Masturbation: A sin?

[whatever]

I just saw a television discussion about it, what is the Christian believe?

[otseng]

Are there any bible verses specifically against masturbation?

With my limited knowledge of the Bible, no, there is no Bible verse stating that masturbation is a sin.

I may be entirely wrong about this, but I think that The Holy Bible only mentions male masterbation as being a sin.

I would be curious if you could provide a verse to support this.

I think the reason why it was considered a sin was because of the whole issue of wasting reproductive material… Also isn’t there something about someone withdrawing prior to ejaculation and god striking him down out of anger?

I believe you are referring to Gen 38.

Gen 38:7-10 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled [it] on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.

Though it could be interpreted as you have mentioned, the context was not in having "wasted reproductive material", but in not continuing the line of Er. Also, I would not describe Onan's actions as masturbation, but rather withdrawal contraception.

What is clear in the Bible is that lusting after a woman is not right.

Mat 5:27-28 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

So, even watching porn is considered sinful.

The problem with masturbation is that it more often than not it involves lusting after someone.

I think the issue though is complex because I think it's unrealistic for young men to not give pleasure to self. If they are not married and their body is overflowing with male hormones, how can they release their sexual desires? Generations before, men were often married when their hormonal levels peaked. Thus they had an outlet. Nowadays, men (and women) wait until they are 25, 30, 35 or older to get married. They still have a sexual drive, so the only options available are to partake in premarital sex and/or masturbation.

As for nocturnal emissions, there is nothing wrong with it. No free will was involved with it, so there is no conscious decision either way.

[illuminatus]

But, while watching porn you are giving yourself to the person on the screen.

No, you are not! That's what I am saying. You are not giving yourself to anyone. People can become aroused and masterbate just to the sounds of another person being aroused. You don't have to even see a person. That's why phone sex works and other such services have been successful. You do not give yourself to anyone. Moreover, people masterbate to watching hentai and fictional characters from books. Do you give yourself to the cartoon character on the screen and to the fictional characters in books?

Face it kids. The reason why it's in the bible is because people believed that making yourself ejeculate was wasting seemen/sperm because they believed it was finite like a female is only fertile until menopause.

[Infinitehonor]

But, while watching porn you are giving yourself to the person on the screen.

No, you are not! That's what I am saying. You are not giving yourself to anyone. People can become aroused and masterbate just to the sounds of another person being aroused. You don't have to even see a person. That's why phone sex works and other such services have been successful. You do not give yourself to anyone. Moreover, people masterbate to watching hentai and fictional characters from books. Do you give yourself to the cartoon character on the screen and to the fictional characters in books?

Face it kids. The reason why it's in the bible is because people believed that making yourself ejeculate was wasting seemen/sperm because they believed it was finite like a female is only fertile until menopause.

But in all those cases you simulate it. Sex was made for one man and one woman. It's our bodies natural function. What happens when we don't obey that law? We get all sorts of STD's and heart-ache.

[The Hungry Atheist]

But in all those cases you simulate it. Sex was made for one man and one woman. It's our bodies natural function. What happens when we don't obey that law? We get all sorts of STD's and heart-ache.

Can you please cite just one example of somebody contracting an STD from masturbation?

[Infinitehonor]

I wasn't reffering to masturbation when i talked of STD's. However, i've heard of studies showing many negative side affects caused by masturbating.

[illuminatus]

there can be negative side effects to anything that is done in excess

[Corvus]

I wasn't reffering to masturbation when i talked of STD's. However, i've heard of studies showing many negative side affects caused by masturbating.

If you've only heard of them we can't really take that sort of objection seriously. Perhaps you could find these studies online and post links to them? For my part, I put forward a link to a study that shows frequent masturbation prevents prostate cancer in old age. That cleaning out the pipes regularly is also great for stress and sexual relief should be self-evident.

Of course if one masturbates to the point of self-mutilation it would be harmful, but as Illuminatus pointed out, anything done to excess can be harmful.

[whatever]

i will just mention that many of the studies that claim masturbation has adverse consequences were written, promoted and distributed by christians (some other religions have done it too).

I don't think that there are many within medical science (and im not suggesting it's perfect) that would claim it is bad for you.

Although, as some posts have mentioned, anything done in excess is often bad for you (praying? )

[Colter]

i will just mention that many of the studies that claim masturbation has adverse consequences were written, promoted and distributed by christians (some other religions have done it too).

I don't think that there are many within medical science (and im not suggesting it's perfect) that would claim it is bad for you.

Although, as some posts have mentioned, anything done in excess is often bad for you (praying? )

I agree, hairy palms aren't nearly as bad as everyone makes them out to be.

[illuminatus]

Dunno where you are getting your hairy palm misinformation. However, as to the side effects of excessive masterbation:

Frequent masturbation and ejaculation stimulate acetylcholine/parasympathetic nervous functions excessively, resulting in the over production of sex hormones and neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, dopamine and serotonin. Abundant and unusually amount of these hormones and neurotransmitters can cause the brain and adrenal glands to perform excessive dopamine-norepinephrine-epinephrine conversion and turn the brain and body functions to be extremely sympathetic. In other words, there is a big change of body chemistry when one excessively pratices masturbation.

Note: Masturbation is a healthy sexual behavior. Like other behaviors, when over practiced or addicted it can lead to both psychological and physiological imbalances.

The side effects of such changes to the body include:
Fatigue. Feeling tired all the time
Lower back pain
Stress / Anxiety
Thinning hair / Hair Loss
Soft / Weak Erection
Premature Ejaculation
Eye floaters or fuzzy vision
Groin / Testicular Pain
Pain or cramp in the pelvic cavity or/and tail bone