Is it a sin, and if so, a mortal sin, to let yourself be aroused if you’re not actually thinking of sex or objectifying anyone?
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It is a sin when it is done freely, intentionally, and knowingly, regardless of whether or not you are thinking of sex or objectifying someone.
That is not entirely true. It is not wrong for a to hold hands or sit next to each other on the couch, even if that also leads one of them to become somewhat aroused, so long as the arousal is neither sought nor dwelt upon.
Depends…the arousal in and of itself is never a sin…it’s your motivation…concupiscence is not a sin, but when it turns to lust, it turns to sin.
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oh, of course, but if you don’t intend it or dwell on the arousal then it isn’t lust. Its just an unlooked for physical response. :shrug:
Sorry meant to reply to polytropos comment…
if you are not aroused from time to time you are dead.
my rule is basically this.
when I find myself in the company of a woman that I find attractive and I become aware of the fact that my loins are moving I force the discusion towards a subject like asking her if she has ever read Thomas Aquinas.
In short I introduce God into the preceedings.
There is nothing like theology to numb the senses.
don’t mock it… it works for me
Sorry. I was reading this thread in context of the author’s other recent thread, so I assumed that he was concerned about what might constitute masturbation.
So, it’s only a sin if I’m purposely making it happen to get the arousal? What if you’re going along and you do or or say think something that you know will give you an arousal but you’re not purposely doing it so you get one?
In this case it would probably depend. You should avoid what you know will give you arousal if you are capable of doing so. Sometimes it’s unreasonable to do so, but you should avoid occasions of sin (things that you know could lead you to sin).
If you are thinking about how something might arouse you, you are probably going to get more aroused. Try not to think about it. Try occupying yourself with other thoughts/activities. Try praying a Hail Mary when possible as well.
Sounds like you don’t want to eat cake but you want to stick in your thumb and pull out a plumb and say oh what a good boy am I.
You are asking for trouble here because you are trying to find a way out of the amendments to the law that our Lord made; which to paraphrase Him goes something like this
Even if you look at a woman and get seduced by your own imagination then you have commited adultery.
End of argument I think!
I don’t know about some of these responses. I mean, if you are chaste until marriage, then you have a lot of dating ahead of you and if you are attracted to the girl, you will be aroused for most of the time you are in her presence. Is this a sin? Don’t be ridiculous. Are you allowed to kiss, hold hands, run your fingers through her hair, talk about your future and how you can’t wait until your wedding night when you are engaged? Of course! You HAVE do do these things just to get to know someone enough to decide you want to marry them. And guess what? Unless you are a corpse, you will be aroused by her smell, her looks, her kiss-especially if you have been chaste for years.
You aren’t supposed to picture her naked or imagine sex acts with her or anything, but come on, people. Arousal is inevitable as we go through life. As long as it is not LUST (treating someone as an object for your physical pleasure) or MASTURBATION or touching each other’s genitalia outside of marriage, then a certain amount of physical response to another person is expected. As long as you don’t seek it out as an end in and of itself, and it is not a near occasion of sin for you, the. Why would it be a sin? Your body was designed by God that way to draw you to your future spouse and mate.
it’s a sin if you are doing something with the intention of having sexual arousal. If you are kissing your girlfriend and you get aroused but the reason you intended to kiss her was not to attain arousal but to be romantic and show your girlfriend you love her, not a sin.
On the other hand, if you kiss your girlfriend with the purpose and intention to feel pleasure and arousal…yeah that’s grave matter.
Well, what about the weird feelings you get when riding a roller coaster or something?
arousal is just your body at work. Nothing is wrong with it. How you act on it, on the other hand…
Can I hold hands with a girl I like even though I know for a fact it will cause arousal/erection? Even if it is not my intention to get aroused?
Does something normal mean you will burn in hell…
You live in worry and fear. Take a step back friend. No one should live that way. That’s like saying if im hungry and I eat with I go to hell…
Didn’t someone just ask this thread?
Also, you should really ask a trustworthy priest with questions concerning arousal… random people on the internet often give conflicting answers and it’s hard to tell which one is right.
My rule of thumb is :
Honestly ask yourself if it is an occasion of isn. Also, know that it would not be sinful until you start to desire the arousal, or even worse, try to intentionally arouse yourself. Then it would be grave matter and you should stop.
Don’t be too scrupulous on arousal, but also don’t be too lenient
Again, you should ask a confessor that is trustworthy.
On the assumption you are a single man, interested in a future marriage, I do hope when you find “the one”, she too has read Aquinas. If not, I fear you have found a good strategy to remain single. 
I have a similar questions i was wondering if ithink about your pennies and it gets erected is it a sin as well