Yes, they mean nudism

Titillating, suggestive, vaguely arousing...this pamphlet is not. Boring and off topic would be a better description of Karen Gorham's and Dave Leal's "Naturism and Christianity: Are They Compatible?" And yes, they mean nudism.

Although the Bible, as far as I know, never *explicitly* commands "Thou shalt wear clothes or else the good Lord shalt smite thee", it's strongly implied by context that nudity is generally unacceptable. Adam and Eve were naked in Eden, but started wearing clothes as the result of the Fall. Christ was almost nude when suffering on the cross, but apparently fully dressed after his triumphant resurrection. The saints who enter the New Jerusalem are also clothed. Gorham and Leal have only managed to find one example of a reputable Biblical figure who was nude in public. It seems David once danced naked in front of the Ark of the Covenant! This, of course, is a bad example, since David seems to have been a pretty ambivalent character overall...

What about Church tradition? The authors point out that early Christian baptism was carried out communally, with both men, women and children being nude. However, baptism is a symbolical religious ritual during which "the old man" with all his sins is put off (a kind of return to Eden), so it's not clear what this has got to do with modern naturism. Gorham and Leal are forced to admit that Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian, Jerome and Augustine condemned public nudity (for instance in Roman baths). They have managed to find one early Christian, the maverick monk Jovinian, who campaigned in favour of such baths, but Jovinian was regarded as a heretic by the Church! Nothing wrong with that, but since Gorham and Leal claim to be Anglicans in good standing, this is surely something of a problem...

The only good argument in favour of naturism presented by the authors is that decorum is culture-bound. Christian missionaries often preach to "tribal" peoples who see nothing wrong with exposing their breasts or buttocks, so why can't people be topless or naturists in the West? In the end, the very British authors of this pamphlet admit that some kind of compromise is nevertheless in order. Public nudity in general is a bad idea, since it might discomfort other Christians or, I suppose, be seen as lecherous by onlookers. Non-sexual naturism in a carefully secluded location is alright, being harmless or even healthy.

So in the end, Gorham (who claims she is not a naturist) and Leal (who presumably is so inclined) solve the problem by appealing to gentlemanly tolerance, rather than to the Bible or the Church Fathers.

Everything is well in the world. And, I suppose, on the beach. Ha ha.