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One is wise to note that God did so only AFTER Adam and Eve had gone into the clothing business and covered their so-called "private parts". God did not design man to wear clothes except as protection which is why He may have replaced the foliage with the more sturdy animal skins as He sent them into the "cold cruel" world! The sacrifice of the animals to cover the sins, not the bodies, of human kind also presages the ultimate and future sacrifice of Yesus (Jesus) for the sins and sin of those whom would trust in Him and it in the "fullness of time".

Satan cons modern Christians, I believe, with diabolically-generated shame to believe the opposite untruth i.e. public nudity is shameful and unBiblical. Could not Adam's reference in Genesis to his shame have been about his disobedience rather than about his being naked? Old Testament ceremonial washings, including baptism, were performed in the nude. [Note 1 - Please don't hestitate to contact me if you would like the details for the source of this or any of the other historical facts included below. I'm a trained historian and also like to see the documentation for so-called facts that are not commonly accepted.] Christ, too, was probably baptized naked, as depicted in numerous early works of art. [2] Early Christians bathed communally in the nude at the public baths or public places during most of the second through the fourth centuries. This was common practise in Rome for hundreds of years at all levels of society. Public nudity was also common during this period in other parts of ancient Roman society. The writings of early Christians such as Irenaeus and Tertullian make it clear that they had no ethical reservations about communal nudity for Christians. [3] Christian historian Roy Bowen Ward confirms based on his research that "Christian Morality did not originally preclude nudity. . . . There is a tendency to read history backward and assume that early Christians thought the same way mainstream Christians do today. We attribute the present to the past." [4] For the first several centuries of Christianity, it was the intentional custom to baptize men, women, and children together nude. This ritual played a very significant role in the early church. The accounts are numerous and detailed. [5] Margaret Miles, a historian and author, notes that "Naked baptism was observed as one of the two essential elements in Christian initiation, along with the invocation of the Trinity. . . . In the fourth century, instructions for baptism throughout the Roman Emp

Jamie's is an interesting question. Initially, I reacted that the Bible tells me to only model Jesus. Then, I remembered Paul said: "Follow me as I follow Messiah".

Ms. Day's is a VERY interesting point. For me, it seems to be the opposite of that of too many Christians who don't realize that every Follower of Jesus is called a Saint by the Apostles in our Bible.

Given these reasons for his suggested reverence of St. Francis, would Jamie also suggest we "revere" celebrities not singled out by the Catholic or Orthodox churches who have benefited human kind in a way not normally associated with "building the Kingdom of God", e.g. Albert Einstein, Bill Gates ...to name only a couple to make my point?

In John 12:24, in context, Jesus again confirms that the ONLY we we committed can follow Him is as a " Walking Dead Wo(man)'" by committing suicide also through our own crucifixion with Him. He says the same thing in other ways in Matthew 16:20-25, at https://diigo.com/014z8s & John 15:5 at http://diigo.com/0jv2h . Jesus' Apostle (sent out one), Paul, makes clear his permanent status as a Walking Dead Man in Galatians 2:20. GaryFPatton (2013-09-25 © gfp '42™)

In John 12:24, in context, Jesus again confirms that the ONLY we we committed can follow Him is as a " Walking Dead Wo(man)'" by committing suicide also through our own crucifixion with Him. He says the same thing in other ways in Matthew 16:20-25, at https://diigo.com/014z8s & John 15:5 at http://diigo.com/0jv2h . Jesus' Apostle (sent out one), Paul, makes clear his permanent status as a Walking Dead Man in Galatians 2:20. GaryFPatton (2013-09-25 © gfp '42™)