Every week I go to Confession thinking that I have committed mortal sin because I will see a bare-chested woman on an uncensored music video or on reality shows like “Girls of the playboy mansion” or the plastic surgery show “Dr. 90210” or when watching a love scene in a no-under-16 movie or even a national geographic program about an African tribe where the women don’t cover themselves. Television and magazines shove nudity in our faces and it just seems impossible to escape it. I feel completely guilty and think I am going to hell after seeing nudity even if it is unintentional. I hate going to Confession each week confessing “seeing impure images”, the priest is starting to get the impression that I’m a porn-addict when that’s not true at all. Please tell me - Is it a sin to see nudity? Grave or venial? If some of it is not, how do I judge between what is sinful and what is not so I don’t accidentally profane the Eucharist when receiving it.
Let me suggest you cultivate new TV-watching habits. You are *choosing *to watch shows that you know will contain objectionabl material. “Girsl of the Playboy Masion”… give me a break. You **know **that will contain profanity, nudity, and sexual content.
You are choosing to do this willingly. So, yes, you are culpable for your actions. So, yes, you should discuss this with your priest in confession.
I watch TV every day without encountering nudity, profanity, or racy content. That’s because I choose to watch EWTN, the news, the Food Network, HGTV, and other morally sound programming.
Stop filling your mind with filth. Stop watching these morally bankrupt shows and you will have nothing to confess.
This is different, as this is not sexual content. Shows like these aren’t on all the time though, so I wonder how you happen upon them with frequency. Anyway, if you cannot watch these shows without sinful thoughts then don’t watch them either.
Depends on the magazine and TV shows you choose to watch. I subscribe to several magazines, none with nudity. I watch many TV shows, none wiht morally objectionable content.
So, it’s all about the choices you are making. If you are reading pop culture magazines and watching pop culture shows, you are going to get a big dose of bad content.
You are choosing to tune into shows that you know will have nudity, so I’m not sure how this is unintentional.
That said, usually the images are blurred out if it’s on something other than a cable channel. If you realize a show that you thought was OK is taking a turn in that direction, simply turn off the TV or change the channel. If you are watching channels like MTV, E!, HBO, Spike, etc, then you are watching the wrong channels.
You need to discuss this specifically with your priest. It’s not necessarily a sin to see nudity, but if you are seeking out or watching a lot of shows that have it, clearly you are doing so for a reason. If you just “happen” to see it-- well, like I said, how is that you are “happening” to see it so often when I cannot think of the last time I saw something like that on TV… maybe the time I flipped through channels in the hotel on a business trip and HBO had something really raunchy on… but then I just kept going and never looked back at that channel.
So, is it that you are just moving through channels and see it by accident or are you tuning in to the Girls of the Playboy Mansion on purpose?
I think you already know the answer to this.
But, talk to your priest if you tend to be scrupulous. An underwear commercial that comes on during the news is not nudity and it’s not a sin for having seen it.
Nudity is not necessarily a sin. After all, many artistic master pieces contain nudity. If you’ve ever seen or read any art critiques from Sister Wendy you will hear her talk in great detail about the human form. It is when seeing nudity leads to sinful lust that you have a problem. For example watching a special on some African tribe is not sinful. But you cross a line when you watch it for the sole purpose of catching a glimpse of a bare chest.
As the other poster said, don’t put yourself in situations where you will be tempted. No one is putting a gun to your head forcing you to watch “The Girls Next Door” or read a smutty magazine. Is it difficult to turn the TV off or visit another website? Yes! Why do you think there is so much smut in the first place? It’s because billions of dollars go into making it alluring, accessible, and acceptable. But if you want to change that trend it needs to start with people not indulging in it.
I don’t know if it is a mortal or venial sin, but I would keep confessing it all the same. That way you will receive the grace of the Holy Spirit to give you strength to resist the temptation in the future.
I don`t think it is a sin
Funny thing - I watch TV and I never see nudity. EVER.
In fact, I’ve been watching TV since the 1950s - but nudity doesn’t pop up on me.
Guess we make different choices in our viewing habits.
I checked into this thread becasue I’ve worked in hospitals and skilled-nursing and it does take some getting used to being exposed to nudity. Would I ever CHOOSE to view it on TV? NEVER. Why? It’s an occasion of sin regrading purity.
Come on. You already know this, don’t you?
PS - even your user name is a slam against purity. Whaccha doin, man?
The action of seeing nudity is not a sin.
It’s what comes from that makes it a sin.
Your confessions probably aren’t good if you keep watching trashy shows like that- or, for that matter, you make trashy usernames on Catholic forums.
It is not inherently a sin to simply see nudity. The human body isn’t evil, and looking at a naked one in art, or seeing one’s spouse naked and admiring them (but not lusting after them) is not a sin. It becomes a sin when you see the person as an object for your gratification, rather than as a beautiful creation of God.
I agree that you need to consider the things that you are watching. Is it really that important that you watch these shows that seem to be inappropriate (or have inappropriate stuff in them)???
- The answer should probably No, if your faith is really important to you. I know I have changed the type of shows I watch to improve my faith.
Food Network is filled with food porn. “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” is the very den of iniquity – GET BACK SATAN!
Sorry, that channel and that show is a near occasion of sin. 
Viewing nudity isn’t sinful in itself. It’s when it’s used for pornographic purposes is when it’s wrong. You can see those shows(excepting playboy) without any wrongdoing or harm. Just don’t go looking for sexual content.
I agree. A pimp makes money by selling sex slaves. This views the woman as just a thing to have sex with, not the beautiful Creaton of God. He made the body beautiful, so it can be seen and viewed as such. People often times abuse this beauty in things such as porn. This is why additudes and laws think negatively of nudity. It’s not being or seeing nude that’s the problem, it’s the tendency to turn it into something sexual. That’s why modesty’s important. Be or see nude only if you know you can handle keeping out of sexual content, thoughts, or activities.
If the music video or TV show explicitly warns you that it is “uncensored” or that it is not suitable for those under 18, and if it gives a hint that it will have sexual images, then it is a mortal sin if you watch and indulge in it. You have full knowledge and deliberate consent in such a case. It is common sense that “Girls of the playboy mansion” is a near occasion of sin that you absolutely must avoid.
Now, if you are reading a regular magazine or book that is not expressly and primarily published to be a Nude publication and you are unaware that it may have such content, then it would not be mortal sin if you accidentally stumble on the page, unintentionally lust over it, and then quickly turn the page and take your attention off of it. It would be venial sin. If you were watching a show that does not warn or give a hint of immoral content (glorifying unjust violence, sexuality, nudity, etc.) and if is irrelevant to the main storyline, and it turns out that they glorify something immoral, if you do not knowingly and intentionally approve of it or indulge in it, then it is not mortal sin. It would probably be venial sin if you unintentionally indulged in it or approved of it.
That is a good point, not all nudity is bad. Look at the painting on the cieling of the Sistine Chapel and the statue of King David, etc. Those artist most likely had to view nude models or perhaps nude dead bodies to paint and sculpt them. What is a sin is lusting over it or even supporting other people’s intentions in lustful nudity. Clearly, Playboy girls do not pose nude just so you can admire the beauty of God’s creation and thank him for it, they pose nude in sexually suggestive poses with the clear intention to incite lust. Glorifying lust is their business. The same is with some movies and shows that intend to incite lust.
Pimpsta??? Pimpsta??? :tsktsk::tsktsk:Your problem begins with your self-identification. There’s nothing funny, cute, hip or cool about pimps. They are satanic beings.
The rest is pretty easy. Block all channels that may be a near occasion of sin. Don’t go to movies whose ratings tell you what you are in for. Purchase only reading materials that are edifying.
Is it a sin to see nudity? Look, we all know porn when we see it. We all know non-pornographic art when we see it. We all know what excites us sexually and what does not. If TV is so fraught with peril, unplug and try reading more enlightening material.
Get rid of Pimpsta. I trust you have a Christian name, no?