I knew nothing about masturbation growing up. nothing at all. I didn’t know it existed until i happened on a family members diary. They were feeling guilty and praying about forgiveness and assistance. And, were asking the pastor at the church for help with it. My parents did not talk about sex and my friends and I were too caught up traveling, performing etc to notice the concept of sex.

So, for me, the religious ideas were not considered until much later on. I see no Biblical reason, why people can not masturbate???? I’ve never read any verses that suggest it is wrong?!

But, i don’t like the idea for me… particularly in a couple. We don’t get enough time to spend together as it is, so I hardly need to take that time pleasuring myself, when it could be with her, in whatever capacity that may be… sex or not…

they are my thoughts?!

If we to apply the ‘back and white’ ideology then we are blind to the fact that there are large grey area, there are much to understand why human person masturbate… maybe there are some psychological and physiological elements to it.

Christians seems to have struggle with the issue of pleasures of the flesh which we inherited from Augustine. There is a greater need to understand the needs of our body with an acknowledgement that we are a human person. There also a fine line between habitual activities and satisfaction of being human. I asked my self this question ‘if my body created byGod with emotional, physical and psychological needs, should my action (masturbation) be classified as self harm therefore alienating my self from god?

Eating is a form of pleasure and meets our physiological need. Over eating is indulging in unhealthy behaviour which leads to multiple health problems.

I’m curious about the ‘right or wrong’ of it.

How would it be if the answer was not black or white?

Lol, that was my first reaction to the question as well. Sandy explained to me in a PM that the phrasing of the question was not exactly what she meant to say. But yeah, I know what you mean.

😆 😆 😆 Someone once told me that I have a talent for pushing peoples buttons.

It probably wasn’t the most PC way to phrase the inqury and it backfired in the sense that we spent more time asserting that there are grey areas than actually discussing the topic, but never mind.

In my paper, which is long past, I look a grey view of it too and my right/wrong, black/white, good/bad starting point was meant as just that, a starting point from which to further explore and in uni-speak critically analyse all perspectives to come up with one that I thought was most in-tune with Evangelical Christian theology. The fact is, without the black and without the white you couldn’t have the grey. So my question: right or wrong? was, yes, intentionally suggestive but more in the sense of giving people that same starting point: that of considering all “right” and all “wrong” options and coming up with one they believed in. Perhaps a more interesting discussion would be around the different shades of grey.

AVB: there are still pockets of Christians who are 100% against it. But then there are pockets of Christians who do all kinds of stupid things. I think, as a majority “the Chruch” generally takes a pretty grey approach too. I think its wise to remember that churches are usually more representative of the thology of the time–an academic perspective rather than being wholely the personal convictions of its members. This is also reflected in the differing opinions about it among the denonminations too. Ask Catholics and ask Pentacostals and you’ll be likely to get answers that differ–not in a totally right or totally wrong sense but certainly one is a dark slate grey and one is more akin to an overcast day. 😆 😆

Well its a many-faceted topic in the sense that for a large percentage of people it involves more than a simple act. Fantasy, porn and so forth come into the equation at various levels and to various degrees as well. For example, if masturbation is okay within a marriage is it still okay if the man or woman is fantasising about someone who isn’t their husband or wife while they do it? There are thousands of little, nit-picking contingencies that people don’t generally consider in detail when discussing the topic as a whole.