Masturbation: A sin?

[whatever]

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

[scorpia]

Perhaps, but we were talking about fantasy hurting others. You stated earlier, it was inevitable that people find out about all fantasy, whether disclosed or not.

Well most likely, though I may have been pessimistic. But this would change nothing considering it shouldn't matter whether it gets disclosed or not. As for the movie stars themselves, who knows what the think over some fans. For example, Nicole Kidman (I think it was her? Maybe someone else..... I forget) turned down many offers of money to pose nude. It seems she doesn't want to be like that. Therefore it seems it would be bad for her to be thought of like that. This would be an example where it would be bad.

What is the subject of this thread then?

That was the original topic, but I began using this thread after another went off topic. I am trying to show how lust may be bad

I've had ex's (after we were ex's) tell me that I occasionally still graced their fantasies. It's not something that has ever troubled me. It would trouble me if their outward behavior became obsessive and deranged, but this has never been the case.

Okay, I didn't consider Ex's before..... I never had one, or one that was supposed to be an ex........... still you would have been a couple once, then it would have been understandable. It may also be understandable for old flames to pop up. Maybe this would also be included with couples

If it was someone like my sister, I might be disturbed,

There you go

not so much that I mind that OTHER people do, as long as they are not plotting to rape or cause her any other physical or emtional harm.

Question is, where would it be okay and when would some of this stuff cause emotional harm?

[seventil]

Rereading the past few replies, I forgot what the subject was...

Just wanted to throw my opinion in one what I think is immoral and what is not.

Here we go....

It's late night and I'm single. I'm home this Friday because I don't feel like going out again. Flipping through the channels, I see the newest Brittney Spears video. No one's looking, so I grab some of the lotion near the... [details omitted!]

Is this wrong?

My answer: Yes.

Why? I am clearly lusting after a woman in my heart. I desire her sexually - if she was there, instantly, to do my bidding - would I? Quite frankly, yes. So, in short, I desire to fornicate with her in my heart.

Next scenario:

I am in a long term relationship with a woman I love. We have not, and do not desire to, have sex before we marry. We are engaged, but the wedding is 6 months off. I spent a day with her, give her a good night kiss, and drop her off at home. When I get home, I'm still sexually charged and she's still in my mind. I think about our wedding night, I think about being with her, and so on....

Is this wrong?

My answer: No.

Why? In the same way that Paul urges us to marry if we cannot control the "burning of the flesh" - we are simply releasing what could be a dangerous chemical and emotional unbalance, but in a good and moral way. So how is this not "lustful"? I am not desiring to fornicate with her, but I am thinking about sex when it is proper (when married) - although this may be a fine line, and you could say "I wish I could marry Britney Spears! That counts!" - I think you have to look in your heart. If you love a woman, it is not a sin to desire her when you are married. In my opinion, it is also not a sin to masturbate with this thought in mind - as long as you keep in pure and well-intended.

I am aware that not every person has a relationship with the person they to marry. If this is true, perhaps you should rethink your relationship. If you are not in a relationship, who should you think about? I'm at a loss here... I agree it's possible to masturbate without thinking of a specific woman, but it's difficult. I'd like to hear some opinions on this subject.

[worship-your-mother-she-i]

It's late night and I'm single. I'm home this Friday because I don't feel like going out again. Flipping through the channels, I see the newest Brittney Spears video. No one's looking, so I grab some of the lotion near the... [details omitted!]

Is this wrong?

My answer: Yes.

Why? I am clearly lusting after a woman in my heart. I desire her sexually - if she was there, instantly, to do my bidding - would I? Quite frankly, yes. So, in short, I desire to fornicate with her in my heart.

.

so is the desire to have sex sin?why is it so?why is lust a sin?u havent explained it to us.

the desire to have sex is a basic need of humans which cannot be avoided.It is as basic a feeling as hunger and thirst.So how is that a sin?

[Cheesewheel]

so is the desire to have sex sin?why is it so?why is lust a sin?u havent explained it to us.

the desire to have sex is a basic need of humans which cannot be avoided.It is as basic a feeling as hunger and thirst.So how is that a sin?

The desire to have sex, as you say, is most definitely a natural occurrence. The desire to have sex in itself is not sinful. That would mean every time you got a little "excited" you would be commiting sin, or if you simply wanted to have sex with your spouse you would be commiting sin. This is not so, to answer your first question.

As for the second question, lust is a sin because, to put it simply, God said so! =) It's plainly written in the bible that lusting for someone is adultery (whether you're married physically or not, your spirit is supposed to be married to God, so if you lust but are single, you are still commiting sin!).

How the desire to have sex and lust are different:
The definition of lust, as by Webster's Dictionary, is an intense sexual desire or appetite. Therefore, the following situation would be considered lust - You walk into a restaurant with your wife/friends to have a nice evening meal. All of the sudden, an extremely attractive woman walks by! You notice this woman and your jaw hits the floor. You can't believe how gorgeous she is. Instead of saying anything, you remain quiet and the lady walks on by and you don't see her for the rest of the night, but you can't get her off of your mind, because she was just so dang fine! When you wake up the next morning, you realize, "Uh oh! I must have been dreaming about her! *pats damp spot with a towel*". You go on throughout the day and still that gorgeous woman haunts your thoughts. You decide you have to see her again! Maybe she's a waitress there and you can catch her on her break! You go that night, but alas, you don't see her there, but you make a commitment to do everything you can to meet up with her again! You must see her again, at least get a name!

Now, do you see in that little story where it turned in to lust? If not, that's fine, a lot of people are unsure of when simple thoughts cross the line into sin (and no, I'm not saying I know a definite line, either, it's different in each situation, so you must be ever watchful!). If you didn't catch where it crossed the line, this can be a bit tricky, is when he woke up and still continued to think about her. You may ask, "why wasn't the wet dream considered lust?!?!" The answer is that we CAN NOT control what thoughts enter our head. We could be sitting in a math class one day and all of the sudden *poof* you're thinking about how you're out of dog food and you need to stop at the store on your way home to get some before your dog starves. So, dreams, as they are indeed a subconscious enigma, we can't be held accountable for them. So you may go back before that and say, "well then it's when he was at the restaurant and didn't stop thinking about her!" While it would have definitely been best for him to stop thinking about her right there, it's a fact of the flesh that when it's stimulated in any way, whether visually, mentally, and I'm not even talking about sexual stimulation here, it is extremely difficult to get it focused on something else! Say you were watching TV and then a commercial of your favorite pizza place is shown! Oh my goodness, that sure looked good! Now you can't stop thinking about it! Wow, you want that pepperoni and onion pizza so bad! Your body was stimulated in many ways, visually, mentally. Perhaps you even remember how good it smells! Now, unless something else stimulating to the flesh happens, it will continue to focus on that pizza. It's just how the flesh (satan) works, he tries to get us focused on one thing until we just GOTTA HAVE IT! So anyway, back to the story. While it definitely would have been best for you to put the thoughts of that lady out of your mind immediately, it would have been extremely hard for you to do that as you are indeed a human being in the flesh! NO LIE! =D So the true answer is when, after being refreshed through sleep, going throughout the day as usual, and STILL wanting her bad enough that you decided to do something, ANYTHING, to go see/meet her again, it became lust. You have to be careful what you allow yourself to think! While it's impossible to control the thoughts coming into your mind, it is definitely possible to rebuke those thoughts and focus on something holy and pure! It may be very difficult at first to learn how to control your body's/mind's reaction to stimulation, but it is possible!

To put it short, if you didn't follow that huge mess you just read, desire is simply desire, thoughts are simply thoughts. Dwelling on that desire or thought to the point it's intense and driving you crazy is when it becomes lust. If you've ever seen the movie Derailed, what the main character guy did is a PRIME example of lust.

Anyhow, I hope this has clarified a few of your questions. =D If anyone has any feedback on what I've written, please reply!

(as this is a thread on which the question of whether or not masturbation is a sin, and I did not mention masturbation in this post, if you are interested in my views on the topic, please follow this link: Masturbation! Scroll down to the post by myself, Cheesewheel {I believe it's the third one down}.)

[The Nice Centurion]

[Replying to whatever in post #1]
For all I know the steadfastest non masturbating christians are the Latter Day Saints!

And IF they do finally masturbate after all, they then fantasize about a nasty dominant clothed in Leather Lamanite princess