WESTFIELD, VT — Jim Cunningham is not a man who has spent a lot of time ogling naked bodies. Blinded by the ravages of diabetes, the 53-year-old conservative Catholic father of five has nonetheless spent 20 years of his life writing favorably about naturism and now extols the virtues of nudity in a new book likely to rock the helmet hair of many a right winger.According to the Associated Press, “Nudity & Christianity” is Cunningham’s latest and most ambitious self-published attempt to help the world get over its body issues. In order to do that, he’s made sure there are no photos to distract readers from his message, which is basically that “No matter what your religious persuasion is, all naturists believe the body is inherently decent. I see the body as not only decent, but in the image of God and the very temple of the Holy Spirit.”
Cunningham is frustrated by what he sees as Christianity’s willingness to let the adult industry and a highly sexualized mass media change the traditional respect and admiration with which the body was traditionally afforded. “If the body is just lust bait,” he opines, “then modesty is making sure it’s always covered.”
In Cunningham’s opinion, however, the body is more than “just lust bait.”
“But if the body is what the Bible says it is – the temple of the Holy Spirit and the image of God – then modestly doesn’t mean covering up; it just means comporting yourself in a way that does not cause lust in others,” he assures, possibly unaware of how erotic nearly any gaze, movement, or stance can be when pheromones begin to work their magic.
The former parochial school teacher is disappointed in his religion and its choice to vilify the human body in its natural state, pointing out that “it’s really their Bible that says so many wonderful things about the body.” In fact, Cunningham reminds his Christian brothers and sisters that at one time in their religious history, all Christians were baptized naked.
In spite of losing his vision, kidneys, and right leg to diabetes, Cunningham has not lost his faith in his God or the natural beauty and innocent pleasure of nudity. While his previous guidebooks and other publications have included black and white, as well as color photos to illustrate his points, “Nudity & Christianity” is a 596-page epic containing scripture, carefully selected quotes from religious leaders, philosophers, and poets – but nary a photo or illustration.
“I decided to put together, in one book, an anthology of writings from present day to all the way to scripture itself,” he explains. Accompanying his own words of wisdom on the subject are an unlikely collection of thinkers including Mark Twain, Michelangelo, and Pope John Paul II.
