Is masterbating considered a sin?

[ECBBLMSTR]

Why are you going to tell me what is healthy and what is not healthy?

I just stated what is fairly well known already; if you question if it is true, you can post links that tell us how God made sex so it is unhealthy. It is always good to do our own research.

 

[Hupomone10]

I just stated what is fairly well known already; if you question if it is true, you can post links that tell us how God made sex so it is unhealthy. It is always good to do our own research.

Having done my own research, when God gave counsel as to what to do about lust, he told them to "have their own wife" and "have their own husband" and to not withhold their body from their spouse. Nothing was said about "having their own hand."

 

[Boidae]

Having done my own research, when God gave counsel as to what to do about lust, he told them to "have their own wife" and "have their own husband" and to not withhold their body from their spouse. Nothing was said about "having their own hand."

I think I may have responded to this once already in this thread, but will do so again.

Just because you're married doesn't mean that you have on tap sex. There are many factors that could prevent a wife or husband from fulfilling their spouse's sexual needs.

My own wife suffers from multiple sclerosis which has robbed her of her sexual desire. She could care less if she ever has sex again. She does however have sex with me once a month or so and not because she wants to, but rather because she feels it's her duty. I so don't care for duty sex, it's unfulfilling to say the least.

I have a high sex drive, even at 37 years old. I still have my sex drive from when I was a teenager, it hasn't ebbed at all.

My wife knows that I touch and doesn't have any problems with me doing so. She wishes that I would do it more often so it would let her off the hook more.

 

[ECBBLMSTR]

Having done my own research, when God gave counsel as to what to do about lust, he told them to "have their own wife" and "have their own husband" and to not withhold their body from their spouse. Nothing was said about "having their own hand."

Actually, 1 Cor. 7:2 and 7:9 have often been misunderstood in this way due to poor translations and poor exposition. Verse 2-5 is spoken to already-married-couples. Some couples were "not touching a woman" because it was supposedly more holy not to have sex. Paul contradicts that false belief and gives clarification on it through this entire chapter. When it says "have his own wife" "her own husband", this was a command to "have sex with your spouse". This word is never used in the sense of "take a wife, or a spouse" or "to wed". There are several other instances in the Bible of the word "have" or "has" that mean the same thing, "have sex with". Secondly, the sin of "fornications", plural, of verse two refers to (its literal meaning) prostitution, particularly sacred prostitution in worship of Aphrodite. Since these Gentiles came out of this type of idolatry, marital sexual abstinence was causing them to be tempted with going back to the harlots. "Fornication" never refers to premarital or extramarital sex in the Bible.

It would be rather insane for Paul to have said in this passage: "If you singles are being tempted due to your sex drive, get married so you can have sex, since you can't control yourself". A single person... age 14 or age 16 can't just cause themselves to be engaged and married in a couple days time. There is no practical way to obey such instruction. Of course, that's not what he was saying.

Paul doesn't address young singles and virgins until the end of the chapter. Verses 2-5 is about married couples. Verse 6-7 talks about the validity of both celibacy (by having a gift of celibacy, not artificial celibacy/abstinence) and marriage. Verse 8-9 is to widows and apparently widowers/divorcees (unmarried men); I don't think they had a word for widower. Apparently, these male/females in the church were delaying marriage either due to this false asceticism that was being taught or due to concern over "the present distress". Paul simply tells them if you are "burning" with desire to have sex, go ahead and and get married.

I reckon that for most people, masturbation will only suffice for so long as a means of relieving sexual pressure; they will want the real thing, esp. if it is within reach and available, and who can blame them? Others however, perhaps with less sex drive, find it a practical means to avoid what Christian society thinks is "sexual sin".

Thus, those in verse 9, who do not "burn" for sexual relations, therefore, can just as well be viewed as those whose sexual desire is satisfied either through nocturnal emission or masturbation, so they don't get to the state of burning for sex in real time. Or they have received being a eunuch for the kingdom.