Can a Christian use a sauna?
Question:
Can a Christian use a sauna? If a Swede or Scandinavian becomes a Christian, should they stop going to the sauna, even in a case that it isn't sexual?
Answer:
While saunas are popular in Sweden and Scandinavia, they are not limited to those countries so I will just focus on whether using a sauna is sinful. But in reality, the question is focused on the wrong thing. There is nothing inherently right or wrong about sitting in a steam-filled room. The issue is not the use of a sauna but modesty.
There are single-use saunas, so the issue becomes no different than showering. Public saunas can be single-sex or mixed. Typically people wear swimwear in mixed-gender saunas, so the issue then is whether the swimwear is modest or not. Even if you wear modest clothing, it is very likely that other people in the sauna will not be modestly dressed. In single-sex saunas, nudity is frequent. It would be no different than open showers for the same gender. However, society has been pushing homosexuality and this can cause problems that are best to be avoided.
Like mixed swimming, in general, the use of a sauna has numerous hazards for a Christian. But at the same time, it is wrong to make a broad rule that using a sauna is always wrong because the rule focuses on physical activity and not why it is wrong. There are times when using a sauna is perfectly innocent and fine.
