Masturbation

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billcu1

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My confessor corrected me first of all today. Masturbation seems to be a reoccurring theme with me. As with some people. Anyway I said I have been doing better and trying. I was really proud of myself for going so long. He said that was the sin of pride. :eek: He said it’s God’s Grace that has allowed me to go on without the problem for a while. 🙂

Now here’s what I am wondering. Firstly God’s view on this is not in dispute. This is a sinful act. Now what is the problem with it? Does anyone have any theory? Is it wrong because this physically hurts you? Or harms you mentally. I see it as a bad habit.
 
billcu1 said:
My confessor corrected me first of all today. Masturbation seems to be a reoccurring theme with me. As with some people. Anyway I said I have been doing better and trying. I was really proud of myself for going so long. He said that was the sin of pride. :eek: He said it’s God’s Grace that has allowed me to go on without the problem for a while. 🙂

Now here’s what I am wondering. Firstly God’s view on this is not in dispute. This is a sinful act. Now what is the problem with it? Does anyone have any theory? Is it wrong because this physically hurts you? Or harms you mentally. I see it as a bad habit.
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Here is a thread that might help.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=973458
 
I have come to hate sexual arousal and I believe masturbation and porn are self-inflicted sexual abuse. Better to pray to God for the grace to transform sexual energy into genuine spiritual energy and utilize it to gain The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit which includes wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and a fear of God.
 
Robert_Sock said:
I have come to hate sexual arousal and I believe masturbation and porn are self-inflicted sexual abuse. Better to pray to God for the grace to transform sexual energy into genuine spiritual energy and utilize it to gain The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit which includes wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and a fear of God.
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Unless you have chosen to live a celibate life, hating sexual arousal seems pretty extreme. Sexual arousal isn’t bad. It’s perfectly natural and even desirable. Sex is the way in which we bring new life into the world, but it also unites the spouses in intimacy and physical pleasure.

All this to say, sex is a good thing. It’s not some nasty chore we have to tolerate. Arousal and mutual enjoyment are fine. We just have to keep it in the proper context: mutually consenting and pleasurable between husband and wife.

Just because it’s possible to misuse our sex drive doesn’t mean it’s bad in and of itself. In the right context, it’s a wonderful thing.
 
BoomBoomMancini said:
Unless you have chosen to live a celibate life, hating sexual arousal seems pretty extreme. Sexual arousal isn’t bad. It’s perfectly natural and even desirable. Sex is the way in which we bring new life into the world, but it also unites the spouses in intimacy and physical pleasure.

All this to say, sex is a good thing. It’s not some nasty chore we have to tolerate. Arousal and mutual enjoyment are fine. We just have to keep it in the proper context: mutually consenting and pleasurable between husband and wife.

Just because it’s possible to misuse our sex drive doesn’t mean it’s bad in and of itself. In the right context, it’s a wonderful thing.
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Do you agree that’s it’s better for some people to transform sexual energy into spiritual energy? I think it’s a wise trade! Sex is a most primitive desire and I believe many people would do well by despising it.

And while I’m at it, maybe I should add that I do not like being human! Many will probably disagree, but I think our glorified body will be of a different nature.
 
Part 1:

The rationale about the sin of masturbation, in general, is what is now called the theology of the body.

We have to remember as scripture says that the world and all that is in it belongs to God – including our bodies. (right away, this flies in the face of the abortion lobby which carries signs that say “our bodies, our choice” – right out of the chute, abortion is a denial of God and scripture, but I digress).

God ordained that the sexual functions are intended for the context of marriage. Notably, in the Old Testament, when Onan “spills his seed” it is evil on several levels: it frustrates the law of the levirate in Judaism, it frustrates the purpose of openness to reproduction and creation, it frustrates the will of God, to multiply and fill the earth, for example.

We are made in the image and likeness of God, and so an abuse of this function takes away from our God-given dignity and our destiny to be with God forever.

Especially through Baptism, Reconciliation, and the Eucharist, we are engaged in the process called “divinization” – another word, generally, for salvation – where we do not become gods, but we come to be as close as possible to having a God-like character. God loves this, because when He looks at us, it is a reflection of Himself.

The theory or basis of all of this is also expressed as the universal call to holiness. We are ALL called to be holy, as God is holy. Our reproductive capability in marriage get us very close to working with God in His will of creation. In Chap 3 or 4 of Genesis, Eve makes a critically important observation, that she has produced a child “with God” indicating how close and aligned the reproductive faculty is with God’s will. (She seems to give Adam little or no credit for helping to produce the child, but that omission is besides the point.)

When you consider our common destiny to face Christ as the Judge, what will you (and the rest of us) say to Him (how can we argue with God) ?
 
Robert_Sock said:
Do you agree that’s it’s better for some people to transform sexual energy into spiritual energy? I think it’s a wise trade! Sex is a most primitive desire and I believe many people would do well by despising it.

And while I’m at it, maybe I should add that I do not like being human! Many will probably disagree, but I think our glorified body will be of a different nature.
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Yes that allowing sex force energy to rise into the Brain and Pituitary. You can do that instead of constantly forcing it down.
 
psalm90 said:
Part 1:

The rationale about the sin of masturbation, in general, is what is now called the theology of the body.

We have to remember as scripture says that the world and all that is in it belongs to God – including our bodies. (right away, this flies in the face of the abortion lobby which carries signs that say “our bodies, our choice” – right out of the chute, abortion is a denial of God and scripture, but I digress).

God ordained that the sexual functions are intended for the context of marriage. Notably, in the Old Testament, when Onan “spills his seed” it is evil on several levels: it frustrates the law of the levirate in Judaism, it frustrates the purpose of openness to reproduction and creation, it frustrates the will of God, to multiply and fill the earth, for example.

We are made in the image and likeness of God, and so an abuse of this function takes away from our God-given dignity and our destiny to be with God forever.

Especially through Baptism, Reconciliation, and the Eucharist, we are engaged in the process called “divinization” – another word, generally, for salvation – where we do not become gods, but we come to be as close as possible to having a God-like character. God loves this, because when He looks at us, it is a reflection of Himself.

The theory or basis of all of this is also expressed as the universal call to holiness. We are ALL called to be holy, as God is holy. Our reproductive capability in marriage get us very close to working with God in His will of creation. In Chap 3 or 4 of Genesis, Eve makes a critically important observation, that she has produced a child “with God” indicating how close and aligned the reproductive faculty is with God’s will. (She seems to give Adam little or no credit for helping to produce the child, but that omission is besides the point.)

When you consider our common destiny to face Christ as the Judge, what will you (and the rest of us) say to Him (how can we argue with God) ?
Click to expand...
Well a lot of Liberalism is based in 1960’s “feel-goodism” and “The age of Enlightenment” a century or so ago. Feelin’ good doesn’t mean it’s right. And a flower can’t take a tank. So much for “flower power”.
 
psalm90 said:
Part 1:

The rationale about the sin of masturbation, in general, is what is now called the theology of the body.

We have to remember as scripture says that the world and all that is in it belongs to God – including our bodies. (right away, this flies in the face of the abortion lobby which carries signs that say “our bodies, our choice” – right out of the chute, abortion is a denial of God and scripture, but I digress).

God ordained that the sexual functions are intended for the context of marriage. Notably, in the Old Testament, when Onan “spills his seed” it is evil on several levels: it frustrates the law of the levirate in Judaism, it frustrates the purpose of openness to reproduction and creation, it frustrates the will of God, to multiply and fill the earth, for example.

We are made in the image and likeness of God, and so an abuse of this function takes away from our God-given dignity and our destiny to be with God forever.

Especially through Baptism, Reconciliation, and the Eucharist, we are engaged in the process called “divinization” – another word, generally, for salvation – where we do not become gods, but we come to be as close as possible to having a God-like character. God loves this, because when He looks at us, it is a reflection of Himself.

The theory or basis of all of this is also expressed as the universal call to holiness. We are ALL called to be holy, as God is holy. Our reproductive capability in marriage get us very close to working with God in His will of creation. In Chap 3 or 4 of Genesis, Eve makes a critically important observation, that she has produced a child “with God” indicating how close and aligned the reproductive faculty is with God’s will. (She seems to give Adam little or no credit for helping to produce the child, but that omission is besides the point.)

When you consider our common destiny to face Christ as the Judge, what will you (and the rest of us) say to Him (how can we argue with God) ?
Click to expand...
OK but does it do physical harm? Masturbation that is? If someone doesn’t masturbate for 25 years is he going to be harmed? Probably not.
 
Part 2

Ya know, we’re not supposed to put copyrighted material in posts, although we see this done all the time.

so, first I will tell you where to look for information about Biblical rules:
the Jewish Study Bible, First Edition, Oxford Univ Press, and therein, an essay on concepts of purity in the Bible by Jonathan Klawans.

It is a rather short survey of the rules of ritual and moral purity in the Jewish scriptures. He dismisses the idea that these rules were intended to subordinate women or to subordinate all Jewish people to the Temple priests.

Now, that sounds very modern, the criticism usually of non-Catholics about the Pope, why he and/or the Church should be concerned with sexual morality (among other things). “What business is it of theirs?” people will ask and thereto give their own answer.

Klawans ultimate observation about the ritual and moral impurities in the Bible is this: God does not die, but there are rules of ritual impurity relating to touching a corpse, for example. They are not sins,but they make one temporarily unfit to enter the Temple.

God does not have a consort, so the rules against moral impurity, and sexual impurity in particular, make a person very un-God like and these impure actions may have the consequence of separating a person from God.

It’s a very articulate and compelling essay and anybody who studies the Bible should consider reviewing this. I have the second edition of this book and have not, until this moment, noticed that Klawans’ essay is in it, as well.

This essay provides corroboration of the Catholic view about how sexual morality, as we have received it, is important for our temporal and eternal relationship with God.
 
billcu1 said:
OK but does it do physical harm? Masturbation that is? If someone doesn’t masturbate for 25 years is he going to be harmed? Probably not.
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That requires a medical opinion and I have not heard about it, one way or the other. Historically, there is no suggestion that celibate, chaste, and sexual pure living has harmed anyone in the Church.
 
billcu1 said:
OK but does it do physical harm? Masturbation that is? If someone doesn’t masturbate for 25 years is he going to be harmed? Probably not.
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46 years ago (yikes!) I had an upper level class in psychology called psychopathology which used a book titled The Abnormal Person and His World by Paul J. Stern, Van Nostrand, 1964, makes the claim that homosexuality was not oppressed until Judaism and Christianity came along.

When you read one book, you get one opinion, and I think nobody should base their life on the work of one modern, liberal, and probably biased psychologist. Stern may be one, and Klawans puts Sigmund Freud under suspicion for his anti-religious views, also.

It would seem that Biblical rules were not given, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to cause harm or to mislead people. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Orthodox and perhaps some Conservative Jewish spirituality recommends that a Jew pray before performing one of the commandments, either a negative commandment to not do something or a positive commandment to do something. I think that’s a good example for Catholics, to attach prayer to obeying “all that Jesus commanded.”
 
Robert_Sock said:
Do you agree that’s it’s better for some people to transform sexual energy into spiritual energy? I think it’s a wise trade! Sex is a most primitive desire and I believe many people would do well by despising it.

And while I’m at it, maybe I should add that I do not like being human! Many will probably disagree, but I think our glorified body will be of a different nature.
Click to expand...
For some people? Sure. That’s why I said “Unless you’ve chosen a life of chastity…” If you feel called to a celibate, aesthetic life, whether it’s as a priest/nun or living in a religious community, more power to you. That’s a good and noble calling.

My point is that marriage is also a good and noble calling, and within that context, sexual arousal and pleasure is also a good thing. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that humanity and our natural instincts are bad. God himself took Human form: we shouldn’t despise the world. Now, can we misuse our natural instincts? Sure. But they’re not bad in and of themselves.
 
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