Tonight I was presented with the age old debate “Does the bible forbid masturbation?”
Interesting topic, and so little data, I was off to search online. I know I heard a quote from the bible before, likening it to wasted seed. In my quest though, I found this article in support of the theory that lust does not necessarily occur so masturbation alone, without lust, is not a sin….
If anyone can really believe that masturbation can occur without the comission of lust, then they aren’t masturbating.
Do people really sit around and contemplate this stuff?
There is thus a considerable disagreement among the public with regards to the linking of feelings of lust with the practice of adultery.
Does masturbation necessarily involve feelings of lust?
A person who is masturbating frequently fantasizes about a person of the appropriate sex. However, they can often find an alternative focus. For example, they could concentrate on their body’s physiological responses, on an impending orgasm, or on some other thought not involving a human sexual object.
So, masturbation does not necessarily include lustful thoughts, and thus cannot always be interpreted as adultery, even by the most conservative Christians.
Conclusions:
For many conservative Christians, masturbation that includes feelings of lust towards person as a sexual object is a form of adultery, as proscribed by Jesus. However, this would probably not apply if a person is able to focus on thoughts that do not involve another person. They might consider masturbation sinful for other reasons unrelated to sexual fantasies and adultery.
bullet For many liberal Christians, secularists, etc., lust is not normally a sin unless it harms someone. Many reject Matthew 5:27-28 as having been created by the anonymous author of the Gospel of Matthew, and not from the mind of Yeshua. Thus, masturbation is not equivalent to the sin of adultery, even though it may involve sexual fantasies.
Listen, enough of this stuff. C’mon. It’s a natural thing that is required physically as well as emotionally. Self-pleasure isn’t really addressed anywhere, by anyone. Can we just leave it that way?
[ Source: Did Jesus forbid masturbation in the Gospel of Matthew? ]
