Masturbation has been condemned in many religions. Even doctors and medical professionals in America once advised against it on 'scientific' grounds, selling devices designed to keep children from masturbating. Did any of them ever have a valid point? Is masturbation in any way wrong or sinful? This hardly seems like a reasonable position; instead, it seems much more like it is based on anti-sex and anti-pleasure doctrines of traditional religion -- especially Christianity.
People can experience a lot of guilt over masturbation, even to the point of not being willing to admit that they do it. That, however, seems to be more a product of cultural problems and not with the act itself. If people weren't continually told that masturbation is bad, then perhaps they also wouldn't feel guilty and depressed when they do it. Maybe if they were told that masturbation is healthy and natural they wouldn't be any more bothered by it than they are by other natural functions of the body.
Where’s my option that there’s no such thing as a “sin”?
A father finds his young son masturbating in his bed one night. The father says, “You better not do that or you’ll go blind.”
The son replies, “Can I do it till I need glasses?”
Nelson,
My father always used to say it’d turn you deaf, but I didn’t hear him
The masturbation issue is always of such deep importance to religious nuts. A few nights ago on the subway, annoying christian fools took over the car and preached to the captive audience. 99 percent of what they were saying was sex-related. They didn’t preach for helping the needy or ending war. They announced that masturbation and homosexuality and pre- or extra-marital sex was a sin in the eyes of Jesus, and lectured against it. I just yelled at them that religion was bullshit and told them to shut up and grow up. Other passengers in the car agreed with me and that really ticked off the wackos. It was fun. They turned red and began stammering when I asked them loudly if they thought Jesus never masturbated or if they expected us to believe they themselves never did it. When faced with these questions they simply launched into quoting general scritpure unrelated to the question. Where in the New Testicle does Jesus say it is sinful to whack off?
I think that it is a healthy thing in moderation, but it can consume you. I maintain neutrality, and therefore do not vote.
If masturbation were really unhealthy as was once thought, every normal male in the United States would be terribly ill.
350+ people have voted that it’s a sin? *sigh* it’s things like this that make me hate the human race, primarily because of the rampant stupidity.
I read a study that suggests frequent masturbation by men in their 20s provides protection against prostate cancer later in life.
Scientists in Australia determined that men in their 20s who ejaculated more than five times a week were a third less likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer later in life.
The study suggests ejaculation by means of masturbation provides better protection than ejaculation in sexual intercourse because men can pick up infections from intercourse that actually increase the risk of getting prostate cancer.
The Australian team was headed by Graham Giles of The Cancer Council of Victoria in Melbourne.
If masturbation is wrong, then I don’t wanna be right!
It is a rather hard and personal subject matter, indeed!
It bares pointing out, I would hold onto to firmly, that, when cumming to any conclusion; one should handily avoid, at all cost, blindly cumming off…perhaps too quickly…as just another old ‘stick in the mud’!
As President Bush might describe the touchy subject matter…
“It takes a lot of Hard Work!”
Years ago, my Dad taught me how to put a worm on the fishhook. He then said to me, you are now a master baiter.:)
Too much masturbation can be a weakness. If sin is weakness, then masturbation can be a sin.
>Too much masturbation can be a weakness
Some people consider stamina a sign of strength…?
Since it feels good, it must be a sin, right?
While it’s probably true that male masturbation depletes certain nutrients in the body (zinc, for one) it HAS been recently shown that there is a reduced incidence of prostate cancer in men who have more orgasms — which certainly gives a new meaning to the expression “Use it or lose it.”
There is no “moral component” to masturbation, just a bunch of bluenoses that get their knickers in a twist if they think someone else is having fun and they’re not. J. Edgar Hoover comes to mind (talk about twisted knickers!).
Now where did I put those multivitamin tablets?
(Since it feels good, it must be a sin, right?)
Using this standard, a slice of pecan pie with vanilla ice cream on it would be a sin!!!
Sure it’s a sin, in that it’s against some religious beliefs. The real question is, is it wrong? It isn’t, of course.
If masturbation was harmful we would have evolved shorter arms.
Too much masturbation may cause too much lack of arousal during sex. The deathgrip syndrome, causing the penis to lose it’s erection if it is not constantly stroked tightly. Also mental faculties of libido, looking at any given arousing scene of hardcore porn on the computer, may be desensitized and you’re constantly adjusting your pace. Over time these routines can brand themselves in the mind, taking into consideration the law of diminishing marginal utility. This may cause trouble in actual sex situations as you only have one setting/person to go off of and you’re not going at your pace but there’s as well.
Too much masturbation may cause too much lack of arousal during sex. Comment by Nick — May 11, 2008 @ 10:50 am
I cannot support your claim, but participatory investigation continues apace.
i think there are few things in this world that are “wrong”. if you are not harming yourself or others (emotionally, physically, or mentally) then what is the harm?
masturbation can be a sign of unhealthy sexuality. masturbation can create rifts in a marriage. but i can’t imagine being able to definitely say either way.
life is too grey to make such classifications. each situation need to be reflected on with all the up to date information you’ve collected. (would you believe that i’m agnostic, with a special bitterness toward religion in general?)
Let’s see. According to evangelical Protestant Christianity there is no hierarchy of sins; all sins are equal (i.e. looking at a sexy naked woman for a few seconds is equivalent to murder). A sin is a violation of God’s law and must be treated without any respect to its severity from a human perspective. Masturbation is an act of lust, and hence a sin, and therefore must be regarded as morally equivalent to murder (all sins are equal, remember). I’ve tossed off a total of 3000+ times since I was 13, so I guess, from a fundy Protestant perspective, that makes me as bad as the nutcases who hijacked aeroplanes into the Twin Towers on 11/9/01 and killed 3000+ civilians, right? Then again, these Christians probably don’t discriminate between the frequency of person A’s and person B’s actions, either, so gazing at a naked chick for a few seconds would not merely be equivalent to murder; it would be equivalent to massacring the entire world’s population. Me jerking off a few thousand times is as bad as the mass carnage orchestrated by Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Amin, Milosevic, Bashir and all those other tyrants through the centuries. Reasonable, huh?
Too much masturbation may cause too much lack of arousal…The deathgrip syndrome, causing the penis to lose it’s erection if it is not constantly stroked tightly. Also mental faculties of libido, looking at any given arousing scene of hardcore porn may be desensitized
This certainly seems to ring true of me. I’m only 17, and I have considerable trouble getting an erection without a helping hand down below. I know you were talking about physical arousal specifically in the context of sex, but I’m sure applies to physical arousal in general (I’m still a virgin, BTW).
It turns out that masturbation, like an apple a day, keeps the doctor away. Courtesy of Fox News:
What many may not know, however, is that stimulating yourself can ultimately boost your health in many ways.
Health Benefits for Men
Research summarized in a 2007 article in Sexual and Relationship Therapy found that masturbation may help men by:
— Improving his immune system’s functioning.
— Building his resistance to prostate gland infection.
— Making for a healthier prostate.
Australian researchers have reported that frequent masturbation may lower a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer. A survey of men found the more frequently a man masturbates between the ages of 20 and 50, the less likely they are to get prostate cancer. In fact, those who masturbated more than five times a week were one-third less likely to develop prostate cancer.
Health Benefits for Females
When it comes to a woman’s health, self-pleasuring serves her well by:
— Building her resistance to yeast infections.
— Combating pre-menstrual tension and other physical conditions associated with their menstrual cycles, like cramps.
— Relieving painful menstruation by increasing blood flow to the pelvic region. This will also reduce pelvic cramping and related backaches.
— Relieving chronic back pain and increasing her threshold for pain.
Health Benefits for Both Sexes
Masturbation rewards both men and women because it’s:
— The safest kind of sex, keeping you free of sexually transmitted infections.
— A great form of stress relief.
— A mood booster in releasing endorphins.
— A natural sleep sedative.
— A mechanism for building stronger pelvic floor muscles, which can lead to better sex.
— A natural energetic pick-me-up.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,401722,00.html
I was actually looking up at the issue to see if masterbation was a sin and actually the Bible does talk about it and it is not a sin as long as you are not lusting over someone ex (pornography). but other than that the Bible seems to discuss it as something natual and not at all bad. all it says is after you do it or after intercourse to take a bath.
Leviticus 15:16: “”‘When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.”
Leviticus 15:17: “Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening.”
Leviticus 15:18: “When a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.”
well I read that the bible wasn’t specific on whether its wrong or not. However imagine this you are a virgin and never stimulated your vagina and its your wedding night. You have no idea of what it will be like. I can imagine your wedding night would be awkward and painful. Masturbating prepares us for sex and I feel its more important for women as sex is more intrusive for us. So if the bible doesnt say yes or no it must not be a big deal. They just say make sure you dont leave a nasty mess. Which I agree with XP I do not like porn so much as it gives an unrealistic portrayal of sex so doesnt help with things to come.
I think its up to you how you want to do this. Your mind frame would have to depend on if its sin or not. God didnt give us something that wonderful not to allow us to use it KWIM? I think on the other hand it can become a bit addicting if you abuse it like drugs. I have always stuck by one thought. If Jesus showed up while you were doing what ever would you be ashamed? If so then you are probably doing what ever with a lustful heart. Its a matter of the heart not the reason.
No I dont think its a sin and if it were then the Bible would have said it clearly.
.. hahahahahah
Masturbation is a sin for those who believe in God and is not a sin for those who don’t, such as my self. ^_^
Wasn’t it Woody Allen who said: “At least it’s sex with someone you love.”
A joke.
Question: Why do dogs lick their genitals?
Answer: BECAUSE THEY CAN.
I voted “nothing at all wrong with it”, but I don’t agree 100%. For one thing, it shouldn’t be done in public. Also, a person could get so carried away with their own prvate pleasure that they lose interest in their partner – that’s not a good situation.
For those who think masturbation protects against prostate cancer…. It doesn’t, personal experience.
Has any single male here confessed that they have never masturbated?
Possible, but only because they are unable.
masturrbation is healthy only when a man cant have sex for whatever reason. otherwise its psychologically unhealthy cos it is driving the man away from natural way of releasing sexual tension. the same counts for women of course. i will not go into the reasons why someone cant find a propriate sex mate,the reasons being very objective to highly subjective.
First a word of caution to anyone who is, or who is considering, masturbation. This is a proven medical fact not some Bible tripe or old wives tale.
If you masturbate, even 1 time, ALL of your children WILL be born completely naked!!
It has long been said that 80% of all people masturbate 18% lie and 2% are just perverts. This is certainly true of men. Most men have some sort of sexual thought every minute. The religious zealots probably average far higher since they are so hung up on sex, all be it other people’s sex.
Obviously from the endless sex scandals that have plagued every religion throughout time they can’t control their urges any better than the rest of us.
But I attribute their constant endless obsession with equal parts of envy and jealousy.
The designation of masturbation as sin is one clever way religion has for controlling people. They take a behavior the humans are by and large guaranteed to engage in and tie it to a negative moral value. This allows them to take a normal biological function and associate it with guilt. Once you have guilt, they provide the guilt management solutions. Somehow these always involves submission to church authority.
“If you masturbate, even 1 time, ALL of your children WILL be born completely naked!!”
Must be true. All of my kids were born naked!