Last updated on October 6, 2020
Question:
I had a question regarding nudity. I sometimes look at nude women. The nudity is not from pornography. I am not lusting after them, just simply enjoying the view. I am aroused by them. Is this sinning? Should I go to confession?
Answer:
“But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).
The problem with sin is that it is progressive. You look at nude women because it makes you aroused and you enjoy the feeling of being aroused. But what you are also doing is training yourself to look at women as objects to sexually stimulate yourself with. It won’t be long before you start masturbating to these images and imagining yourself having sex with these women. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God” (I Thessalonians 4:3-5). You should treat other people with respect, and that includes not staring at nudity because it arouses you.
Confession is a Roman Catholic tradition. It is not found in the Bible. However, you do need to change the direction of your behavior because you are going in the wrong direction.