Why is masturbation not focused on in the mass media or in science?

[Burdock]

Not everybody does. Not even every male.

How much one does is not even, I would argue, indicative of level of sex drive (i.e. someone who doesn’t masturbate is not necessarily asexual and doesn’t necessarily suffer from low sexual drive or functioning.)

Some people just are not tempted to. I’d say that’s rarer in today’s world than in the past because we have ample leisure time and easy access to sexually explicit materials, but also because there’s a lot of pressure to engage in it. I remember hearing so much about it as a teen that I wondered if it was weird that I didn’t care. (And I grew up in a non-religious household and I was never taught that it was immoral.)

What makes it wrong is that it turns sexual functioning into a selfish pursuit of desire rather than a gift given to a spouse - it makes it all about YOU and what you want, how you want it, and when. Real sex does not work like that, and unfortunately I know too many young men who have given up on relationships because hey, they can’t find a woman that will work for them like a sex robot. Because they’ve been training themselves since their early teens, if not sooner, how to gratify themselves in a specific way without making any concessions for what another person may want or need.

I realise not everyone may feel the urge to masterbate but what I am saying is that it is not wrong and shouldnt be taught by the church s being sinful or evil

 

[pensmama87]

I realise not everyone may feel the urge to masterbate but what I am saying is that it is not wrong and shouldnt be taught by the church s being sinful or evil

Well, the Church isn’t wrong, but even if you disagree, I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for the teaching to change, because it won’t.

 

[Burdock]

Well, the Church isn’t wrong, but even if you disagree, I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for the teaching to change, because it won’t.

I dont suppose it will change, but I do think the church is wrong. I have left because of damaging beliefs such as this and contraception being wrong.

 

[pensmama87]

I dont suppose it will change, but I do think the church is wrong. I have left because of damaging beliefs such as this and contraception being wrong.

OK, this teaching is “damaging” to you.

I don’t suffer from intense temptations to commit sexual sins. Such is not my lot in life. I do, however, suffer from other temptations, that are also considered morally wrong to indulge in. I do have some benefit though, because except for a very small fringe segment of society, secular society condemns it as well (actually, Church teaching was helpful to me in dealing with this issue, because it emphasized forgiveness rather than some kind of innate “badness” because I had the temptations). But at first, yeah, I wanted to be all, “Boo hoo mean old Church don’t they get how hard it is for me? God understands, right?!” Meanwhile, I was the one doing all the beating myself up, and hurting my body and my soul by sinning. Good counseling and the grace found in the confessional have been great healers.

Sexual sins are, in their own weird way, “fashionable” now. Various sins have been fashionable and “enlightened” to engage in depending on time period and culture. Yet the Church has never altered Her position on ANY of these issues. IMO, people who struggle with sexual sins of all kinds have it very hard because there is an element of society that is very loud that lies to them and tells them it is not a big deal. I summarized briefly why masturbation is wrong in my earlier post - sex is a gift, not merely an itch to be scratched. My temptation is similar - it makes a natural, good inclination into something it is not to serve me selfishly. IMO that’s what a lot of the bodily sins are about, whether they are sexual or other.

 

[Rau]

I dont suppose it will change, but I do think the church is wrong. I have left because of damaging beliefs such as this and contraception being wrong.

How did you determine that masturbation and contraception are actually ok?

 

[Burdock]

How did you determine that masturbation and contraception are actually ok?

I just do not view them as sinful or wrong. Icdo not think itcis wrong to use contraception until you are ready to have children and as long as you are not masturbating every minute of the day and night and c its not taking over your entire life I cant see that its a problem.

 

[Mulligan2]

I do not know why, but masturbation seems to be a taboo subject. Same goes for the questioning of circumcision.

Robert, I believe the questioning of circumcision is becoming more and more prevalent everyday. Education is the key. The more one learns about circumcision, the more they are likely to be staunchly opposed to it, and to support genital integrity for boys as well as girls.

 

[Elizium23]

Fornication is also intrinsically disordered although you’d be hard pressed to find a conservative who knows and admits that.

Fornication is not intrinsically disordered. You’ll have to prove that it is. Try the Catechism.

 

[Rau]

Intrinsically evil / intrinsically disordered / always wrong to choose acts identified in the Catechism. “The acts entail a ‘disorder of the will’, that is, a moral evil”:

1753 lying, calumny
1755 fornication
2352 masturbation
2356 rape
2357 homosexual acts
2370 contraception

Veritatis Splendor (Pope JPII)

(80) Reason attests that there are objects of the human act which
are by their nature “incapable of being ordered” to God,
because they radically contradict the good of the person made
in his image. These are the acts which, in the Church’s moral
tradition, have been termed “intrinsically evil” (intrinsece
malum): they are such always and per se, in other words, on
account of their very object, and quite apart from the ulterior
intentions of the one acting and the circumstances.
Consequently, without in the least denying the influence on
morality exercised by circumstances and especially by
intentions, the Church teaches that “there exist acts which per
se and in themselves, independently of circumstances, are
always seriously wrong by reason of their object”

 

[Burdock]

Intrinsically evil / intrinsically disordered / always wrong to choose acts identified in the Catechism. “The acts entail a ‘disorder of the will’, that is, a moral evil”:

1753 lying, calumny
1755 fornication
2352 masturbation
2356 rape
2357 homosexual acts
2370 contraception

Veritatis Splendor (Pope JPII)

(80) Reason attests that there are objects of the human act which
are by their nature “incapable of being ordered” to God,
because they radically contradict the good of the person made
in his image. These are the acts which, in the Church’s moral
tradition, have been termed “intrinsically evil” (intrinsece
malum): they are such always and per se, in other words, on
account of their very object, and quite apart from the ulterior
intentions of the one acting and the circumstances.
Consequently, without in the least denying the influence on
morality exercised by circumstances and especially by
intentions, the Church teaches that “there exist acts which per
se and in themselves, independently of circumstances, are
always seriously wrong by reason of their object”

Well im sorry but I cannot accept that contraception is evil, end of.

 

[Burdock]

Intrinsically evil / intrinsically disordered / always wrong to choose acts identified in the Catechism. “The acts entail a ‘disorder of the will’, that is, a moral evil”:

1753 lying, calumny
1755 fornication
2352 masturbation
2356 rape
2357 homosexual acts
2370 contraception

Veritatis Splendor (Pope JPII)

(80) Reason attests that there are objects of the human act which
are by their nature “incapable of being ordered” to God,
because they radically contradict the good of the person made
in his image. These are the acts which, in the Church’s moral
tradition, have been termed “intrinsically evil” (intrinsece
malum): they are such always and per se, in other words, on
account of their very object, and quite apart from the ulterior
intentions of the one acting and the circumstances.
Consequently, without in the least denying the influence on
morality exercised by circumstances and especially by
intentions, the Church teaches that “there exist acts which per
se and in themselves, independently of circumstances, are
always seriously wrong by reason of their object”

Well im sorry but I cannot accept that contraception is evil, end of.

 

[Thorolfr]

Intrinsically evil / intrinsically disordered / always wrong to choose acts identified in the Catechism. “The acts entail a ‘disorder of the will’, that is, a moral evil”:

1753 lying, calumny
1755 fornication
2352 masturbation
2356 rape
2357 homosexual acts
2370 contraception

Not everyone in the Church has always been of the opinion that contraception is a moral evil. The Pontifical Commission on Birth Control produced a report in 1966 which proposed that artificial birth control was not intrinsically evil and that Catholic couples should be allowed to decide for themselves which methods to use. If Paul VI had decided differently and accepted their recommendation, Catholics would be allowed to use contraception.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Commission_on_Birth_Control

 

[TK421]

If you want to hear about masturbation and its power over a person, you really need to look on the Moral Forum, but other than that, it seems a taboo subject in most of society. Just look at how society not only justifies homosexuality, but actually promotes it. Not so with masturbation, not so. Do people who masturbate get any consolation from society? No! But with homosexuality, society takes steps so that homosexuals do not feel guilty. Will society ever seek to help people masturbate come out of the closet and become acceptable in our society?

Is masturbation genetic, like homosexuality is supposed to be? How absurd.

Because the psychologists themselves are random, vulnerable, regular people in society that got churned through 8 years of college and do or at least did masturbate in their younger years, among other things, albeit not to a massively addictive degree. They can’t break an enchantment that they themselves are beguiled by.

It’s also from a lack of any experiential frame of reference. If you’ve never experienced how easy, light, and free the yoke of Catholic living is - which most people do not - then you’re not going to be able to emotionally comprehend the problem. It’s like attempting to identify & explain the color red without ever having seen it. It’s not only a matter of “will not” but also of “cannot”.

 

[JimG]

OK, this teaching is “damaging” to you.

I don’t suffer from intense temptations to commit sexual sins. Such is not my lot in life. I do, however, suffer from other temptations, that are also considered morally wrong to indulge in. I do have some benefit though, because except for a very small fringe segment of society, secular society condemns it as well (actually, Church teaching was helpful to me in dealing with this issue, because it emphasized forgiveness rather than some kind of innate “badness” because I had the temptations). But at first, yeah, I wanted to be all, “Boo hoo mean old Church don’t they get how hard it is for me? God understands, right?!” Meanwhile, I was the one doing all the beating myself up, and hurting my body and my soul by sinning. Good counseling and the grace found in the confessional have been great healers.

Sexual sins are, in their own weird way, “fashionable” now. Various sins have been fashionable and “enlightened” to engage in depending on time period and culture. Yet the Church has never altered Her position on ANY of these issues. IMO, people who struggle with sexual sins of all kinds have it very hard because there is an element of society that is very loud that lies to them and tells them it is not a big deal. I summarized briefly why masturbation is wrong in my earlier post - sex is a gift, not merely an itch to be scratched. My temptation is similar - it makes a natural, good inclination into something it is not to serve me selfishly. IMO that’s what a lot of the bodily sins are about, whether they are sexual or other.

I think you are right. Sexual sin is fashionable right now. We all feel entitled to these sins, after all, so why should the mean old Church deny us the pleasure? That’s why fornication, cohabitation, contraception, pornography and other sins of lust are rampant. But the Church only proclaims the divine law, which only proclaims the good of the human person.

 

[Elizium23]

Well im sorry but I cannot accept that contraception is evil, end of.

End of what? End of story? Discussion? Sentence? Dissent from Catholic doctrine?

Not everyone in the Church has always been of the opinion that contraception is a moral evil. The Pontifical Commission on Birth Control produced a report in 1966 which proposed that artificial birth control was not intrinsically evil and that Catholic couples should be allowed to decide for themselves which methods to use. If Paul VI had decided differently and accepted their recommendation, Catholics would be allowed to use contraception.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Commission_on_Birth_Control

Not everyone in the Church has always been of the opinion that Christ has a divine nature. Athanasius and St. Nicholas ironed that all out 1,690 years ago, yet we still have Jehovah’s Witnesses. So what is your real point here?

 

[Burdock]

End of what? End of story? Discussion? Sentence? Dissent from Catholic doctrine?

Not everyone in the Church has always been of the opinion that Christ has a divine nature. Athanasius and St. Nicholas ironed that all out 1,690 years ago, yet we still have Jehovah’s Witnesses. So what is your real point here?

These discussions just go round in circles, and yes dissent from catholic doctrine, im an ex Catholic.

 

[Elizium23]

These discussions just go round in circles, and yes dissent from catholic doctrine, im an ex Catholic.

Actually I haven’t been involved in a discussion on masturbation very often at all in my five years on the forums, and I can’t say that they go around in circles very much. I am sorry you feel that it’s not intrinsically evil/grave matter, but we Catholics believe it is, and this is such a forum where the teaching is upheld. So I think it’s useful for us to discuss, at least those of us who assent in some way to the teaching, how it’s perceived in the modern culture, why it is or isn’t discussed freely there, and what we can do about it as Catholics.

Speaking as someone who was plagued by this sin for decades in the past, and also as someone who firmly believed there was nothing wrong with it, my whole outlook on life has changed now that I’ve rid myself of the habit and embraced the teachings. I have better self-esteem. I treat women with more respect and kindness. I don’t have shameful secrets in my bathroom and bedroom that would be embarrassing for visitors to find. And most importantly of all, I stay in a state of grace for long periods and I receive the Eucharist worthily. How freeing it is! What graces I receive!

By the same token, I was afflicted by the scourge of pornography. Not as much as some other men, and not the really hardcore stuff which turned me off, but I did like my collections of nudes. How terrible of me to objectify women that way. How degrading for them to pose for pictures like that only to have some pervert drool over it (and worse). It’s really just disgusting how women are treated, and these are pro-choice, pro-feminism women who think it’s empowering. They think they are better than men because we’re reduced to mindless drooling slaves when we see them this way. It’s emasculating. It’s humiliating. It’s an insult to both sexes.

 

[flower_lady]

It is normal. It is a stage one goes through when puberty kicks it. It should not be taught to adolescents that it ie evil.

I’m certainly not going to teach my children that a mortal sin is a good thing.

 

[ringil]

I agree pennsmama87! The vast majority of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists do not consider masturbation as disordered, much less a mortal sin unless it becomes a compulsive behavior.

I am a licensed mental health practitioner and I see masturbation as normal and quite ordinary.

As a Catholic I know it to be of sinful matter. How much culpability a person has in committing this sin is impossible to say.

 

[migueltojose]

I am a licensed mental health practitioner and I see masturbation as normal and quite ordinary.

As a Catholic I know it to be of sinful matter. How much culpability a person has in committing this sin is impossible to say.

You are part of the problem. Matter of factly condoning it. Masturbation is cheating.

If single it is premarital sex.
If married it is adultery.
It is also contraceptive.

It is bad for self esteem because deep down inside we know it’s wrong.

It causes mental and spiritual harm. It encourages fantasies which can lead to disappointment with reality and more problems.

Shame on you. A modernist. A relative secularist. A professional. Encouraging masturbation. Celebrating masturbation. How ordinary. Try being extraordinary.

The catechism provides more than enough latitude. But it is a sin.