Seeing nudity in comic I regularly read - a mortal sin?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Benjinho
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
B

Benjinho

Guest
In a recent issue of a comic I read regularly, there’s a nude portrait of one of the characters. I’ve read this comic issue multiple times and haven’t dwelled on the nudity or enjoyed it, and the nudity itself was artistic/non-sexual in nature.

Is it a mortal sin to have read this multiple times, knowing full well there is nudity? Thanks for your help.
 
Benjinho said:
Is it a mortal sin
Click to expand...
If it is, then many of us will have to cease visiting galleries or studying artwork where there is a great deal of painting and sculpture as you have described this. I wouldn’t worry about this comic book. 🙂
 
I would worry very much about any comic book showing nudity. “It’s art” is no excuse. And comparing ancient art to a recent comic book does not excuse it. Speaking as an artist, the nudity is not there for no reason.
 
Were you reading it specifically to see nudity? Did it send you spinning off into lust?

If not, I don’t see this as a huge deal.
 
Given the fact, according to what you say, that you did not dwell on or enjoy the nudity and that it was non-sexual in nature, I don’t see a problem in your re-reading the comic. It is not a mortal sin or even a venial sin IMO.
 
Come on, Ed, the OP states that the nudity here is non-sexual and he did not dwell on it. Maybe it’s not the kind of art you and I like, but can it not be art nonetheless? Where is our comic book aficionado, JC?
 
Last edited:
Seeing nudity is not a sin. Looking at nudity and being lustful and desirous is.
 
Last edited:
I know you are getting married within the year so I’m going to be a little frank with you.

These are things that you must have formed your conscience about. You need to be solid on moral issues. I won’t go into the idea of a grown husband being into comics because I do recognize it as a medium of expression, but a husband or future husband should not really be uneducated on the priorities of such a medium and the morality of nudity that he is looking at.
in short, you really should know the answer to this in your own mind.
 
I agree 100%. There is no need for it in any media the vast majority of the time. Regardless, that point is irrelevant to the original question. I stand by what I said.
 
I agree. And yet it is all around us. One of the things I find so odd is the amount of nudity in modern “cartoons” It is drawn for a purpose. And that purpose is not wholesome artistic expression…
I’m not talking about Winnie the Pooh not having pants…
 
Last edited:
edwest211 said:
I would worry very much about any comic book showing nudity. “It’s art” is no excuse. And comparing ancient art to a recent comic book does not excuse it. Speaking as an artist, the nudity is not there for no reason.
Click to expand...
You seem to be projecting here.
 
I’m being realistic. Standards exist. Just like Hollywood adding nudity.
 
edwest211 said:
Nope. The “it’s art” excuse does not work.
Click to expand...
You can’t just pronounce this by fiat or invoke some special “I’m an artist” authority. If you’re going to say that any art involving nudity is per se not okay, then the onus is on you to explain the Sistine Chapel and the Venus de Milo.
 
Hoosier-Daddy said:
I know you are getting married within the year so I’m going to be a little frank with you.

These are things that you must have formed your conscience about. You need to be solid on moral issues. I won’t go into the idea of a grown husband being into comics because I do recognize it as a medium of expression, but a husband or future husband should not really be uneducated on the priorities of such a medium and the morality of nudity that he is looking at.
in short, you really should know the answer to this in your own mind.
Click to expand...
Aside from the condescending tone in your response…the intent of the reader also matters.
 
I have to respond because of extremely erroneous advice. First, bad thoughts, excluding cases where you voluntarily put bad thoughts into your mind (which could very well be mortal), work in three steps: suggestion, where the thought pops into your mind, delectation, where the pleasing appearance of the thought tempts you to consent to its suggestions, and finally, consent itself.
  1. Lustful thoughts with sufficient consent and full knowledge are mortal. Complacencies, that is, sins of omission by failing to throw off lustful thoughts instantly (not three seconds later, not 5 minutes later), but after the first suggestion, are also mortal because they are proximate danger to the mortal sin of lustful thoughts.
  2. Even if you are fully culpable of only a small percentage of all your bad thoughts, since a small percentage of a “very, very large” number is just “very large,” it is still possible to be culpable of so many mortal sins that you cannot count the number that you committed the next time you go to confession.
  3. It is possible (not guaranteed), that there is a number of sins beyond which God pardons no more. If this is true, then precisely those sins that rack up so many mortal sins that you cannot count the number that you committed, are the worst of the worst. If true (big if), then this implies that the sin of bad thoughts is the worst sin overall (worse than pornography), for the vast majority of men between the ages of 15-40.
  4. A single mortal sin that you are fully culpable of and unforgiven of will send you immediately to Hell. Period. Reach into yourself and tremble, because countless Saints and Doctors of the Church, thought people went to Hell after reaching the age of reason and committing their first mortal sin. Jesus cursed a fig tree the first time that it did not bear fruit. If He were to treat us in a similar manner, how would we repair our eternal ruin?
Therefore flee at all costs from sins of lust! Never stop sprinting! Do not ever look at nudity. Avoid R rated movies like the plague. Do not go to the beach, mall, or FaceBook, if it is too much temptation. Keep constant custody of your eyes when in the presence of young females. It is okay to look at the arms, face, and non-shameful parts of the body, but if your eyes dart to less honorable parts of the body, immediately look away. Or at least look very briefly, on pain of sin. Never look at someone you are very sexually attracted to, even at just her face, for too long.

No security can be too great when an eternity of torture is at stake!
 
Last edited:
  1. Go confess what you have done.
  2. Look for another comic.
  3. Study and practice the virtues rather than stress about sin.
There is an element of the demonic related to nudity and what it leads to. Archbishop Fulton Sheen spoke on this, as it was infiltrating the age in which he lived.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top