Q: When Adam & Eve realized they were "naked" and tried to clothe themselves, what parts were covered by fig leaves? How did we come to deem the appropriately named "private parts" needing of coverage? Is there deeper significance here?
Another Q: Has culture also shaped what we see as needing of coverage for modesty's sake (i.e. breasts exposed in Africa; strict full coverage for Muslim women)?
Next Q: Has this also then led to negative connotations regarding our sexual parts? We now call them "private parts" - does that give a sense of shame in their exposure? Is that innate or culturally conditioned?
Since sexuality is a powerful force, as indicated in the Word, is this a protection God foresaw needed for humans... a protection from abuse and chaos as a result of the Fall? Yet Adam & Eve covered themselves first before God provided them more suitable attire. Before the Fall, being fully known (intimate) before God & others was free and without fear. Sin enters and that kind of openness about ourselves - which includes the bad - is full of fear. Intimacy - soul, physical/sexual, otherwise - impeded. Where once in Eden goodness and innocence reigned, full exposure on every level was possible. Evil enters our world and darkness settles, enshrouding much that used to be freely exposed.
We now live behind layers, of clothing and around our hearts. Casting back those layers to reveal skin or soul requires trust. Intimacy with other fallen creatures is a risk we take in that what we reveal of body & soul may be abused, ridiculed, or perhaps the worst response: our intimacy is returned unmatched and/or withheld from the other end. To risk much and receive not affirmation but a wall, is a tension difficult to bear much less accept. One of the greatest human longings is tied to intimacy: to know and be known.
Fear must not be allowed to keep us from developing healthy, genuinely intimate relationships. But, on the other hand, we cannot throw caution to the wind and be openly intimate with all. I, for one, am keeping my clothes on... at least in public :)
