15 "Christians Can Masturbate, Too"
www.proaxis.com/~solo/100198k.htm
[Webmaster's note: On another
part of this website there is much information countering the claims of some
christians that it is sinful to masturbate. They have lots of so-called
ammunition from the bible and illogical arguments to support their claims. The
first letter below, from a 15 year old girl, shows the frustration that the
traditional christian anti-masturbation rhetoric can cause. However, to her
credit, Kim was able to come up with some rationalizations between her faith
and her physical needs which have allowed her to continue enjoying
masturbation. The second piece below was submitted by a christian masturbator
and it goes even farther in helping people who have a strong faith justify
their need for sexual expression through masturbation. While I don't personally
agree with some of the points in this essay, it is presented here with the hope
that it will be helpful to many people with strong christian convictions. His
ultimate message, to go ahead and masturbate, is in keeping with the objective
of this website. Finally, there is another submission which adds some
information and links.]
Kim's Story:
I a fifteen year old girl, and I just started masturbating three days ago. I
haven't actually come yet, and the second night I tried, I gave up in yet
another failed attempt. After I lay down to go to sleep, I felt a tremendous
amount of guilt. To put it bluntly, I was horrified. I am a die-hard Christian,
and I was shocked that I had done such a thing. I cried silently for hours. The
next day I got on the net and found some Christian/masturbation web-sites. I
soon found out that the question on whether it is right or wrong to masturbate
is totally up for debate. No one really knows. I felt a lot better.
Then yesterday at work, I started thinking about my W.W.J.D. band. What would Jesus do? I was clueless. But I soon started thinking some more. Jesus was created in human form, right? Right. He WAS actually a HE. So HE had HIS own equipment. I started to wonder if Jesus himself ever masturbated, (as bad as it may sound.) I wondered if he EVER once got excited. He was a male, with all human feelings. He had to! I feel a lot better now about what I'm still trying to do. --Kim
MASTURBATING CHRISTIANS:
I've read the many submissions regarding Christians and masturbation, which
seem to reflect mostly how a person feels regarding the practice. The average
person seems to think that masturbation is something that, in their own
estimation, would be unpleasing to God. Centuries of over-zealous Christians
have taken this line, thereby making themselves and others feel a strong sense
of guilt.
I personally believe that what the Bible says is true, and I will not go beyond that. To add to what the Bible says is basically putting human words in God's mouth, and human opinions in God's mind. So we have to take what the Bible says at face value and make the appropriate applications.
We can be assured that men (I've chosen to deal with my own gender here) have been masturbating ever since the beginning. As long as men have had penises and hands and have been horny, you can be assured that they have masturbated. It is not an innovation of the 20th century. And it doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that if you rub your penis with your hand, you will ejaculate. In fact I would speculate that young men of yesteryear probably did it more, since there weren't all of the other activities to occupy their time (T.V., Sega, Videos, etc.).
Regardless of how much or little men have masturbated over the last several thousand years, we know it happened; furthermore God knew it happened and that it will continue to happen. So how has God chosen to deal with this?
There is only one section in the Bible that could even remotely be applied to the physical act of masturbation. In Leviticus 15, 16-18 we read: When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening. When a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
The first thing to note here, is that a distinction is made between a man simply having an emission of semen, and having an emission of semen with a woman. For a man to have an emission of semen by himself, this would be most often through masturbation, or less frequently by nocturnal emission. This section of the Bible is a part of the Old Testament ceremonial law, and not part of the moral law (e.g. committing adultery). An emission of semen is considered on the same plane as a woman's menstrual flow. And the only result of either is that they were "ceremonially unclean." Neither were considered sinful.
The "sin of Onan" is often cited as a case against masturbation (cf. Genesis 38, 8-10). Onan refused to obey God's command to father a child by his dead brother's wife, so he withdrew and ejaculated on the ground. For doing this, God put him to death. However this does not condemn masturbation. Even a cursory look at this section shows that the sin committed was disobeying a direct command of God. Ejaculating on the ground was not what got Onan in trouble. This section has nothing to do with masturbation.
The last place is where Jesus speaks of lust being the same as committing adultery (cf. Matthew 5, 27-28). Paul also talks about "burning with lust" (cf. I Corinthians 7, 1 ff). Certainly we can't argue with that. But one would then have to ask, isn't masturbation the primary way to control a person's lust? If a person lusts and masturbates, has he committed two sins? Is there any difference between lusting and masturbating, as opposed to lusting and not masturbating? I would think that lusting and not masturbating would be worse, because there is no relief; and one can be consumed by such a burning lust. Of course the ideal way to take care of sinful lust is to get married and have sex on a regular basis. But not everybody can do that, nor would it be proper to marry the first person that came along just to have sex.
A second thing should be considered as well. Is masturbation always connected with lust? This is subjective and is something that each person would have to ask of themselves. Speaking for myself, the two are generally connected; however I have at times awakened at night with a full erection and slowly masturbated myself with no particular lustful thoughts. I did it because it felt great!
The bottom line to all this is simple. In the Bible, God in no place says either directly or indirectly that masturbation is a sin. The ejaculation of semen would make you ceremonially unclean in the Old Testament. Onan was judged for disobeying God, and not for ejaculating on the ground. Jesus equates sexual lust with the sin of adultery. However none of these instances condemn masturbation.
But here is where the sinful human mind likes to work. The devil convinces us that masturbation is shameful and dirty and childish. He convinces us that God doesn't like it (even though God doesn't say so) and that masturbation is only for losers. He wants us to feel guilty when we masturbate. Moreover, the devil wants us to be totally consumed by burning lust and passion. And since he convinces people of all these things, when burning passion is felt, people are then tempted to seek out a wrongful release through a one-night stand or a prostitute rather than masturbate. Wrongful sexual relations can wind up in pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease.
God has made us sexual beings. It's nothing to be ashamed about. God's ultimate design is that sex take place in marriage. However God has also given us a way whereby we can take care of our sexual urges. That way is through masturbation. Even though masturbation should not be a permanent substitute for marital sex, yet he's given us a quick and easy way to take care of things when normal sexual relations are not possible. So we can masturbate to our heart's content, without guilt or fear of judgment, knowing that this is something God in his wisdom permits us to do. It's the safest form of sex possible. And we can put away all of the old myths and fables about masturbation; none of them are true. Besides it has been said that in order for a man to maintain a healthy prostate, he should have a minimum of three ejaculations per week. Masturbation is even good for you!
Personally speaking, of course I masturbate. I started when I was 13. I often do it once or twice a day, or sometimes I wait two or three days. Masturbation doesn't consume my life. But it is something I enjoy, and I thank God that he has made it not only possible, but profitable for my life as well. I definitely remember the guilt feelings and all the other associated baggage the devil attached to it. But through the truth of God's Word, I have become convinced that a Christian not only can masturbate, he WILL masturbate and do it often!
Please, if you have a friend who is feeling guilty about masturbating for religious reasons, please print out this article and pass it along to him. You'll be making a positive difference in his life! May God bless you. --Anon.
====
Even
as a Christian, I've enjoyed masturbation since age 13 without guilt; I'm 34 now.
Yet by my late teens I was aware that many youths suffer torment about it,
& wished there was some way I could help. Anyway, because it's such a
personal matter, I felt that there is no way. So all I've ever done is try to
formulate sensible explanations for why it's ok, & tried to work out
sensible refutations to arguments against it. But then I finally get started on
the internet, and entered "masturbation AND Christians" into various
search engines. After a few weeks it was quite obvious that there are about ten
times more web sites or documents staunchly against masturbation than there
were sites or documents supporting it. Your site is the only one I've found
that has more than one article about masturbation for the Christian from a
supportive angle. Well done! Top site! But it's not very prominent during
engine searches. I've found 6 articles so far; 2 of them are ONLY on your site.
These are "Christians can masturbate too" [you're reading that page]
& "Flipping off the pleasure police" [anti-christian page linked
below]. Another 2 that you have each exist on another site.
But
here are 2 articles that you don't have yet. They are "Wanking: The Last
Taboo" -by David McKay, at
cust.idl.com.au/fold/teach/sex_marriage/Wanking.html and also at www.pnc.com.au/~pvogel/cm/spring96/wanking.htm
and there is "Re: question" -by Felix Theonugraha, 17 Feb 1999, at
x45.deja.com/getdoc.xp?AN=445285272&CONTEXT=938368511.1713700881&hitnum=105
This
last one is actually a posting to the forum alt.religion.christian-teen which I
accessed through www.deja.com
I
hope you can include these extra 2 articles on your site, & also find a way
to be hit more often when someone uses a search engine to read about this
topic. Do you know of any other web pages that may help a young Christian to
stop feeling guilty about masturbation? --anon....
====
Webmaster's
note: Ok, here's some suggestions--
Here's a link to a christian pro-masturbation site: http://www.libchrist.com/sexed/masturbation.html
-and another pro-Christian site is located at (includes link back to SOLO): http://members.xoom.com/inkaboutit/Index.htm
Here's a link on this site to other christian pro-masturbation info: 120798d.htm
Masturbation Has a Lot Going for It!
Following is a discourse about masturbation from various Net sources. The first section attempts to correct traditional Christian attitudes toward masturbation while other portions are history and a recap of positive pronouncements about masturbation.
Christian attitudes:
Since there are no direct verses other than misunderstood Gen 38 dealing with masturbation [it is] hard to address. Knowing the history however can be helpful:
How masturbation got its bad rap: First came the misunderstanding of the biblical passage related to Onan whose sin, was not masturbation but not impregnating his dead brothers wife. Genesis 38:6-9 – This passage describes how Tamar's first husband Er was killed by God because he was wicked. Under ancient Jewish law, Er's brother Onan was required to have sexual intercourse with Tamar. Their first son would be attributed to Er. Because any offspring would not be considered his child, Onan decided to use a common and relatively ineffective contraceptive technique to prevent any conception. He employed "coitus interruptus". That is, he disengaged from Tamar just before he ejaculated, and "spilled his semen on the ground." (NIV) God was displeased at this action and killed Onan as well.
Then came the twisted Christian tradition that sex was only proper for procreation, not just enjoyment. The stigma was later compounded by the 18th century Swiss physician Tissot who believed that while bood-flow changes during any kind of sex would cause nerve damage and insanity, masturbation was especially hazardous.
Tissot's teachings were picked up by American physician Benjamin Rush. Besides signing the Declaration of Independence, Rush wrote several influential articles on masturbation that helped make it one of the most feared activities in the new United States. Antimasturbatory devices became available, including a tube lined with metal spikes that fit over the penis. Until this century, young men were sometimes put to bed in straitjackets or with their hands tied to bedposts to make sure they didn't do it. Kellogg, of cornflakes fame, was a virulent crusader against masturbation and invented the cereal as one element of a diet he thought would quench the sex drive. (Mr. Graham came up with the Graham cracker for the same purpose.) For those masturbators whom snacks could not cure, Kellogg suggested circumcision without anesthesia.
Finally, around the turn of the century, physicians started to realize that masturbation was not the evil earlier generations thought it was. Still, it was not until 1940 that a respected textbook, "Diseases of Infancy and Childhood," removed its discussion of masturbation from the chapter titled "Functional and Nervous Disorders."
More Detail on the story of Onan -- In the Jewish Hebrew culture a man achieved immortality through his offspring. For example, Onan practiced coitus interruptus to prevent his deceased brother's wife from conceiving, so the LORD KILLED HIM! The sin was not having sex with dead brothers wife (that was required by law) but the "murderous act" that murdered the dead brothers soul no longer immortal with no children. Since immortality is passed through the generations, it's clear why the sins for sexual deviation were so savagely condemned. Under those beliefs, homosexual acts, would have been murderous to all of one's forefathers since they did not pass on children to the next generation and jeopardize forefather's afterlife. Adultery was just as bad since it mixed blood lines. Singles sex was seldom an issue since everyone was married (often to many wives) at a young age.
One's state in the afterlife, according to other contemporary documents of the time, was determined by the number of living descendants one had. The more children one had, the more wonderful one's position in the afterlife would be. Hence, it was important to have many children. This may have been why men of wealth had so many wives and concubines. The sin of Onan had nothing to do with masturbation being wrong. Only the sexually repressive Church tried to teach that as one of the many lies about biblical sexuality. Fortunately most Christians have become more informed and even the traditional church has given up on the Onan lie!
An internet message in reply to above post: --"Quite true. The sad preoccupation with masturbation came from Jansenism, a heresy which said the Human Body is inherently evil. ...As a Catholic Priest, I have sorrowed greatly at the unnecessary neurosis our Catholic Church has fostered regarding masturbation...Glad you have this out there."
Masturbation For Good Health – You are not insane. You are not blind. Your have not grant hair on your palms. You are a completely competent member of society - despite all the times you've done it. Kinsey and the latest Sex in America report show there's a whole lot of shaking going on. Today's sex researchers have come to grips with the fact that masturbation has important physical and emotional benefits for both men and women.
Getting a Grip -- "Masturbation is a normal, natural activity throughout life," says Robert Pollack, a psychology professor at the University of Georgia. It may even contribute to mental health and not doing it may lead to psychosexual problems. For men, masturbation or regular sex is good for the prostate and can prevent painful prostate blockage. For women it can help reduce cramping and for both men and women has been shown to have a healthy effect on the immune systems as well as reducing overall tension and helping emotions. Besides being healthy for the body, a private grope can help both a man and a woman better understand their own sexuality. If you can learn to lie back and enjoy it and really pay attention to the pleasure it gives your body - no one knows better than you what gives you maximum pleasure - you can share that knowledge with a partner and have more mutually fulfilling sexual pleasure sharing. The self-awareness gained from masturbation makes it a central feature of many sex therapy programs.
Evolution may have even designed us to be masturbators. Notice when you are standing where your hand falls if you hang it in front of you. Apes do it, dogs and cats do it, elephants do it and even porcupines have been observed doing it, probably very carefully. One reason we may be so programmed, paradoxically, is to increase our odds of producing offspring. Older sperm can lose their ability to swim well. A good masturbatory flush guarantees fresh, robust sperm for mating.
Storing seminal fluids for long periods can also cause prostate congestion, which in turn can lead to urinary and ejaculatory pain. Regular ejaculations, either through masturbation or intercourse, can help ward off this condition, also called nonspecific prostatitis and, for obvious reasons, "sailor's disease" and "priest's disease."
Another reason why nature designed us to masturbate is to strengthen PC muscles, much like "Kegel" exercises. This is especially true in females where strong PC muscles are practically the sole factor in whether labor is easy and fast or long and difficult. Females masturbating regularly with multiple orgasms would develop strong PC muscles and should have easier labor.
Masturbation is also an ever-renewable health resource. In fact, the people who start the earliest and do it the most often are the ones who do it longest into old age. So, as with all sexual activity, it's "use it or lose it."
Another potential concern is reliance on masturbation for sexual pleasure to the exclusion of intimacy with another person. But in such cases, masturbation is probably a symptom, not a cause, of larger psychological barriers to intimacy. Most people want relationships. But if you're scared of them, you might stick with masturbation exclusively.
As one women said on the internet: "Sexual release is just as important as any kind of emotional release. Saying that you shouldn't masturbate is like saying that you shouldn't cry when you're upset or hurt, or that you should hold in anger and other emotions. I see no difference between sexual release and emotional release. Not releasing will only result in stress and health problems. And I know that I need no more stress in my life. I figure, if something helps a person relieve stress, clear their mind, and make them feel better (that doesn't hurt others, mind you), then more power to them."
Back to HOME page
And here's some discussion, on this site, opposing the prevailing christian masturbation viewpoint: mst1.htm
And,
Now, A Word From Some Mormon Readers...
hi, im very happy for you guys! i myself enjoy a fulfilling and exciting sex life with my husband, we are definately not inhibited! yes you guessed it were mormons, me since age 12 (im 34, im an emt) and my husband all his life 6th generation from ogden utah! not just cause were in the medical field --but because actually, for me, the catholic church taught me that sex was dirty, the mormon church taught me since age 12 it is beautiful and enjoyable, but wait till you are married, and let me tell you, if you saw some of the infections and diseases we have to see each day, you might agree, and hey by the way, our church is the only church that says sex is so beautiful, if we remain faithful to Christ, we can enjoy sex in the next life with our spouse! thats why all the other religions give us a hard time, so look again, i think your missing about 9 million others members that dont have a problem with it, obviously the teenagers (mormon and other ) in utah from your statistics dont seem too inhibited! rock on--sheila and bruce
16 "Flipping Off The Pleasure Police"
www.proaxis.com/~solo/mst1.htm
_
17 "Advantages of Masturbation"
www.proaxis.com/~solo/ellis.htm < same as 13 >
18 "Masturbation & Sex For Good Health"
www.libchrist.com/sexed/masturbation.html
19 "Sex For One, Please..."
www.AllAboutSex.org/sexforone.html
Masturbation and sex are a gifts of God. Masturbation
and sexual lust is not evil lust, it is God designed human nature. Evil lust is
hurtful and harmful to humans. Masturbation is healthy. Masturbation is good.
Masturbation is God designed. Masturbation is good for you. Masturbation is for
everyone to enjoy. http://inkaboutit.homestead.com/index6.html
The Liberated Christian and
Masturbation, the Bible and Sex.
God made us and our human
nature, including our sexuality and said it was very good, accept for the "sin principal
part", which is:
unforgiving, selfish, greedy, unloving, bitter, hatred, unkind, no mercy,
conceited, provoking one another, envying one another, idolatry, sorcery,
hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, envy,
drunkenness, witchcraft, wrath, strife, murders, lies etc.
The spirit of love wars against
the flesh, which is the "sin principal" part of us.
Major Research on Sexuality in the Bible and the Liberated Christian. God made
sexuality, both animal and human. He said it was very good. Only part of human nature is evil
is the "sin principal part", not our sexuality or our nude human
body. http://inkaboutit.homestead.com/index6.html
The Cause for a great deal of the sexual negativity in our culture. When did sex became bad?
http://thinkaboutit.homestead.com/gnotic.html
Who, when, and How Sex Was Made
A Sin?? http://inkaboutit.homestead.com/madesin.html
The false Gnostic ideal that sex
was a sin or evil was forced into the Christian thinking and is kept there by
taking the Bible verses out of context. http://inkaboutit.homestead.com/gnosticlie.html
