Three things have been drawn to my attention just in the last 24 hours that have to do with nakedness.
First of all, last night a friend suggested that much of the art displayed on my site of a certain nature. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that!” I agree. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. I love art, including fine-art nude photography and other kinds of art that explore the beauty and wonder of the human body. Some of the art my friends do is nude, erotic, or naked. Whatever. I appreciate it all. So you will be seeing more of it on my site without apology.
Secondly, several have questioned what the pictures have to do with my posts. Sometimes they are closely related, other times not. I say, “Does that mean that in an art gallery all you can talk about is art?” Or, “When you talk theology, does that mean there can be no art present in the room, and if there is, must it pertain to the topic at hand?” Of course not. My blog’s tag says, “David Hayward artfully bares his soul…” That’s why there’s art present on my site, and it often has nothing to do with what I’m saying. Like my livingroom or my study, I have art present in the room, even when I’m talking about theology or wine.
Thirdly, on a more urgent note: someone living in my city whom I’ve never met or heard of called my church study today asking for me and wanted me to confirm whether or not I was the author of nakedpastor.com. I said I was. She very apologetically asked if I was aware that my tag “naked”, when clicked, led to porn links. I told her I wasn’t aware of that. I explained, like I have before, that my site is about me baring my soul and is not about pornography. I used that tag to help people find me as well as a way of broadcasting the confessional nature of my site. She was aware of that but wanted to draw to my attention that people could access some pretty nasty pornography through my “naked” tag. I told this very courageous and concerned person that I promise I will not use the “naked” tag again. It’s really not necessary anyway. She said she’d been alerted to my site from other Christians who couldn’t believe my site was a portal to pornography. Of course, any tag can be underhandedly used to access porn and I have no control over that. But I certainly have control over this one. So, from now on, “naked” will not be used as a tag word at the bottom of my posts. I’m grateful she had the nerve to call me.
The very non-erotic photograph is the creation of my friend Mark Hemmings.
My name is David Hayward, and I am the nakedpastor. I am a graffiti artist on the walls of religion.
WOW!! She was right…
red trees turn me on! oooooo.
look closely at the leaves… kinda like the ice-cubes in whiskey ads thing
Hey David
Depending on what plugin you’re using for tagging, you can change it so that the tags do not link to technorati, and therefore would not lead people to porn there. I use tags to link within my own site to other posts with the same tag. A tag doesn’t have to be linked to technorati to be understood by technorati. This is how I run my own site.
thanks matt… i’ll have to check out that option
three affirmations, david, from the left coast of america
Wow, I was joking about the content on your site
use the tag naked_pastor that should sort out your problems, or at least other peoples problems. I haven’t followed the tag but I think some people would describe all internet nakedness as porn, which obviously it isn’t. As for shane and red trees, well the mind boggles! 
These days, the images on your blog ‘seem’ to be prominently nude female art, especially women in what our culture deems as ideal shapes and sizes. As a woman, I can’t help but be curious as to why this is. How refreshing to see the incredibly beautiful tree image you’ve included with this post.
Your second point, no one in their right mind would argue that art has no place on your blog, and of course it doesn’t need to always relate to the topic. I suspect it’s the prominence of female images they are referring to, clothed or not. Maybe it’s a simple case of you being a healthy male.
Shane is a feminist, at least in theory, so perhaps he’s not so simple-minded as to only be turned on by nude women! Under the red tree would be a cool place to……..
David,
Yes, I was one of those who questioned your repeated use of nude/idealized female photographs. It was never my intention to belittle your appreciation for art, nor to suggest that you were doing anything “wrong.”
However, I think my original point is still valid: If you’re truly interested in artistic expression, then why limit your female nudes to idealized forms? To celebrate and admire the human body is to accept and understand it in ALL it’s sizes, shapes and life-stages.
As a Christian woman, I DO appreciate art but I also value modesty. I apologize, but I cannot, in good conscience, link to a site that “without apology” posts primarily erotic/idealized images of naked women.
For me, it’s not a matter of what is “right” or “wrong” but what is profitable & edifying.
Interesting! The word naked to me means being exposed in different ways not necessarily without clothes. I haven’t seen any art on here that is of a perverse nature. I’ve googled other sites for Christian information and seen nude sites that would be available. Using the word naked doesn’t freak me out in the slightest. The art work here is contemplative.
I like what you do here. As a writer and sometime artist myself, I love the attachment of the visual to words and sometimes I cannot explain ‘why’ the image fits – it just does. What is edifying for one, may not be for another. Art and music are inherently like that. So are the individual books in the Bible.
Now, if Solomon was able to attach visual images to his book…??
Of course even typing Disney can link to porn.
Ever typed in a web address wrong in the url? I’ve hit some pretty scary sites.
Yours is scary too, but in an entirely different way.
i’m fine with the breast glimpses
heidi put in MUCH better words what i was trying to say the other night!
it was just a little observation, i dont see it as serious as others, i still wouldnt call it pornographic.
dont worry your not up there with transformers yet
)
At least dave wiggins tells it like it is! I can appreciate that.
I don’t know that I’ve ever “tagged” anything so I’m not sure exactly what that means but i love the way you tie in the art
the balance is in line to me – loved the one of the male torso – I didn’t see it sexually as much as a representation of strength. well, consciously at least – Freud might interpret it differently
It’s your site, man. Do what you want.
Personally, I have never been offended by any of the images displayed. And only occassionaly by some of the writing. :;
do you guys have the ‘dove’ skincare product tv and billboard ads over there… the ones with the ‘normal’ women in bra’s and pants? i don’t know how cynical the ad campaign is but i know those girls do it for me! is that wrong?
i like some of the pics on this site and not others… that’s art for you, it’s subjective… i personally find the tree a bit ‘fluffy’.
i have a bit of a problem with people going on about the idealised female pics on here… whose ideal are they? not always mine… i have a whole stack of ideals.
i dare naked pastor to put up a pic of a really big fat naked man or woman… i wonder if he takes dares!
jon, they’re the media’s ideals, the ideals that bring in the cash. ideals that cause girls/women/boys/men (yes even males) to have eating disorders, and make a lot of “normal” people feel ugly.
but c’est la vie, this topic is starting to bore me to tears!
i agree up to a point… but the pics on here are not popular media pics… they are mostly made for love not money. i haven’t seen a single size ’0′ on here. i do think that the human body can be celebrated in all its variety… and when we are confronted with an image that makes us feel bad about ourselves we should ask ourselves why we feel that way. time was when skinny people felt bad and had a go at renoir for his plump nudes believing them to be an ideal they couldn’t compete with. we each have responsibility to love our bodies and to affirm each others… the artist gets into trouble whatever he/she does. we need to be aware of why we respond to the images we see in the way we do.
the popular media is crap because it tells people to look a certain way to be cool… this is not the same and i abhor it.
i couldn’t get bored with this subject. as an artist, the nude has had a significant part to play in my life… i’ve spent hours trying to master the lines and shapes… not easy.
btw… the dove skincare product ads i’m referring to really do have normal shaped women showing their bodies on film and i was saying that i find that attractive… it is a million miles away from the usual ‘perfect woman’ crap you usually see… i was wanting to affirm that.
Jon Birch, (if you are still checking new comments to this post)
I, too, love the Dove ads. I especially like the “Dove is pro-age” video clip at http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com. There are freckles and dimples and wrinkles and rolls. These women, smiling confidently and flirtateously into the camera, are role models for women of all ages. They seem to understand that abundant life starts with accepting reality. They seem to be comfortable in their own skin. They seem to be saying, “Beauty has a broad definition, doesn’t it? If you don’t believe me, go and look in the mirror! And then undress and look closer.”
It’s nice to hear that there are men who value nakedness in its original packaging and who judge society’s definition of female perfection as “crap”! I almost feel like going streaking through the neighborhood tonight!
ttm… get yer kit off and go for it! it’ll be worth a night in a police cell i’m sure!
most peoples bodies are lumpy and bumpy… even super models have their cellulite airbrushed out. it’s all pretty sick really, the way we are dictated to by the media.
have you seen ‘little miss sunshine’? the most upsetting bit was seeing a young kid literally being airbrushed for a beauty pageant so she would look ‘perfect’… it was abuse.
i know dove are trying to shift product… but what a great way to do it… the ‘ordinary’ is lifted into the realms of the superleague through the joy of the women themselves… even better than that, the ordinary is shown to be stunning ‘even’ (or is that ‘especially’) under a spotlight… love it!
yeh, the pro-age clip is really cool… now, if we could just have the same for men i’d be very happy.