Severity of masturbation

[VivaCristoRey27]

Agreed I mean I definately think masterbation can be sinful if one becomes addicted to it. Or for instance if one is married and is choosing to masterbate and refusing their spouse sex. But I donlt think it is so black and white that one could say that masturbation is wrong all the time no matter what.

Yes, masturbation is “wrong all the time no matter what” and that incluRemember what happened to Onan.des masturbating in order to provide a sperm sample (a perforated condom is usually seen as a moral alternative in order to take a little of the sperm while letting the vast majority through). It’s a totally disordered act and one that is gravely serious, when done deliberately and knowing (or at least culpable for knowing) that the Church teaches that it is a grave sin, it leads to Hell.

Is it the worst possible sin? No, but it doesn’t have to be. A murderer is damned the same as a serial killer. The serial killer may face a worse punishment in Hell but fundamentally, Hell is still Hell and it’s not much comfort to compare sins like that.

 

[Bezant]

your sin isn’t only masterbation but pride because you are trying to find a loop hole to justify something in order that you do not have to humiliate yourself by confessing such a sin to a priest…sry but sometimes gotta call it like it is

No. Your response is rude and presumtuous, and, you ignored my earlier post.

I always assumed that masturbation is a sin. All sins must be confessed – venial and mortal.

 

[Bezant]

Yes, masturbation is “wrong all the time no matter what” and that incluRemember what happened to Onan.des masturbating in order to provide a sperm sample (a perforated condom is usually seen as a moral alternative in order to take a little of the sperm while letting the vast majority through). It’s a totally disordered act and one that is gravely serious, when done deliberately and knowing (or at least culpable for knowing) that the Church teaches that it is a grave sin, it leads to Hell.

Is it the worst possible sin? No, but it doesn’t have to be. A murderer is damned the same as a serial killer. The serial killer may face a worse punishment in Hell but fundamentally, Hell is still Hell and it’s not much comfort to compare sins like that.

Interesting post.

 

[Bezant]

The Catechism seems to state otherwise:

1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother."132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.

However, any mortal sin will send you to hell. So, what are we to make of this? Perhaps one explanation is the level of hell to which one will be sent.

http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k545/urbano_macchi/imagesdante-inferno-levels-of-hell-small.jpg

Or also that the more grave the mortal sin, the more one can expect to suffer in Purgatory should one repent (and thus one should do more to remit the temporal punishment while still alive).

This is a really interesting, and perhaps plausible response, and I wish I had checked the thread earlier. There are some who say that there are different levels of hell, and while I don’t know how much I believe that, Scripture does say that Lazarus the poor man was in the “bosom of Abraham” – if he was with Abraham, not in heaven, then where was he?

 

[jenniferpet88]

No. Your response is rude and presumtuous, and, you ignored my earlier post.

I always assumed that masturbation is a sin. All sins must be confessed – venial and mortal.

I didn’t ignore anything, I simply failed to see it. Only mortal sins need be confessed, at least this is what I was told by a Priest. Was Jesus rude and presumptous when he called the Pharisees hypocrites? Was John the Baptist rude when he told the royalties that it is not lawful to commit adultery? No, not every catholic is bold but some are…I dont’ mean disrespect, I am simply calling it like I see it…if i was wrong it is no big deal i am expressing an opinion…however if i am right then the person who i am speaking to will get to hear a person say out loud exactly what their conscience is telling them

 

[jrgiancola]

In my church, the Orthodox Christian Church, masturbation is considered an improper form of sexual expression. It’s not considered a mortal or venial sin and will not condemn one to hell. Obviously God intended sex to be shared with another human being. “It is not good for the man to be alone.” But we don’t make a big deal about it.

 

[Lui]

In my church, the Orthodox Christian Church, masturbation is considered an improper form of sexual expression. It’s not considered a mortal or venial sin and will not condemn one to hell. Obviously God intended sex to be shared with another human being. “It is not good for the man to be alone.” But we don’t make a big deal about it.

Sounds much more reasonable to me.

 

[Dr_Veritas]

Sounds much more reasonable to me.

I agree too. Having read through this debate much seems to depend on what is considered ‘natural’ (i.e. either stemming from ‘natural law’ as expressed by RC ‘reason’ and realized in the catechism; or what appears in, say, Science as a part of the natural world. Oddly, I find both, apparently opposing accounts, to be very similar. The Church argues that masturbation is gravely disordered because it appears to be out of step with what she takes to be appropriate (ie from natural law) function or design. I fully agree with Pope Benedict’s principle that the church is entitled to reason along these lines. But we must also accept his caveat that the expression of the church’s reasoning is not the last word - it is only the best we can do at the moment.

Indulging dangerous fantasies certainly appears to me as damaging. But so too may be people’s self-imposed prohibitions. Frankly, I lack any certainties around this question. I have met catholics who are in a living hell with the conflict between faith and sexual compulsions of one kind or another - the threat of eternal hell seems to them merely more of the same.

It is more out of reverence for holy communion, rather than fear of hell, that one might read the catechism here and follow its prescription for being in a state of grace. Surely, the question should be more about how I achieve the kingdom of heaven rather than how do i avoid the other place? So, while I don’t ‘get’ the arguments in CCC I am trusting that its basic guidance enables me to practice a ‘right’ circumspection with regard to the Eucharist.