked
Part 4 – Unclothed Servants
Part 5 – Speaking of Genitals
Summary
Squeamish Translating (PDF of the entire series)

Squeamish Translating – Part 2 – An Unclothed Savior

Squeamish About Nudity…

In this series of posts, I intend to demonstrate how modern translations seem to be squeamish about nudity, at least when that nudity was a natural part of normal life.

If you have not yet read the Introduction and Part 1, please do so before reading this segment.

In Part 1, I noted the apparent reticence of modern translations to note that Peter was actually naked in John 21:7b. Instead, they use language which allow us to imagine the scene without any nudity.

In this next passage, we turn our attention to Jesus and His washing of His disciples’ feet.

Jesus Took His Clothes Off

This is a familiar story; Jesus washes His disciples’ feet. It comes from John 13:4-5. Here is exactly what the texts say. The word in green is the Greek word, himatia (G2440) which refers to Jesus’ garments. The words in red are two forms of the same Greek verb, diazōnnymi (G1241), which tells us how Jesus “put on” the towel which He used to dry the disciples’ feet.

Greek	[Ἰησοῦς]… ἐγείρεται ἐκ τοῦ δείπνου καὶ τίθησιν τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ λαβὼν λέντιον διέζωσεν ἑαυτόν. εἶτα βάλλει ὕδωρ εἰς τὸν νιπτῆρα καὶ ἤρξατο νίπτειν τοὺς πόδας τῶν μαθητῶν καὶ ἐκμάσσειν τῷ λεντίῳ ᾧ ἦν διεζωσμένος
KJV	He [Jesus] riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
NASB	[Jesus]… got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
NIV	…so he [Jesus] got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Comments

The questions that I would like to raise with this passage are these:

1. How much clothing did Jesus take off?
2. How did Jesus wear the towel?

Interestingly, if we look at the NIV, we get a very different answer than the other two English translations. The NIV tells us that Jesus only took off His outer clothing, and the towel was worn specifically “around His waist.”

The other two translations are in agreement that it was His “garments” and that He used the towel to “gird” Himself. Without much question the KJV and NASB are more faithful to the Greek, but even there, I believe there are important things to look at as we consider our understanding of the passage.

Was It All His Clothes, or Just His Outer Garments?

The Greek word used for “garments” is actually the plural form of the word used for the outer garment common at the time. I assume that this is the reason that the NIV translators rendered it “outer” clothing. However, a wider review of the scriptural usage of that term in plural shows conclusively that the term when used in plural can (and may always) refer to the outer garment as well as the tunic worn beneath it.

• A comparison of the four gospels’ description of Jesus at the cross shows that one of the writers (John, 19:23) tells us that the soldiers stripped Jesus of both His outer garment and His tunic (chiton G5509). But in all four gospels (Matthew 27:25, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:34, John 19:24 ), we are told that that they took His himatia – the same word used to describe what Jesus took off to wash the disciples’ feet.
• Since we know from history that the Romans crucified criminals naked (How Did Jesus Die?), it can be understood that the use of the “outer garment” in plural can refer to all the clothing being worn.

This does not prove that Jesus stripped naked when He washed the disciples’ feet, but it certainly shows that it is a possibility, given the Greek word used. The English rendering by both the KJV and NASB correctly allows this understanding while the NIV clearly leads us away from it. This may be evidence of some squeamishness on the part of the NIV translators.

Was the towel around Jesus’ waist?

This question requires a more detailed analysis to answer.

The English word, “gird”—used by both the KJV and the NASB—leaves us with the impression that Jesus wrapped the towel around His waist. However, upon further examination of the Greek word used in this passage, there is evidence that calls that understanding into question.

I’d like to call your attention to three different Greek terms which refer to putting on clothing.

1. ζώννυμι (zōnnymi – G2224)
2. περιζώννυμι (perizōnnymi – G4024)
3. διαζώννυμι (diazōnnymi- G1241)

All three terms are related… The first term, zōnnymi, is the root word upon which the other two words are based, each including a prefix.

When they appear in the NT text, all three words are translated the same way (“gird”) by both the KJV and the NASB. But if all three words really mean the same thing, we have to wonder why they are different in the Greek. We should instead expect that the root word means one thing, and the added prefix modifies the root meaning in some way.

Let’s look at the words one at a time.

#1 - Zōnnymi is only found in one verse in the NT, John 21:18, where Jesus tells Peter that a time is coming when others will “dress” (NIV) or “gird” (NASB/KJV) him. From Jesus’ words to Peter, there’s nothing to indicate in what manner the “girding” or “dressing” would be done. Notably, the NIV does not use the same word as the other translations, but rather selects a neutral word that simply denotes the act of putting on clothes.

• Because it is a root word and…
• There is no indication in its NT usage as to how one is dressing…
• I suggest that zōnnymi does not communicate any specific manner of dress. This means that the English word “gird”—which denotes the wrapping of clothing around a person—may actually communicate more than the Greek word actually means.

#2 – Of the three words, Perizōnnymi is the most commonly found in the Greek NT. Of the 7 times the word appears, three times the specific location of the clothing is mentioned. Two mention the loins (Luke 12:35 & Eph. 6:4) while one indicates that the wrapping happens around the chest (Rev. 1:13 - NIV and NASB). More precisely, however, the sash is around the “paps” (KJV) which actually refers to the nipples, albeit those of a man.

• The prefix is peri-, and it is a prefix which we are familiar with in English. It means “around” and we see it with that meaning in the word “perimeter.”
• The contextual usage of the word in the Scriptures point to a meaning that indicates the wrapping of a garment around a person’s body.
• I suggest that of the three terms, perizōnnymi has the best evidence that it really means “gird” as we think about it in English.

#3 – Finally, διαζώννυμι appears in only two verses in the NT. One instance (John 21:7)—already noted in Part 1 of this series—describes the manner in which Peter put on the his ependytēs. The other instance is the one we are looking at above.

• The prefix is dia-, and it is also a prefix which we are familiar with in English. It means “through” and we see it with that meaning in the word “diameter.”
• Both verses in which this word appears in the NT offer little or no indication as to how a garment is put on since both verses describe the wearing of an uncommon garment.
• Because the prefix dia- means something very different than the prefix peri- we should expect that diazōnnymi describes a different manner of dressing oneself as compared to perizōnnymi.
• Based on the meaning of the prefix, I suggest that the we should consider this Greek word as describing the act of putting on clothing by passing a body part through an opening in the garment, much like we put on a sweater or T-shirt today.

But Does it Fit?

If the etymology of the word diazōnnymi leads us to consider a different manner of dressing oneself than “wrapping” with a garment, can we find that it makes sense with the context?

Looking first at Peters dressing himself with the ependytēs, we can’t really tell if he passed his head “through” the garment simply because we don’t know much about that type of garment. Still, it is certainly possible that it is a garment with a hole for the head; therefore, we cannot rule out this understanding of diazōnnymi idea based on its usage in John 21:7.

Looking at Jesus and his towel, let’s start with this question: how is a towel generally worn? Well, many times we take a towel and wrap it “around” us. But if that’s what Christ did, why didn’t the author of the text use perizōnnymi (peri- = “around”) instead of diazōnnymi? Couldn’t it be that Jesus didn’t actually wrap the towel “around” Himself?

Wrapping a towel around the body is not the only way that a towel may be worn; it also may be draped across the shoulder, or behind the neck and across both shoulders. We’ve all done this ourselves… if you grab a towel by its ends to flip it over your head, you would literally be creating a loop of the towel through (dia-) which you would pass your head. If this is what Jesus did, it would explain why diazōnnymi is used instead of perizōnnymi.

In other words, judging from the Greek text, it is conceivable—even probable—that Jesus did not wear the towel around his waist, but rather draped on His neck/shoulders.

Where Would You Keep a Towel for Drying Feet?

Thinking about it further, if you intend to wash someone’s feet and you want to keep a towel handy for the purpose of drying those feet, you would not wrap that towel around your waist… rather, you would drape it over your neck so that it is literally hanging inches from the feet you were washing.

I remember having a Sunday School teacher tell this story when I was a kid. She suggested that it “must have been a very long towel.” Why? Well, because a short towel would not have been long enough to keep Jesus “girded” when He used it to dry His disciples’ feet. But that’s just an assumption about the story that is simply not found in the text.

The Towel Wasn’t Around His Waist.

The Greek term used to describe how Jesus wore the towel was not the Greek word that describes “wrapping” or “girding.” The word used in this passage, diazōnnymi, actually supports the idea that the towel was worn across the shoulders instead of around the waist. Simple reason and practicality says that the best place to “wear” that towel is across the shoulders.

I don’t believe Jesus wore the towel around His waist at all.

In Review…

I’ve examined two questions in reference to John 13:4-5.

1. Did Jesus take off all of His clothes to wash the disciples’ feet?
2. Did Jesus wear the towel around His waist?

Neither of these questions can be conclusively answered from the Greek text. However, the textual evidence actually points to a “yes” for question #1, and a “no” for question #2.

However, if we answer the questions that way, it leaves the story wide open for us to imagine the scene with Jesus completely naked, save a towel across His shoulders… and the thought of a voluntarily naked Savior is not one that we are very willing to entertain today.

What do we find in the English translations, though? NASB and KJV both do well with Question #1, but with the use of the word “gird,” they tend to lead us away from the answer “no” on Question #2.

The NIV is another story altogether. On both questions, we are clearly led away from the answers that I have suggested are the most accurate.

Was Jesus Actually Naked While Washing the Disciples’ Feet?

There is evidence that in ancient times, those who did manual labor as slaves/servants often performed their work unclothed. If that is true, then being unclothed was literally one of the signs of servant status. Within such a cultural context, Jesus’ act of stripping naked would have very poignantly communicated His intent to take the role of a servant before His disciples.

While the Scriptural text does not lead us to a firm conclusion that Jesus was naked, it absolutely does not contradict the idea. Instead, it actually leans towards it.

Squeamish Translating?

What we find in the English translations definitely leads us away from the understanding that Jesus may have been naked before His disciples. This is most clearly in evidence in the NIV’s rendering. There simply is no textual reason to slant the English rendering that way.

Is it a reflection of our cultural squeamishness about nakedness?

Perhaps it is. One passage cannot make that case by itself. However, as we continue to examine other examples, the combined weight of evidence from several different passages may make the case more compelling than one passage can.

— Matthew Neal

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Squeamish Translating

Prologue
Introduction
Part 1 – Naked Disciples
Part 2 – An Unclothed Savior
Part 3 – Writing Scripture Naked
Part 4 – Unclothed Servants
Part 5 – Speaking of Genitals
Summary

Squeamish Translating (PDF of the entire series)