why is this a sin?

[LeafByNiggle]

Let me address just one aspect of this discussion: the idea that the purpose for which various parts of our body are made should always be respected and never perverted; e.g. sexual organs are for procreation. So instead of the sexual organs, consider the lungs. Our lungs were made for sustaining life by exchanging oxygen in the blood. And indeed the imagery of breath and life in the Bible elevate this function even higher. The lungs were not made to be a drug delivery system for an addictive drug. Yet people smoke cigarettes and do exactly that. Furthermore this disordered use of the lungs reduces the effectiveness of this life-sustaining organ. And it makes the smoker a slave to the drug. So if masturbation is a sin, surely smoking is a worse sin, right?

 

[Barsabbas]

Theologically speaking, masturbation is a disordered act. That is, it is devoid of the blessing of mate and marriage and is only a mechanism that is used for solo pleasure. There is no giving or receiving involved as there is in the marital act, and so it is a very selfish venture, carrying with it serious sin, in most cases.

On the other hand, smoking is said to be an indifferent act. It totally differs from masturbation in that the smoker does not weigh heavy theological consequences for his actions every time he lights up. He just smokes and thinks nothing of it, although it is bad for his health. Yet, his intention is not to make himself ill by smoking.

 

[Andrew1983]

The issue I come across with on the topic of masturbation is that there are two predominant mindsets, one of people trying to rationalize and justify a habit (to which I am no different), and the other set of people who only know how to repeat what they’ve been told thinking that because THEY said it (in almost the exact same way as a prior poster) it will somehow make a world of difference (don’t worry, it won’t).

To me at least, this shows that neither side has firm understanding of what is really going on.

The ones who attempt to justify masturbation usually don’t understand Catholic theology, regardless if they claim that as their religion, and thus are not receptive to that kind of message. Given that, if you are American, several things must be taken into consideration.

1. We live in a country that is more culturally (from a historical view) influenced by Protestantism than Catholicism so theological beliefs may get crossed. Until re-catechizing myself, I didn’t realize how much my own beliefs were influenced by non-Catholic sources.
2. Many parents are NOT strict Catholics. I know my parents aren’t, nor are they truly educated about the faith that they were raised in.
3. The heathens quite frankly are more proactive about getting their message across and know how to engage the youth by relating information to them on a level they understand.
4. Being bombarded nearly 24/7 by media and current culture that is for all intents and purposes anti-Christian what with the way that sex is advocated, chastity laughed at as unrealistic, and an absurdly high divorce rate among other things.
5. Other Bible interpretations that range from the absurd to outright heresy.
6. Poor education via CCD (I’m not sure about the private schools themselves) that results in “Cultural” and “Cafeteria” Catholics that later don’t go to church on Sunday and are just as glad to be out of there.
7. Next to zero apologetics for combating atheism and current corruption and moral decay from the local parish church (boring sermons with messages that are nearly inapplicable to the crises at hand (now you know why I’m Latin Mass only)).

To be quite honest, the reasons I started rebelling against Asmodeus over a year’s worth of time ago, isn’t because someone kept posting the same catechism passages about masturbation and pornography over and over again, it’s because I engaged my brain and sought information that I could assimilate and make sense out of. It was books or commentary by those who were both socially and politically conservative that tackled the moral issues of the day such as Alan Keyes and Pat Buchanan as well as Michael Savage (though a self-admitted Universalist, he’s a strong advocate of traditional morality in the general sense).

 

[Antrim]

Logic101 said what I was trying to think of. I think it is also sinning against your own body and therefore a deadly sin.

Antrim