Masturbation.

[ThePastafarian]

My very religious friend recently told me that on a sheet of sins, masturbating was written. I’m very much agnostic, but I’m not hear to debate on that. I was raised with no religion, my parents allowed to make a choice rather than shoving brain-washing material down my throat (Think about it, you believed in Santa Claus as a kid, you’ll believe anything). So, upon hearing this, I took to the internet, eager to see if it was true. On my Google search I came upon a thread about the subject and apparently it’s a “Grave sin”. Do you people realize the plethora of health benefits masturbating brings? It’s a sleep aid, it releases tension, and it keeps your (Excuse my bluntness) testicles making fresh, healthy sperm, as opposed to keeping it inside where it begins to deteriorate. Now, I invite any one of you to come and tell me why I’m wrong. What I don’t want, however, is simple “Because god says so” arguments. They’re simple-minded and no matter how many points you bring, you can’t win them. Also, a righteous moderator may delete this post. I implore you not to, however. Perhaps if I happen to see the light on this subject, I’ll be closer to god, and you wouldn’t want to prevent that, correct?
Also, I feel I should add that I’m a happily married man, making good money every year with 2 kids. My life has been just fine without going to church or praying.
Oh, by the way, I originally posted this in the answers section, but I highly doubt it would get posted, so now it’s here.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Weird post. If you really wanted to know why Catholics believe that you would just do a quick Google, or at the very least ask in a polite manner. But it seems that you just want to antagonize.

 

[ThePastafarian]

Weird post. If you really wanted to know why Catholics believe that you would just do a quick Google, or at the very least ask in a polite manner. But it seems that you just want to antagonize.

I could very easily google why catholics believe it. I wanted to see a community discussion on it, and further my insight on their reasoning on a more personal level. I apologize if I seem antagonistic, it wasn’t my intent. It may have slipped in after reading some threads that annoyed me a bit, I apologize.

 

[Rolltide]

(Think about it, you believed in Santa Claus as a kid, you’ll believe anything).

Well… while Catholics don’t believe in a man in a red and white suit flying around the world pulled by eight reindeer, we most certainly believe that St. Nicholas (Sinterklaas in Dutch) was a real third century bishop in Turkey who was famous for helping children, especially young girls. He gave toys to young children, and would put money in the stockings hung in the windows of the homes of poor girls at night so they would have a dowry and not be forced into a life of prostitution. His existence is an historical fact, even if many of the details of his story have been exaggerated in the last one hundred years.

 

[fastenatingguy]

Whether there are “health benefits” associated with masturbation, I am not qualified to respond, but others will. If not, there are likely other threads with this information, and you can do a search for them. But couldn’t the same benefits be derived from a little nookie with your spouse, as the man upstairs (that would be God) intended?

It is a “grave sin” and so it is not realistic to present a faith based argument that you do not seek in the first place. It has been a grave sin for me to deal with, and God’s gift of Reconciliation has been helpful to me.

I hope I have been charitable (and brief) and defer to others to respond.

I wish you happiness and blessings, and perhaps one day you may find that there is more to life, and you seek that happiness in the right place.

 

[Conqueror]

Whether there are “health benefits” associated with masturbation, I am not qualified to respond, but others will. If not, there are likely other threads with this information, and you can do a search for them. But couldn’t the same benefits be derived from a little nookie with your spouse, as the man upstairs (that would be God) intended?

It is a “grave sin” and so it is not realistic to present a faith based argument that you do not seek in the first place. It has been a grave sin for me to deal with, and God’s gift of Reconciliation has been helpful to me.

I hope I have been charitable (and brief) and defer to others to respond.

I wish you happiness and blessings, and perhaps one day you may find that there is more to life, and you seek that happiness in the right place.

Are you suggesting that masturbation using your spouse is what God intended? I thought that you had to love your spouse.

 

[cjmclark]

Are you suggesting that masturbation using your spouse is what God intended? I thought that you had to love your spouse.

That’s not at all what he’s suggesting. He’s saying that any of the “health benefits” purported to be associated with masturbation can quite easily be achieved through engaging in sex with your spouse, so why indulge yourself in a grave matter when you can engage in unitive intercourse with your loved one?

 

[Durus]

That’s not at all what he’s suggesting. He’s saying that any of the “health benefits” purported to be associated with masturbation can quite easily be achieved through engaging in sex with your spouse, so why indulge yourself in a grave matter when you can engage in unitive intercourse with your loved one?

What if you’re a bachelor or a Priest?

 

[cjmclark]

What if you’re a bachelor or a Priest?

LOL. A “gotcha” question, eh?

Well, no dice. Even if you can provide compelling medical evidence that directly links masturbation to its supposed benefits (as in some that shows actual causation as opposed to mere correlation; all the studies I find use the word “may” a whole lot), that doesn’t negate the fact that it’s seen as an objectively disordered act by the Church in that it takes a sexual act intended by God (sorry, OP, you’re just going to have to be disappointed and unconvinced here) to be both unitive and procreative and makes it neither one.

Catholic bachelors and priests are called to chastity. There ya have it. Some will succeed better than others, but for those who truly acknowledge that it’s wrong and repent of it, there’s always Reconciliation.

 

[thistle]

My very religious friend recently told me that on a sheet of sins, masturbating was written. I’m very much agnostic, but I’m not hear to debate on that. I was raised with no religion, my parents allowed to make a choice rather than shoving brain-washing material down my throat (Think about it, you believed in Santa Claus as a kid, you’ll believe anything). So, upon hearing this, I took to the internet, eager to see if it was true. On my Google search I came upon a thread about the subject and apparently it’s a “Grave sin”. Do you people realize the plethora of health benefits masturbating brings? It’s a sleep aid, it releases tension, and it keeps your (Excuse my bluntness) testicles making fresh, healthy sperm, as opposed to keeping it inside where it begins to deteriorate. Now, I invite any one of you to come and tell me why I’m wrong. What I don’t want, however, is simple “Because god says so” arguments. They’re simple-minded and no matter how many points you bring, you can’t win them. Also, a righteous moderator may delete this post. I implore you not to, however. Perhaps if I happen to see the light on this subject, I’ll be closer to god, and you wouldn’t want to prevent that, correct?
Also, I feel I should add that I’m a happily married man, making good money every year with 2 kids. My life has been just fine without going to church or praying.
Oh, by the way, I originally posted this in the answers section, but I highly doubt it would get posted, so now it’s here.

Why not do a forum search here because there have already been dozens on this topic.

The Church teaching:

CCC 2352 By masturbation is to be understood the deliberate stimulation of the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure. “Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action.” “The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose.” For here sexual pleasure is sought outside of “the sexual relationship which is demanded by the moral order and in which the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love is achieved.”

 

[Bryan_O_Connell]

Even if there was medical evidence I would agree with the church’s teaching that it is a grave matter. This is because it has not done me any favours emotionally or spiritually. It can lead to feelings of being discouraged with yourself, Despair, Dryness in Prayer, lack of trust in God. It is quite a struggle for some of us.

 

[mark_a]

   Also, I feel I should add that I'm a happily married man, making good money every year with 2 kids.

How does your wife feel about your habit?

 

[prodigalson2011]

My very religious friend recently told me that on a sheet of sins, masturbating was written. I’m very much agnostic, but I’m not hear to debate on that. I was raised with no religion, my parents allowed to make a choice rather than shoving brain-washing material down my throat (Think about it, you believed in Santa Claus as a kid, you’ll believe anything).

It’s a bit rude to refer to the faith of those here as brain washing and insinuate that all believers are the equivalent of gullible children.

So, upon hearing this, I took to the internet, eager to see if it was true. On my Google search I came upon a thread about the subject and apparently it’s a “Grave sin”. Do you people realize the plethora of health benefits masturbating brings? It’s a sleep aid, it releases tension, and it keeps your (Excuse my bluntness) testicles making fresh, healthy sperm, as opposed to keeping it inside where it begins to deteriorate.

Just because something provides benefits does not mean it does not have negative effects as well. As for your cited “benefits”, there are other things that are just as effective that are not, from a Christian perspective, sinful. On the other hand, here are a couple that do the same thing but which you would probably agree are not exactly moral/good things to do:

• Drugs and excessive drinking are great sleep aids.
• Punching someone in the face is a great stress reliever

As far as maintaining fresh healthy sperm, it does not take any great amount of work to restore that balance through regular conjugal regulations. Your body doesn’t just stop making sperm and hold onto the old stuff. It will either reabsorb the old sperm or release it naturally. Regardless, having sexual intercourse once or twice would effect the same thing.

As for moral means of achieving the other benefits, exercise is both a great sleep aid and a great stress reliever. Classical music is a great sleep aid. Laughter is a great stress reliever. The list could go on and on.

Now, I invite any one of you to come and tell me why I’m wrong. What I don’t want, however, is simple “Because god says so” arguments. They’re simple-minded and no matter how many points you bring, you can’t win them.

For one, masturbation is addictive and has been scientifically proven to act on the brain in the same way as drugs such as cocaine, even moreso if pornography is involved. Second, it turns one’s sexuality inward and can easily lead to emotional isolation. Mind you, that’s not to say this will happen to everyone. But it is a natural and likely outcome. Most importantly, it trains one to view sex in a distorted way, such as a means to solve, or rather hide from, problems (your citing it as “stress relief” is a perfect illustration) or as a source of self-gratification with no mind to the unitive purpose of sex, exemplified by the obvious fact that it causes one to dehumanize the object of his or her sexual fantasy into a collection of body parts and actions.

The irony of the “masturbation relieves tension” proposition is that it works just like cigarettes or heroin. As the brain becomes used to the release of dopamine, which provides that feeling of “relief”, it becomes dependent on it and actually produces greater feelings of tension and stress when it doesn’t get that dopamine rush. And, just like a drug addiction, the more you feed it, the bigger it grows.

 

[cjmclark]

It’s a bit rude to refer to the faith of those here as brain washing and insinuate that all believers are the equivalent of gullible children.

Just because something provides benefits does not mean it does not have negative effects as well. As for your cited “benefits”, there are other things that are just as effective that are not, from a Christian perspective, sinful. On the other hand, here are a couple that do the same thing but which you would probably agree are not exactly moral/good things to do:

• Drugs and excessive drinking are great sleep aids.
• Punching someone in the face is a great stress reliever

As far as maintaining fresh healthy sperm, it does not take any great amount of work to restore that balance through regular conjugal regulations. Your body doesn’t just stop making sperm and hold onto the old stuff. It will either reabsorb the old sperm or release it naturally. Regardless, having sexual intercourse once or twice would effect the same thing.

As for moral means of achieving the other benefits, exercise is both a great sleep aid and a great stress reliever. Classical music is a great sleep aid. Laughter is a great stress reliever. The list could go on and on.

For one, masturbation is addictive and has been scientifically proven to act on the brain in the same way as drugs such as cocaine, even moreso if pornography is involved. Second, it turns one’s sexuality inward and can easily lead to emotional isolation. Mind you, that’s not to say this will happen to everyone. But it is a natural and likely outcome. Most importantly, it trains one to view sex in a distorted way, such as a means to solve, or rather hide from, problems (your citing it as “stress relief” is a perfect illustration) or as a source of self-gratification with no mind to the unitive purpose of sex, exemplified by the obvious fact that it causes one to dehumanize the object of his or her sexual fantasy into a collection of body parts and actions.

The irony of the “masturbation relieves tension” proposition is that it works just like cigarettes or heroin. As the brain becomes used to the release of dopamine, which provides that feeling of “relief”, it becomes dependent on it and actually produces greater feelings of tension and stress when it doesn’t get that dopamine rush. And, just like a drug addiction, the more you feed it, the bigger it grows.

Thank you for elucidating this in a way that I could not.

 

[Durus]

How does your wife feel about your habit?

I would hazard a guess that most married women in the secular world do not care in the least, as they have an understanding that it is beneficial and is of no harm.

 

[Durus]

For one, masturbation is addictive and has been scientifically proven to act on the brain in the same way as drugs such as cocaine, even moreso if pornography is involved. Second, it turns one’s sexuality inward and can easily lead to emotional isolation. Mind you, that’s not to say this will happen to everyone. But it is a natural and likely outcome. Most importantly, it trains one to view sex in a distorted way, such as a means to solve, or rather hide from, problems (your citing it as “stress relief” is a perfect illustration) or as a source of self-gratification with no mind to the unitive purpose of sex, exemplified by the obvious fact that it causes one to dehumanize the object of his or her sexual fantasy into a collection of body parts and actions.

The irony of the “masturbation relieves tension” proposition is that it works just like cigarettes or heroin. As the brain becomes used to the release of dopamine, which provides that feeling of “relief”, it becomes dependent on it and actually produces greater feelings of tension and stress when it doesn’t get that dopamine rush. And, just like a drug addiction, the more you feed it, the bigger it grows.

Cite your source that masturbation is found to be commonly addictive for a good portion of the human population?

That sounds as ridiculous as telling teens that if they do it, hair will grow on their hands.

 

[cjmclark]

I would hazard a guess that most married women in the secular world do not care in the least, as they have an understanding that it is beneficial and is of no harm.

Cite your source that most married women in the secular world (whatever that is) do not care in the least, as they have an understanding that it is beneficial and is of no harm.

And cite sources that definitively demonstrate that it is beneficial and is of no harm, please.

After all, smoking used to be good for you. Now we know better.

 

[Durus]

Cite your source that most married women in the secular world (whatever that is) do not care in the least, as they have an understanding that it is beneficial and is of no harm.

And cite sources that definitively demonstrate that it is beneficial and is of no harm, please.

After all, smoking used to be good for you. Now we know better.

You’ve made a positive claim and now the onus is on you to prove said claim true.

Here’s my evidence, yours will follow?

betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/masturbation

Sexual health benefits

Some of the known sexual health benefits of masturbation include the following:
It’s a safer form of sex that carries no risk of sexually transmissible infection or unplanned pregnancy.
It releases sexual tension and lets people explore their sexuality by themselves. It might suit those who don’t have a partner, aren’t having sex with their partner or are abstaining from sex.
Being familiar with your own sexual responses helps you communicate your wants and needs to your partner.
Masturbation is a common treatment for sexual dysfunction. For example, women who don’t orgasm can learn by masturbating and men who experience premature ejaculation can use masturbation to learn control.

General health benefits

Some of the general health benefits of masturbation might include the following:
Relaxes your muscles
Helps you fall asleep
Promotes the release of the brain’s opioid-like neurotransmitters (endorphins), which cause feelings of physical and mental wellbeing
Reduces stress
Enhances self-esteem.

foxnews.com/story/0,2933,401722,00.html
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.

 

[prodigalson2011]

Cite your source that masturbation is found to be commonly addictive for a good portion of the human population?

That sounds as ridiculous as telling teens that if they do it, hair will grow on their hands.

I don’t have time to find them again, but you should be able to pretty easily find scientific publications that explain the biochemical effects of masturbation.
That it is addictive is common sense. Seeing as your side likes to claim “everybody does it,” it seems that you shouldn’t need any evidence from me. While it’s effects are not so often as debilitating as other addictions, they can be. Nevertheless, it is a notoriously difficult habit to break which is often accompanied by classic “withdrawal” symptoms. If you don’t want to do the legwork, I’ll try and get back to you with some actual sources later.

 

[Durus]

I don’t have time to find them again, but you should be able to pretty easily find scientific publications that explain the biochemical effects of masturbation.
That it is addictive is common sense. Seeing as your side likes to claim “everybody does it,” it seems that you shouldn’t need any evidence from me. While it’s effects are not so often as debilitating as other addictions, they can be. Nevertheless, it is a notoriously difficult habit to break which is often accompanied by classic “withdrawal” symptoms. If you don’t want to do the legwork, I’ll try and get back to you with some actual sources later.

Spouting that it is common sense is a cop out.

You’ve made a scientific claim. Please back it up with cold hard evidence and not just by saying that it’s ‘common sense’.

There isn’t even any evidence that it’s a habit.

Is scratching an itch a habit? Masturbation is a natural biological practice of the human animal.