Tuesday, 04 August 2009
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Masturbation is Not a Sin!
When I read the front page blog post about the author who infiltrated the Christian campus of Liberty University, I was kind of saddened and disgusted. While I agree masturbation can become a sin, I don't agree that it inherently is one. That being said, I would like to note, that everything can become a sin; as a sin is simply when you set up an idol or addiction above God. I will attempt to clarify the true reasons that masturbation can BECOME a sin here. 1. Masturbation can lead to or accompany impure thoughts about the person you are dating or are attracted to.
This is a true statement and must be watched carefully. It is possible to masturbate and simply think about what you are doing and what you are feeling. I know many women who simply think about what it would feel like to actually be having sex or even simply on what they are doing. I even know some girls who think about absolutely nothing. In my personal opinion, scripture says we are to take every thought captive, therefore, I see no reason why this is not possible. Some women even spend the time exploring their bodies, all the while thanking God for the wonder he created.2. Masturbation is a very personal thing and can develop into a FOCUS on your self during real sex in a committed relationship.
When you get married and are engaging in regular vaginal sex, most women aren't satisfied completely. Thus the problem that if you have made masturbation something you do habitually in order to simply gain pleasure you may come to expect your partner to do exactly what you want them to or look down on them for not making you the focus during sex. Sex is a give and take thing. Some times you won't have an orgasm and you have to realize it's not all about you. You have to spend time loving your partner and they will spend time loving you. Some times sex will be all about them and you will not get anything out of it. If this is the norm however, then the relationship is unhealthy and you need to sit down and talk to them about it frankly.3. Masturbation can lead to pornography.
This statement is the most dangerous part of masturbation. This is completely separate from the impure thoughts problem because it is so serious. Many people are led into needing stimulation when they desire to masturbate. If this is the case, then obviously you don’t really NEED to do it and that it’s an abuse of your body’s functions. It becomes an addiction where you are satisfying yourself and making a connection to a woman or man who is not really there and is a hollow and negative act. It also sets up unachievable standards for a mate to follow. In pornography 99% of all the emotions and feelings portrayed are fake and the sex shown is simply acting. An old MTV show once talked about the lives of porn stars, the women especially talked about how sex no longrt had meaning anymore. They could have sex all day and not feel anything because sex had no real purpose anymore (other than physical function and for making money). How very sad. Masturbation, to these same spiritless sexual acts, is setting your self up for a stronghold that may become VERY difficult to overcome later in life.4. Masturbation can become a habit, addiction, idol, and crutch.
I know a whole bunch of men who have told me that they made it through certain parts of their life by masturbating. It was an area of escape for them because their lives were so out of control. Many talk about how they spend most of their time in their rooms because they would spend the whole day "doing it" and hoped no one knew what was going on. Some people have become so addicted that they will masturbate when they are at sleepovers or on trips where they sleep at someone else’s house. Others will tell you they don’t even know why they do it. Instead of getting help for their problems they turn to it because it gives a chemical/hormonal release that will make them feel better. Instead of reading their Bible for guidance and instruction, they turn to the feel good drugs that are given when you achieve orgasm.5. Masturbation is a simulation of sex and outside of mutual masturbation within a marriage; it is simply connecting yourself to nothing but you.
Interconnecting yourself has been a valid concern many Christians have asked about. While I don’t have much input on this subject, I do understand the concern and like pornography, it should be considered very much in your contemplation of this topic.6. Masturbation is a stumbling block that will possibly lead you to inappropriate relationships such as internet sex and possibly affairs.
Truthfully the latter of these is less likely, however, if you publicly do Internet chatting and what many call “cybersex.” You are in a lot of trouble. You are creating an outside relationship with the feelings of connection that come with masturbation and this can be a very destructive situation. It should be a private matter that isn’t really discussed with anyone else outside of these kinds of discussions.Overall, I could probably think of a few more but this is a good enough start. I do tell teens that masturbation isn’t inherently a sin, but it can, like anything else, become a sin. It become an idol or God in your life. You can turn any habit into such a God. Money, marital sex, music, TV, shopping, children, relationships, church, etc. can all become gods or idols in your life. You can’t serve your emotions or your body. As long as you are constantly seeking God---in your attitude towards your actions and truly feel no conviction in doing it, then you have no reason to feel you shouldn’t learn more about your body and share it with your spouse. Aside from these ideas, there is no real scriptural evidence that masturbation is wrong. Personal beliefs, traditional community feelings, and an overall religious taboo have flavored the current church’s feelings on the subject. If you are Catholic, I don’t have anything to say to you other than the scriptures talking about God striking the man dead for spilling his seed was because: A) man didn’t follow God’s distinct law about having to conceive a child for his brother who died and B) he was also “wasting” his seed which was to contain the messiah who still hadn’t been born yet. The Jews were expecting him and therefore every sperm was sacred and hoped to be the ever awaited Messiah.
So who is right? Those that believe masturbation is a sin or those that believe it is allowed as long as it doesn't become an idol?
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Comments (151)
@rectangularprism@xanga - Ok. God bless.
http://razzendahcuben.xanga.com/667039230/masturbation-is-a-sin/
@fueledbylaura@xanga - ummm sadly girls masturbate too.
@fueledbylaura@xanga - ...
LOL sorry it always amuses me how everyone's beliefs/opinion always cause a debate. Didnt someone once tell us there are certain things you keep your opinion to yourself? I think this was one of them :P And now I see why!
Oh people! LOL
LOL they changed the picture.
@nighttimedreamer@xanga - omg everyone stfu. im done with this.
@fueledbylaura@xanga - huh? wat i do? i was just sayin... although i think it is neither a sin or not a sin kinda stuck in the mddle i dont do it
@Pcgecko85@xanga - Hahaha I would like to see the study that backs that up. ;)
@jesusmoshes2@xanga - Fair points, but simply being focused on one's self is not sinful. We are told to take pleasure in the things God has created. First and foremost to glorify Him, but also because God has given us the ability to enjoy the world and take pleasure in it. Taking that pleasure is not sinful at all. Adam and Eve, before the fall and entrance of sin into the world, were given all the same physical sensations that we have today and they certainly had intercourse and they both certainly enjoyed it.
I'm not saying either way on the issue raised in the post—I have opinions on the matter but I don't know which are correct. All I am saying is that the "selfish" act of taking pleasure is not sinful. If we put that above God it is wrong, yes, but if we confess that God has created us with ability to enjoy the physicality that He has created, it is not wrong to revel in it.
Penultimately, the Neo-Platonic ideas that everything physical is clearly un-Biblical. God created the physical world and He created it perfect. Of course it can be twisted and of course people use sexual gratification for clearly un-Godly things. However, within the confines that God put in place, sex does not exist simply for pro-creation. It has a component that is directed towards the self, yes, but it is a silly error to classify everything that involves only the self as "selfish" and, therefore (following the logic that many Christians [and non-Christians, admittedly] use) it is sinful and should not be done.
Lastly, to further drive my point home, God created the world and set in it the laws that govern it and created people to worship Him because He deserves to be glorified. The world exists to glorify God. This is very obviously a self-directed act. Of course, God created many creatures so there is a component that is not self-directed, but in the sense that it ultimately returns to glorify Him, it is obviously directed towards Himself. Naturally, I would suspect that very few people (of course I know plenty would, but that is sad and they would be wrong) would claim that God is wrong in designing the world to glorify Himself. As creatures in his likeness, we are entitled to the wonders God has created with pleasure being one of the most wonderful things He has given us. It is magnificent that we can take joy in the bodies God has made for us (though this should obviously be done within the boundaries that he has set) and it is, in fact, wrong to claim that the physical sensations that God has created for us are sinful as He created these before sin existed in the world.
Alas, I digress.
@Random_Idealist@xanga - I don't believe the sensations are sinful at all. But God designed the sensations to be enjoyed between a man and a woman who had committed themselves to being partners under God their entire lives. If you're using the Bible to back yourself up by saying that God created physical sensations pre-fall, nowhere in the Bible does it say "Adam masturbated" pre-Eve (who was the wife given to him by God) or pre-fall. In fact, God immediately saw that Adam needed a partner, for it wasn't good for him to be alone. God created the world to be perfect and to work in perfect order. In a perfect world, everyone would have a partner given by God that would satisfy his/her needs perfectly, but since there is sin and imperfection, relationships don't work out that well. Some people never meet the right person, others go through infedelity and divorce, others become bitter toward even wanting a partner in life, others are poorly matched. And so we take matters into our own hands, and satisfy ourselves, and that seems to me a corruption of God's original intent and purpose for that sensation he gave us- a gift to be enjoyed between two people who love one another, an aid to help them express their happiness at being together. It's not primarily for procreation, no, but it is an expression of love and bonding to one another.
funny, i was always taught that when Adam told God he was lonely, sex is exactly what he had on his mind. after all, Adam was created with a penis, and presumably sexual desire, long before Eve entered the picture. and nowhere does it say that Adam was interested in children.
i always viewed it as a great story of how one acknowledges their own sexuality... Adam felt his desires but understood that there was only one outlet: masturbation. and while it got the job done, he still felt great loneliness. but instead of being specific, he only acknowledged that he was alone. God, already knowing exactly what was up, made some animals that satisfied the basic loneliness. but He created them in pairs to make Adam realize exactly what he was missing. so God created Eve so Adam could understand the sense of partnership that even the simplest of creatures already enjoyed. but first, Adam had to admit his own sexual desire to himself.
@JJPrint3rd@xanga - Actually that story was posted on a public forum so he made it known to a lot of people. Sadly divorce in Christians isn't that out of the ordinary, many of which the situation is just like that one. Woman is extremely sensitive to the idea of sex and any kind of physical touch because it was forbidden and dispised in her previous life. Many Christian women claim to feel "raped" on their wedding night because they don't have the experience of romantic involvment of that nature. The sad thing is, is that some women harbor these feelings of being violated, even though it wasn't on purpose, in their hearts for a long long time. God needs to heal it and bring a healthy relationship between these women and their husbands of they end up in many cases, as this one did.
@scrambledmegzntoast@hardestlevel - Sorry to offend once again but i was taught that the church varied beliefs based on the pope that is "in office" at the time. I have never tried nor do I claim to understand much about it.
@therantingprophet - thank you for clarifying that! I was hoping that was the situation.
And yes, I know several women who feel that way about their wedding night.. I was lucky to have parents who did not put negative attention on sex.. but then I was abused and almost raped by two men before I met my hubby so I had other issues to deal with in that area. God blessed me with an incredibly patient husband tho, and we worked through it together.
I think... that we should get closer and closer to God, so we can discern what God likes and what He dislikes (most of us are not there yet). It is imposible for us to discern the issue of masturbation if we are influenced by the world as we are today (we are conformed to this age)... if you read this part of the Scriptures deeply, you will probably agree with me...
Romans 12, 1-2: "I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect."
Are we offering our bodies and minds as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God if we masturbate? But mainly: are our minds influenced by today's thinking and general acting? Are we really capable of discerning the will of God (what is good and pleasing and perfect)?. Because if our spirituality is not advanced enough, we may be unable to correctly discern what He likes and what He doesn't like. If we are not really capable of knowing what God likes and dislikes, we could be like elementary school children trying to make state laws or trying to solve equations, when we are still not capable and we need to be humble and continue growing spiritually, and while we grow and progress spiritually, we should look for people who are more "grown up" spiritually and ask them what we should do. Of course people like that are not easy to find, they are saints, but there are, we have many books they have inherited us.
What sickens me most is the sites that are wrapping themselves in a veil of purity to promote masturbation devices toys to a Christian audience. Using Jesus to sell devices that are used to masturbate infuriates me.
This article while some might find distasteful sheds some light on this growing industry of Christian sex toy sites.
http://toywithme.com/articles/what-dildo-would-jesus-buy/
Well as long as we're trying to lable everything as good and bad, unethical and ethical...As long as we're deciding whats pious and what God would consider to be sin...
I think breathing too loudly might be a sin. Selfish....I'm going to Hell, shit.
We see what we want to see. By justifying our errors, we an create superiority within us.
I am a sinner and I am not as good as others, because certain groups of people have the right to dictate what is right and what is wrong. Hmm...that makes perfect sense....sure.
Wow, using this 'logic'..I could justify why masturbation is not a sin....but noone says anything but what they believe. If enough people believe one thing...the minority is wrong.
Feh. Pathetic.
I am Pagan so I'm not going to answer or talk about any of these.
I just wanted to say I'm so glad you mentioned that some girls do it just to simply see the beauty of their bodies. The naked human is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen (ohkay ohkay, right after my son) and I wish people weren't so cranky about loving your own skin. There is nothing wrong with wanting to see what your God or Gods gave you.
I am a 50 year old male who has remained a virgin and has masturbated just a few times in my life. I have never been married and i finally met a woman that i enjoy dating. She is 15 years younger and is Catholic like me. She wants to have children. She is not a virgin but respects my religious beliefs. I went to my doctor because I was concerned that I haven't have erections in the morning for almost ten years. His response was to ask me about my sex life. I explained that I was a virgin (he was stunned to say the least) and said that a man at my age who had never had intercourse might have an uphill battle. I believe I may be impotent. He recommended a proctologist who I haven't seen yet. A freind of mine is a Jesuit priest and he told me that entering a marriage knowing that there was a strong possibility that I could not have sexual intercourse would be a non valid marriage. It might be a sin. His own opinion that love is more important but since the church does not approve of other forms of sexual intimacy that does not leave open the possibility of conception he did not want to encourage me. Needless to say I tried my best to play by the rules and now I feel I am going to be alone for the rest of my life. I don't know if my impotence is related to my celebate lifestyle but my doctor basically inferred that it probably didn't help. I don't want to ask for Viagra because I will not have sex before marriage but I worry if I do ask this girl to marry me I will be a dissapointment to her and God.
Masturbation is a sin. To say otherwise who be false doctrine. There is no scripture that specifically talks about masturbation being a sin, but its the things that go on during the act. For example, the intent of masturbation is to arouse onself through touching onself. In this case you are gratifying your sinful desires. Romans 13:13 says "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather clothes yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature". Lets break it down. An orgie is simply a place where people gather to sin/ wild party. Obviously everyone knows what drunkenness is. Sexual immorality is any sexual act outside of marriage. God had a specific instent of sex (spiritual bonding w/ wife and reproduction) but the devil has successfully perverted something beautiful which God created. Masturbation is selfish and is all about how can i please myself in an ungodly way. Masturbation can also be seen as a homosexual act because you are doing it with yourself. Debauchery is commited during masturbation because it is an extreme indulgence in sensual things, a extreme indulgence in the gratification of the sinful nature. Ephesians 5:3-5 says "But among you there must not be a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these things are improper for Gods holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person such a man is an idolater has ANY INHERITANCE IN THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST AND OF GOD! If we do these things we will not go to heaven. I want to encourage everyone to really study out your Bibles. Know the truth. Your pastor should not be the only one who knows their Bible. We should all know our Bibles. Be a Berean! Acts 17:11 says " Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they recieved the message with eagerness and examined the scriptures EVERY DAY! to see if what Paul was saying was true. Do not trust anyones who. Study out the scriptures for yourself and then build conviction.
I'll still really never understood why it's a sin in the Christian sense = (
@sam - Utter nonsense. Too bad this thread isn't a current debate. It would be fun.
@xjadersx@xanga - What was the original picture??
@therantingprophet - Can you find the pic and post a link. I'd like to know what people are talking about.