Love that song... Anyways, i'm still not done with the new art for my blog  because i can't decide what to do for the title block... shall be figured out soon... i still thank Pamber for her lovely title block art, with her awesome paintshop pro skeeyals!  

CAUTION: The rant below is intended for mature thinkers only; while it may seem odd to say this, i think i must because some people may need to hear it. It is not intended to offend (or gross out) the reader, and no apologies on that account will be made at this point. Also, the line above about mature thinkers, and the others, were not intended to offend either, but seriously, if you can't read this in a mature manner, don't read it. One last note-- please remember that this is my opinion, and nothing more.

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So, i was thinking Sunday night, when i couldn't sleep, about one of the things Sawatzki taught us in class (odd, but just read). He talked about the difference between Naked and Nude. I have a slightly tweaked veiw of it, and here it is, written out (finally).

When people hear either of the words naked or nude, they usually react to both in the same way: eew. But there is a difference between the two. They both involve the lack of coveringon the body, but they are two very different words describing two very different things.

Nude. Makes you think of Roman art, or Renaisance art, or some form of art. Nude is a veiw of the human body as nothing more than a body; it is not intended to be gross or sexual in any way. If it is interpreted to be so, it is solely the interpreter's doing. Nude is innocence; it's that picture millions of mothers have of their child in the bathtub, or that same child (having escaped the clutches of the bathroom) running around in his or her birthday suit. It's a painting of a human--maybe standing, sitting, or in some other mediocre pose--showing the dynamics of the body, or even the beauty of it's structure. Nude is what God intended people to be; having no shame, no need to worry about covering anything. But when Adam and Eve learned of sin, and realized that they weren't covered, they learned what shame was.

Naked is embarresment; it's what you are when someone walks in on you after a shower, or while you're getting dressed. Naked is ugly; its a streaker, a flasher it's "indecent exposure", which sums it all up: naked is being exposed, and being so without any decency or respect. Physically, it's pornography, stripping, anything where the body is exposed in a sexual or otherwise indecent manner. But above all, naked is shame. It's the shame of the body God gave you being exposed against your will, unrespectfully, before unworthy eyes. It's rape, along with any sexual crimes.

The most different thing about Nakedness from Nudeness, however, is that Nakedness is more often not just a physical thing. When you become naked before someone and tell the truth, or when you bear out your soul to them, or let them tear you apart to get the answers they are seeking; these all involve shame, or humility, or even fear. Another very good example is becoming naked before God. God already knows what you have under your outer coverings, the clothing of your soul; He will not force you to reveal any of it to Him, though. Adam and Eve learned of sin by sinning. They realized that they had sinned, just as they realized that they were naked, and felt ashamed. They covered themselves, and when they heard God coming through the garden, they were afraid and hid. God knew that they had hidden, and what they had done, but still He asked, "Where are you?". Adam answered that he was afraid when he heard God coming, because he was naked, and hid. God knew that he had eaten from the tree, but still asked Him what he had done. He was dissapointed in both of them, and punished them, and the serpent as well, yet He never deserted them. But we have something Adam and Eve didn't have: We have Jesus. Jesus took upon him all of our shame, and it died with him on the cross, and did not rise again when he rose. He was the last blood sacrifice, and his life paid for all of our sins. But, more than that, Jesus rose from the grave, with the keys of death, so that we too can come out of our graves. We need only to come before him, naked, and he looks on us, and says, "My child, how I love you." He clothes us in white, the purest white, and we are ashamed no more of what was, because we are covered now by Jesus.

Whew! Finally done! So, i'll let ya'll get on with your lives now, and have an awesome day!

Toodles!