How do I defend the catholic stand agaisnt masturbation?

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So far all the “pro” responses were by men and none by women. Also it is assumed that married couples always have the obligation to procreate and if those days are past then a married couple will continue to have sex for the enjoyment of one another. Unfortunately there is a lot missing in those assumptions. There are women who are married whose husbands are seriously ill and are unable to function in any sexual manner at all. What about those women? Are they supposed to become celibate for the duration of their spouse’s illness? My husband is totally handicapped and sex in any form is not possible. Is masturbation still considered a sin? I wrestle with this problem often and hope that God is more understanding than many in His church.
 
Suppliant, I am in the same situation. It is very much not what I want, but there seems no help for it. After reading the CCC on the subject and speaking with a good priest about it (anonymously), I am quite sure that God is calling us in this situation to be celibate for the duration. I wish it were otherwise, but any kind of sexual activity outside of marriage is wrong, including by ourselves. I have come to consider it a cross I’m asked to carry by our Lord who suffered much more than this for me. He has given me the grace to bear it, which surprizes me, actually, and given a great deal of spiritual help that I had not expected. My greatest desire is to be faithful to Him, altho saintliness is not particularly a noticeable part of my life on the whole. Maybe this is how I am to gain it. I don’t know.
 
I remember reading somewhere (I think) on these forums that masturbation causes many health problems such as premature ejaculation. I’m not going to write a post saying that masturbation isn’t a sin, but I will say that the belief that masturbation actually causes health problems is ridiculous. It only really causes health problems when someone becomes so obsessed with it and becomes addicted. In fact, instead of causing problems such as premature ejaculation, it is more probable that masturbation does the complete opposite. A lot of people also believe that one must fantasize or have lust in order to masturbate, but you really don’t need either to do so. I also don’t understand why people say masturbation destroys relationships. Really, it just depends on the situation. Just because a husband or wife masturbates doesn’t mean that their relationship is necessarily destroyed.

I found these two links interesting to read:
plannedparenthood.org/resources/research-papers/…
twopaths.com/faq_masturbation.htm
 
benkim said:
I remember reading somewhere (I think) on these forums that masturbation causes many health problems such as premature ejaculation. I’m not going to write a post saying that masturbation isn’t a sin, but I will say that the belief that masturbation actually causes health problems is ridiculous. It only really causes health problems when someone becomes so obsessed with it and becomes addicted. In fact, instead of causing problems such as premature ejaculation, it is more probable that masturbation does the complete opposite. A lot of people also believe that one must fantasize or have lust in order to masturbate, but you really don’t need either to do so. I also don’t understand why people say masturbation destroys relationships. Really, it just depends on the situation. Just because a husband or wife masturbates doesn’t mean that their relationship is necessarily destroyed.

I found these two links interesting to read:
plannedparenthood.org/resources/research-papers/…
twopaths.com/faq_masturbation.htm
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Exactly it isn;t good to paint any situation with a broad brush.
 
“How do I defend the catholic stand agaisnt masturbation?”

No offense…but I find this question really strange.
I can’t imagine talking about masturbation with anyone, except perhaps my son, if it were troubling him or interfering with his life somehow. 🤷
 
Timidity said:
You’re discussing the wrong subject. Instead of discussing all nuances of Catholic morality, you need to convince him that the Church is the interpreter of morals, and not him. Once someone accepts that, everything else falls into place.
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This is really the crux of the matter right here. The Catholic Church says masturbation is wrong. If you are looking for Scripture that supports the authority of the Catholic Church, check John 16:13, John 14:20, Matthew 28:20, 1 Timothy 3:15, 1 John 4:6, Matthew 16:17-19, and sum it all up with Proverbs 3:5.

Proverbs 3:5 is a key verse. Much of this thread so far is about leaning on one’s own understanding, rather than trusting in the Lord. The Lord gave the authority to the Church. The Church said it’s wrong. It’s it, and that’s that. No need to look for an earthly explanation, if one truly trusts in God and has faith in God’s promises.

We should NOT be making understanding why God’s rules exist a prerequisite to following them. Instead, we need to trust that God knows what is best for us, and has our best interests in mind, and is always correct. Then, we need to respond with humble obedience, even when we don’t understand exactly why a particular rule exists.

Sometimes, obedience can be the key to understanding.
 
Janet_S said:
“The abandonment of the reproductive function is the common feature of all sexual perversions. We actually describe a sexual activity as perverse if it has given up the aim of reproduction and pursues the attainment of pleasure as an aim independent of it.”

books.google.com/books?id=Sfz0l6WSqFgC&pg=PA392&lpg=PA392&dq=The+abandonment+of+the+reproductive+function+is+the+common+feature+of+all+sexual+perversions.+We+actually+describe+a+sexual+activity+as+perverse+if+it+has+given+up+the+aim+of+reproduction+and+pursues+the+attainment+of+pleasure+as+an+aim+independent+of+it.%E2%80%93Sigmund+Freud&source=web&ots=xP4Ra9SaEd&sig=cHJTd5VPnSGTU1bHDDY7x-fM55U&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result

You’ll be surprised where this quote came from.

Hint: it’s not a pope; or even a Catholic for that matter.
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Do you think that in common parlance the word “perversion” is used in this manner?
 
so this means if you are seperated from your wife for months even years and u think of her then it is not a sin since your marriage is concecrated in the church…
 
The_Confused_1 said:
I am discussing this subject with a person. This person doesn’t consider this a sin. He claims that since it doesn’t hurt anyone, it isn’t a sin. That it doesn’t take away from sex. and that it isnt even sex. I know that this is a sin, but i don’t know how to convey it in a way that this person could understand. This person claims that the view of a masturbation as a sin isn’t biblical. Im a poor apologist. Please help.
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Ask him if masturbation is ok for a married man whose wife wants a baby.
 
it is a sin when your mind conjures up an imaginary partner. if its in your mind its sin. at 60 or 70 i dont think you will kill to many sperms,that would be the other sin,but being a male i know if you dont use it you lose it,abstinence makes plumbing not work to well. another questiobn is some married couples do this together is this immoral,i think not. this is a very controv ersial subject. we say if you think its a sin it is,thats conscience or god but we are taught as children dont do that so automatically we think its wrong because we are taught this as kids, so where do we stand?like i said its aqll in the mind.
 
I think that you should seriously do even a bit of searching on this issue. This issue is not only addressed by Catholics, but the general Christian public and you may also find it in other teachings such as Hindu ones.

There is a lot of information for this issue available, not only on this forum, but also the web.

You can start by challenging your friend’s erroneous argument:

“Since it doesn’t hurt anyone, it can’t be wrong/sinful” -

Having paedophilic thoughts isn’t exactly hurting anyone either, however not only are they deemed immoral by the general secular society, but also by the religious in society. Remember to stress the point on ‘thoughts’.

Hence we conclude that his statement is illogical. There are many other examples you can use for this.
 
Harmony1988 said:
I think that you should seriously do even a bit of searching on this issue. This issue is not only addressed by Catholics, but the general Christian public and you may also find it in other teachings such as Hindu ones.

There is a lot of information for this issue available, not only on this forum, but also the web.

You can start by challenging your friend’s erroneous argument:

“Since it doesn’t hurt anyone, it can’t be wrong/sinful” -

Having paedophilic thoughts isn’t exactly hurting anyone either, however not only are they deemed immoral by the general secular society, but also by the religious in society. Remember to stress the point on ‘thoughts’.

Hence we conclude that his statement is illogical. There are many other examples you can use for this.
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A thought can’t hurt anybody either. That’s the whole point. People may think of killing somebody…but if they don’t do it. there is no victim.
 
The_Confused_1 said:
I am discussing this subject with a person. This person doesn’t consider this a sin. He claims that since it doesn’t hurt anyone, it isn’t a sin. That it doesn’t take away from sex. and that it isnt even sex. I know that this is a sin, but i don’t know how to convey it in a way that this person could understand. This person claims that the view of a masturbation as a sin isn’t biblical. Im a poor apologist. Please help.
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My own (non-Catholic) view is that masturbation is a venial sin. So I am no help defending the Catholic view that it’s mortal sin. However, I would argue that it is a sin because it diverts sexuality away from its proper purpose.

Is the person in question married or unmarried? If unmarried, then “taking away from sex” isn’t the issue–perhaps you need to discuss the question of premarital sex before you worry about masturbation. (Not that premarital sex is necessarily a more serious sin–traditional moral theology would say that the opposite is true–but if your friend doesn’t agree that sexual impulses should only find fulfillment in marriage, then you have no grounds for discussing masturbation.) If married, then all I can say is that my experience is different from his.

Edwin
 
You can’t defend the stance that masturbation is a sin because it is indicated nowhere in any of the Scriptures. Onan was struck down when he spilled his seed on the floor because he disobeyed God’s command to take his dead brother’s wife for his own and bear children with her. He wasn’t even masturbating, he just pulled out. It was his job to perpetuate the family line and he failed in doing that. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take birth control or you shouldn’t masturbate. This was a one time deal where it was his DUTY to give this woman a child since her previous husband, his brother, had not had ample time to do so.
On the other hand, if you wan to go the route that says that you should do nothing that does not glorify the lord, then you must give up theme parks, vacations, dating, block parties, and all things that are fun but have no glorifying purpose. Do you really think that that’s what God wants? Who knows, but the most that one can really expect is that we just don’t do anything to directly disobey or disappoint him.
 
sarak said:
You can’t defend the stance that masturbation is a sin because it is indicated nowhere in any of the Scriptures.
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Perhaps you have forgotten that most posters here (all the Catholics and many non-Catholics such as myself) do not subscribe to a strict version of “sola scriptura” such as that implied in your post.

Edwin
 
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