Masturbation

[quodestv]

Friends in Christ,

I deeply appreciate the candor of your responses. I have had the unfortunate experience of seeing topics such as these remain undiscussed because they are considered too taboo to bring up. This fact keeps people who have real questions about faith devoid of real understanding.
What is of more value? To blindly follow the verdict of an authority figure out of fear, or to question with chutzpah the very teachings of that authority in order to evaluate them on their merits? I side with the latter. Questioning, in my opinion, is an essential part of developing a real faith.
Serad, I can see that you have a strong faith. This is admirable. However, I only urge you to consider the reality of the position you are defending, if in fact you believe, as does presidentjlh, that masturbation is a “moral sin.” The implications of this teaching are far-reaching, and in my opinion, disconcerting. A mortal sin unforgiven, according to Church teaching, results in eternal damnation. So, consider G.I. Joe overseas who is married and separated from his spouse for 6 months or a year (or longer). One day he masturbates and that same afternoon is killed in combat. Does he go to hell? Seems a bit unfair and unbecoming of a loving God.
One might say, “Well, the Catechism teaches that there are extenuating circumstances that mitigate the mortal sin of masturbation.” So be it. I still am not satisfied. I am not able to contemplate the reality of a God of Love who sends an otherwise sinless person to Hell after committing the “sin” of masturbation, even if he is fully aware that it is wrong and is not under some sort of pressure (e.g. cultural immodesty, that he is of a young age, etc.). That’s not even a just consequence, much less a loving one.
More generally, I say to you, presidentjlh, that I am disillusioned with the idea of “infallibility.” It is true what you say about the Church’s supposed infallibility on moral issues. However, I would like to point out that if the Church can be fallible in one area, why can it not be fallible in another? Consider the document Nostra Aetate which for the first time announced that everyday Jewish people are not actually culpable for the death of Christ, and that people from other faiths can, in fact, reach eternal salvation. Publishing date: 1965. So what about Church teaching prior to that time…? If it is right now, then it must have been wrong then…or am I not understanding something?

 

[KaneKatholic]

I can see that there’s some very good discussion going on here, but I can’t help but point out that this entire discussion reeks of the classic “Catholic guilt” stereotype.
People have always masturbated; it’s a natural tendency rooted in animal instinct, the “will of the flesh.” The problem with masturbation arises, in my humble opinion, from the crude and vulgar thoughts that pass through one’s mind. Consistently entertaining images of women in sexual encounters makes every woman appear to be the proximate object of a sexual encounter. This breeds a disorder which Buddhists have aptly called “sickness of the mind.” In other words, one is incapable of escaping a certain chain of thoughts (you might even say that you are *imprisoned *to those thoughts).

For these reasons, I would urge you to attempt to at least control masturbation as it leads to this sickness.
Nonetheless, I feel compelled to say that I DO NOT in any way see masturbation as a moral sin. Teaching such as this within the church is downright condemnable because it leads to the alienation of so many of our youth (caveat: I am only 20). Mortal sins are such as murder, not make-believe sex. I would ask any zealous Catholic, such as “KaneKatholic” this question: "If masturbation is such an evil, such a mortal sin that it makes the person unfit for salvation, then why would God create man with such a vicious propensity to do it? Natural sexual desire is essential to being human and should not be irrationally condemned as evil by guilty Catholics.
My advice would be to get a girlfriend so that you don’t have to masturbate so much; it helps me. Remember that God loves you more than you can imagine; something this trivial does not endanger your relationship with the divine. Approach this rationally.
Yea, cometh the condemnation from the zealous guilt-mongerers…

well arent you mister new age:thumbsup:
look ,God didnt create us with a “urge” or a “vicious propensity” to do so… way to make yourself look smart. its an intrinsic evil the cathechism says so…but you dont listen to the catechism do you? no you listen to the gospel of self…and who says i said you can some how dislodge God’s love no you JUDGED ME lol
well isnt that how you progressives sound
and i from your point of view abortion is something that animals do also when they dont want children or if that child scares them yeah ANIMALS DO IT SO WHY CANT WE!
c’mon! and i do not do it and im 16 so what the heck am I unusual.
and its not a natrual reaction its a LEARNED reaction from either the media or spoken word either way the child dosent know if it.
it is a mortal sin because it is a selfish act towards oneself with a gift that God gave you TO RELFECT HIM
and iu guess i hold Sex at the sacred rather than the “its okay if it feels godd garbage”
and im not guilty im knowledgeable ii would rather be safe than sorry because the gospel is more to me than a philosophy my friend
and i dont allow sin in any form seriously! i dont play with satan… oh you probably dont believe in satan do you it dosent sit right with you does it wel i wont use that term i’ll use “negative energy” so if you play with “negative energy”(satan) it plays with you back and you dont want that do you.?