,
recognized, it promptly discarded Christ's dedication to poverty, but it clung closely to sexual asceticism as a disciplinary instrument in a disintegrating society." 261 169. Repression of nudity continues to be used today as a way to further a repressive political agenda. Regarding nude beaches, Patrick Buchanan, on PBS's "McLaughlin Report," said, "I think we need to let the liberals do it, when they want to do it. Afterward take photos and use them in attack ads." 262 The right wing Christian Coalition uses blanket attacks on just nudity and other issues of "morality" to rally support for their cause. Their approach, as described by ACLU Executive Director Ira Glasser, is "to prey upon the fears of millions of Those who are all too willing to believe that sacrificing personal liberty will help solve our country's problems." 263 A Missouri legislator, in 1993, introduced a bill that would have made almost all public nudity--and even some nudity in the home--a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison! This bill was luckily defeated, though by a Slim allowance. http://59.125.224.93/MediaWiki/index.php?title=Quite-comfy-feels-great-and-life-is-more-fun-in-t have been proposed around the country in recent years.264 170. Much of the source of repressive attitudes toward nudity could be followed to the political setting of the early church and church state, though not the teachings of Christ Himself. The first writings of the Christian church demonstrate no signs of the negative approach toward sexuality and nudity which so qualify later years. This negative outlook grew slowly among some segments of the faith, but was by no means universal. For some, asceticism represented a way of staying pure for the imminent return of Christ. For others, it was a reaction against the hedonism and homosexuality common in Greek culture, or against the sexual excesses of the dying Roman Empire.265 For some, it grew out of a mix of Christianity with the legalism of traditional Judaism; and for many, it developed out of preexisting personal and cultural prejudices. Clement of Alexandria, in the late 2nd century, and Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus, in the mid 3rd century, both condemned the nudity common in Roman public baths primarily because it offended their private notions of female modesty. (In the same era, Tertullian was condemning girls as the "gateway of the Demon.") Jerome, in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, also condemned nude bathing, particularly for women. He considered pregnant girls revolting, and felt that virgins should blush at the very notion of seeing themselves nude. On the other hand, in the same interval, Jovinianus, a Christian monk, campaigned actively in favor of the public baths. Finally, the decisive actor in the controversy was Augustine. He was a strong believer in the doctrine, introduced long after Christ, that the body and sexuality are inherently sinful. (He used this doctrine to women's bodies and sexuality especially harshly.) Augustine was a clever politician. By aligning himself closely with the imperial court at the beginning of the 5th century, he effectively ensured that his version of Christianity became the dominant one. By the Dark Ages, with the Failure of the Roman Empire, the Church became the last remnant of Western civilization, with a monopoly on Schooling, and remarkable control over thoughts. So Augustine's tradition of anti-sexuality became the predominant force in Christianity, even though such ideas are impossible to find in the teachings of Christ Himself.266 171. The aversion of early Christian church leaders to casual nudity was due in part to an association of nudity with paganism and homosexuality in the surrounding cultures. In many pre-Christian pagan religions, like those practiced in western Europe and Great Britain, nudity- -especially female nudity--was a strong force, and played an important part in pagan worship and rites.267 172. The Church's aversion to nudity derived, in part, from its roots in the cultures of the ancient Near East, where nakedness had signified poverty, shame, slavery, humiliation, and defeat. Nude, bound prisoners were paraded in the king's victory celebration, and slain enemies were stripped of clothing and armour.268 173. Before Western civilization, nakedness was a ordinary component of life and considered http://ganemoscordoba.org/wiki/index.php?title=A-Rant-About-Climate-Change-y in many circumstances. However, as Freud describes in Civilization and Its Discontents, emotional repression of the consciousness of our natural being proved to be a necessary step in building civilization, by disciplining the majorities into Participating in vast and self-abdicating societal jobs.269 Lee Baxandall notes that, by contrast, "the post industrial, newly greening era offers fresh options, a opportunity to integrate the natural human being with post-industrial values, technology, and knowledge." 270 174. Nudity has regularly been censored mostly to avoid the more difficult task of handling it.271 175. Diversion managers frequently "allow" nudity on remote shores without facilities or lifeguards, then use