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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | is masterbation a sin | Rom 12:1 | rabban | 191660 | ||
I have read right through the past postings on this matter very carefully and note that one aspect of the question has never really been dealt with, one that I would feel is very important. Parable's analysis of the question is very useful, and it does raise the question as to how far we can speak when Scripture is silent. After all we must ask ourselves, why was Scripture silent on a question which must certainly have concerned many men? God must have known the torment that could arise in sexually potent men when their sexual feelings were aroused through no fault of their own, and they were unable to be satisfied, say when they were travelling or when they were awaiting battle. And He must have known how they found release. Why then if He disapproved is nothing said? Moses must often have been approached privately by men who wanted an answer to the same question. And the same must apply to the prophets. Why then do we get no guidance if it was considered wrong? We are not talking here about a young man or a boy experimenting with sexual matters, where it is unquestionably wrong.But of a genuine problem facing grown men. I think Parables's summary at the end especially important. "While the Bible does not expressly address masturbation, it honors sexual purity and speaks to the content of our hearts and the life we give to our thoughts. Accordingly, masturbation should not be dismissed as trivial or irrelevant, but rather understood as a powerful experience that each person must consider in light of scripture, prayer, counsel and conscience." I think that is true. But let me suggest three scenarios. 1). Here is a man who dearly loves his wife. He married because he knew that the sciptures said. 'It is better to marry than to burn.' But sadly his wife is in hospital long term. Perhaps she is mentally ill and he knows that she might never come out. Or perhaps she is slowly dying of some lingering disease. And because he is highly sexed he is burning, and even in pain. There is nothing that he can do about it. It is his nature, the nature of which Paul spoke. And that burning as he works in an office with a woman at work is becoming uncontrollable (and only highly sexed males can even understand this). Yet he knows that if he finds relief in bed while thinking of his poor, beloved wife, those burnings will be controlled. He fears that if they are not he will soon do something that he knows to be wrong. And he knows that he will never forgive himself because he is loyal to his wife and to his God. What should he do? Here is another man. His wife has become very 'holy'. She refuses any more to have sex (I know of such a case). Again he married because he knew that he could not remain pure without doing so. Now he does not know what to do. His feelings are becoming more and more aroused and there is no way of being satisfied. He knows that his one hope of remaining true is to make love to his wife by proxy alone in bed. What should he do? Here is a Roman Catholic priest. He has made a vow of celibacy. He does not want to break his vow. Yet scantily clad women come to him for advice, and he feels his sexuality getting out of control. It has become not just a desire but a literal pain. He is afraid that if he finds no release he will commit some great sin. But he wants to be faithful to his vow (however ill-conceived). What should he do? I want to suggest that when we can answer these questions satisfactorily (women and lowly sexed men excluded) we have found the Scriptural answer to the question. |
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2 | is masterbation a sin | Rom 12:1 | azurelaw | 191662 | ||
Dear Rabban, Thank you for your input in concern with the subject. But I don't think "women and lowly sexed men" should be excluded. :-) May I offer the below quote from a study of the subject :- ------------- Masturbation and the Bible - by Lambert Dolphin " .....In actual fact, masturbation is virtually always closely connected with lustful thought life.....Many individuals who masturbate will admit that they use pornography, ....to heighten the pleasure and vicarious enjoyment of sex. All of these are, in reality, forms of idolatry involving the worship of another person, ... or the worship of an "image,"--rather than God. "Jesus was condemning...those fantasies in which we see ourselves possessing that which we are not allowed to have. He is condemning those fantasies in which we manipulate people in our minds in ways that will appeal to and satisfy the lust of our imagination. Whether it be a forbidden partner or a forbidden sexual practice, we must be aware of the fact that the mind is capable of endless perversions" (Ref. 1, page 119). Many Christian young people can not imagine Jesus Christ loving them deeply enough to help them overcome the shame of their masturbation. Thus masturbation is not an area of one's life where Jesus is welcome---it is usually private and secret. Excluding Jesus from any area of our lives is of course risky since we are then left in darkness and in bondage to sin in one form or another. ... Nothing we do, even in private, is hidden from God. (Psalm 90:8) To be more objective, the Bible is clear that sexual activity is always wrong outside of marriage. It is plain to see that masturbation is usually narcissistic. Narcissus was the Greek youth who, upon seeing his reflection in a pool, fell in love with himself, then fell into the pool and drowned. In other generations masturbation was called self-abuse, ... The emphasis is on "self," not on one's relationship with God or one's family. We can surely say the "solo-sex" is not part of God's original design for man which is for sexual expression in the context of love and commitment in a marriage...... Masturbation also tends to turn one's focus inward upon oneself, leading to shame, sometimes excessive introversion, often low self-esteem, self- consciousness and detachment from normal social roles. God did not design sex to be a solitary experience. It is supposed to be shared with another, and only in marriage. Sexuality is intended to be part of the complementary interaction of self-giving love between a man and a woman who are committed to one another for life. (See 1 Cor. 7:4 where the Bible states that husband and wife are to give up the right to their own bodies to one another in marriage). Within marriage the dynamic interplay between opposites can bring healing and wholeness for both the man and his wife. Admittedly, sexual desires are most intense biologically speaking when we are young and not yet able to marry. The spiritual victory to be gained (with the help of the Lord Jesus) is one of self-control (1 Thess. 4:1-8) and an inner purity that constantly vitalizes one's intimate personal relationship with Jesus the Bridegroom of the church. The Song of Solomon gives us a good picture not only of marriage but also of our individual relationship with Jesus Christ seen as a discipleship of love (Ref 2). God is working in us to produce wholeness and well-roundedness, a self-giving life style not a self-centered one. Previous generations of Christian leaders taught that instinctual energies could be sublimated and rechanneled into productive and creative actions in the world. This concept has largely disappeared in our time when the focus is on self, self-realization, and self-fulfillment. "No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German Army by fighting it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of the wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yield to temptation, is the only man who knows to the full what temptation means-the only complete realist (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity). " To read more, please go to http://www.ldolphin.org/Mast.shtml ------------- We are to glorify God. Anything (not only masturbation) fall short of this goal does not please God. Shalom Azure |
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3 | is masterbation a sin | Rom 12:1 | rabban | 191663 | ||
Thank you Azure, You will now see why I 'excluded' women and lowly sexed men. Neither can have the slightest knowledge of the extremly powerful urges that highly sexed men have. They can have a driving force which is virtually irresistible, and they go on and on and on relentlessly often destroying a man's usefulness, and very often resulting in actual pain and extreme discomfort. Now if we were talking about something specifically forbidden it would be one thing. My point is precisely that a wise God did not do so because He recognised the situation and need of special cases. Let me add another one. Here is a person with leukemia. As a result he has been infected with AIDS. As a result he cannot make love to his beloved wife. Can you perhaps tell me what the difference is between foreplay (which presumably you would not condemn) and masturbation with his wife in mind? There is little difference between the two. When we consider the emotions that foreplay arouse (and that is also never approved in Scripture, Song of Solomon notwithstanding) perhaps we should forbid that as well? Your article fits adequately the case of the young man considering the situation when he is unmarried. It overlooks totally the problems that I have described, and in fact hardly has them in mind, if at all. I would point out that the writer makes certain assumptions. How does he know what God designed sex for? Has he a direct line to God? And what I have described is in fact a bonding experience between man and wife. Is that not one reason why God 'designed' sex? That is why God gave us the Scriptures. It was that we may follow his will not men's ideas. especially in difficult questions like this. I have no intention of prolonging the subject. But until each one can give a satisfactory answer in their own hearts (not on the forum) to my questions I rest my case. In Him |
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