A few acres of prime Rio Grande Valley land is surrounded by a sheet metal fence that is too tall to see over. There are bright orange letters in front of the compound that say "Nature's Resort." The community is revealed by the gate opening. RV and small homes line the roads and the front office is the center of the community.
The only thing missing is clothing.
That's right.
Religion News Service writes and produces this content for The Associated Press. The AP and RNS work together on some religion news. This story is the responsibility of RNS.
That's right.
The owner of Nature's Resort found comfort in not wearing clothes. She was reprimanded by her parents when she undressed in public. She didn't pay much attention to the lessons. She lives at a nudist resort in South Texas and doesn't care about dirty clothes anymore.
She has been a Christian for as long as she has been nude.
Public nudity seems antithetical to the modesty often promoted by churches, but to Katz, the two go hand-in-hand. We are modest, or at least that's what they say. Modesty doesn't mean you have to hide. We don't display our wares, we're not adorning our bodies in a way that attracts attention.
Pope John Paul II wrote in 1981 that nakedness is not immodest. He explains that immodesty presents itself only when naked.
Public nudity is not sexual. It is thought that this is a sexual thing. People think we are out on the lawn having sex with each other. Someone is ushered out if there is any overt sexuality.
Mary Lowman is a critic of nudism and sees it as an insult to God. According to Lowman, the Christian dress code has been to cover our nakedness.
Nudism draws unlikely allies. Some conservatives accept nudism. When it comes to nudism, Ron Smith, pastor of the Church of the King in McAllen, does not oppose it.
Smith doesn't have proof that it's a sin, but he thinks it's odd. A retired couple sits in the front row on Sundays at a nudist camp. I think they are devoted Christians.
Smith can't condemn those who practice nudism because the bible doesn't explicitly forbid it. The bible supports nudism on a number of occasions. The people were nude. David was naked when he danced in the streets to praise God. That must be okay in the eyes of the Almighty.
At Nature's Resort, there are many Christians. Chip and Daisy want their friends and family to know that they are nudists. They are winter Texans who spend their summers up north and come down to the Rio Grande Valley when the weather starts to get cold.
One of the residents of the community is a black man named Chip. Chip and Daisy like nudism because it enhances their religious lives. Daisy says that the Christian belief of valuing others and not judging others is emphasized in a nudist environment. You don't judge someone based on their appearance or clothing.
It is one thing to be with a group of people. It is something to be with Christians who are nudists. There is more than one connection.
The American Association for Nude Recreation is a Christian organization with deep Christian roots. The American League for Physical Culture and the American Sunbathing Association were both founded in the 1930's.
Christian naturism was popular in the U.S. because of the preaching of a religiously enriching nudism. Christian naturism is popular in the digital age on online forums.
Nature's Resort's brand of nudism is not Christian, but some of its members have found it to be deeply spiritual.
Being a Christian nudist is easier than being a Christian non nudist. You have to love everyone as a Christian. You love everyone as a nudist.
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