Masturbation

[Spyr]

While I'm not sure that I would say that Jesus did not have a sex drive, I also don't think that having a sex drive is an essential part of human. There have been some historical figures that did not seem to particularly care about sex at all (Lovecraft comes to mind since I am familiar with him; there are probably others), and today there are people who claim to be asexual in that they simply don't get sexual urges. Are those people then not fully human?

Is jesus didn't have sexual urges then he doesn't represent the general population and (as far as I'm concerned of course) thus has no business dying for us. As for Lovecraft (if you are talking about H.P. Lovecraft the author) he went insane and so did his parents. Asexuals are defined as a person who is lacking in sex or functinal sexual organs. If someone doesn't have genitals or has malformed genitals then I don't believe they have a place in this discussion because the subject would necessarily exclude any outliers or extremes.

As far as masturbation goes I have to say that for something to be a sin it has to have some type of logic to it. I may not believe in god but his commandments have reasons behind them that can be discerned. Relieving sexual tension seems an unlikely candidat for sin (hence the lack of scripture speaking of it). Moreover I'd even go as far as to say that someone who masturbates regularly and without excess needs less sex in their life.

But as always I may be wrong, feel free to refute.

 

[Eph. 3:20]

As far as masturbation goes I have to say that for something to be a sin it has to have some type of logic to it. I may not believe in god but his commandments have reasons behind them that can be discerned. Relieving sexual tension seems an unlikely candidat for sin (hence the lack of scripture speaking of it).

Good Insight. I'd have to say for masturbation to be considered a sinful activity, it would have to breach our love for God or love for others. This seems to be the standard by which other sins are measured. Perhaps we should emphasize the fact that God has never called the act of masturbation sinful, instead of believing the traditional teaching which would lead us to believe that the act is sinful.

At many times, God's silence speaks volumes on a issue. We would do well do step aside and resist the urge to try and help Him out.

Eph.

 

[Eph. 3:20]

 

[MoonlessNight]

As for Lovecraft (if you are talking about H.P. Lovecraft the author) he went insane and so did his parents.

Lovecraft had a nervous breakdown. That's not quite going insane. His mother did as well, and it is true that his father was hospitalized, but that was partially due to a bout with syphilis (though there were undoubtably mental effects stemming from that). I don't know what you are really suggesting, that Lovecraft had a breakdown because he was suppresing sexual urges? I don't know whether we can say that, there is very little evidence to go on. I think that it is more likely due to academic pressures, as he wanted whole-heartidly to be an astronomer at that point, but he was not very good at math. Regardless after that incident (which was in his final year of high school) there is no real evidence of him suffering major mental problems, and even if he did, an insane person is still human. Perhaps dysfunctional in some ways, but we do not say that just because someone is not sane they forfeit their human nature.

As for asexual, you gave one definition that is, I will concede, older and more established. But the word is also starting to be used by people who feel that they have no sexual drive at all; it stems of course from the practice of naming sexual orientations, if you have no sexual drive and no sexual attractions, how can it be said that you have a sexual orientation at all? So the term asexual becomes used, that is, lacking a sexual orientation.

 

[Spyr]

Lovecraft had a nervous breakdown. That's not quite going insane. His mother did as well, and it is true that his father was hospitalized, but that was partially due to a bout with syphilis (though there were undoubtably mental effects stemming from that). I don't know what you are really suggesting, that Lovecraft had a breakdown because he was suppresing sexual urges? I don't know whether we can say that, there is very little evidence to go on. I think that it is more likely due to academic pressures, as he wanted whole-heartidly to be an astronomer at that point, but he was not very good at math. Regardless after that incident (which was in his final year of high school) there is no real evidence of him suffering major mental problems, and even if he did, an insane person is still human. Perhaps dysfunctional in some ways, but we do not say that just because someone is not sane they forfeit their human nature.

I was trying to point out that Lovecraft, although a historical figure, certain doesn't represent the norm and the fact that he didn't have sexual urges means little in this debate since he had a life much different than many people. He doesn't represent the norm is all. I appologize if I wasn't clear on that.

As for asexual, you gave one definition that is, I will concede, older and more established. But the word is also starting to be used by people who feel that they have no sexual drive at all; it stems of course from the practice of naming sexual orientations, if you have no sexual drive and no sexual attractions, how can it be said that you have a sexual orientation at all? So the term asexual becomes used, that is, lacking a sexual orientation.

I agree that my definition for the term is too literal for this discussion and I retract it. However, asexualism is not a good example either. Asexualism in the meaning of this thread has different causes namely chemical imbalance in the brain, sexual violation and side-effects from certain anti-depressants.