Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
Masturbation is not abuse.
Prove it's abuse first.
Won't stop natural urges... does your Religion posture itself against natural things like homosexuality & masturbation for any reason? Surely God wouldn't have people born this way if he hated it so much, would he?
The purpose of those parts is reproduction. I would suggest that using them in a way that prevents reproduction is misuse, or abuse. I understand not all would agree with this.
Are people born this way, or is this the result of sin? Certainly the scriptures condemn homosexuality.
Masturbation doesn't prevent reproduction. Even if it did, do we really need more humans, are we an endangered species?
All mammals are known to have around 5% to 10% of their populations born homosexual. Even if you believe 'sin' to be a thing, these people born as such, can't be held to account any more that heterosexuals can be forced to be homosexuals. Your God would know this and had he written the bible himself, wouldn't have condemned it.
In a basic sense. but I'd say there are social components of sexual organs as well that go beyond that function.
Masturbation doesn't prevent reproduction, and I don't understand why you think it would. Do you honestly think people getting into masturbation so much that they have no interest in actual sex is a huge problem? Are you unaware that masturbation is not uniquely human in the slightest? Because that fact has made for a few awkward personal experiences for me at zoos. Not something I want to see, but I'm not going to go in there and tell off the bonobo for "sinning".
-_- all evidence points to homosexuality being mostly genetic, and certain trends with brain structure are also noted. Suggesting it is the result of sin heavily implies that all humans are secretly bisexual or something.
My point was that it detracts from the main purpose of sex, and reducing this detraction is probably a good thing. Scripture is not so clear on the subject as it is on homosexuality, or lying, so I won't be dogmatic about it being wrong.
I think reproduction should be reserved for husband and wife.
I reject such claims. The evidence points to homosexuality being a result of environmental and psychological factors.
Lying and usury are both sins. The bible does differentiate between usury (taking interest from one's friends), and taking interest from one's enemies.
Yeah, the scriptures say a lot of things that don't make sense.
Ever since it became established that birds had indeed descended from theropod dinasaurs I have been thinking of them in that way. Looking out of my drawing room window I can watch dinosaurs feeding, roosting, fighting over mates and flying around the sky with an enchanting variety of flight styles. When I was growing up we had a pet dinosaur. It was often allowed the freedom of the house to fly around in and would sit on my head giving a rendition of its extensive vocabulary. I've found that thinking of birds as dinosaurs makes the world just a little bit more magical.
-_- it doesn't distract from actual sex at all. Plus, I contend with your implication that sex is really only for reproduction. It's huge as far as social bonding and mental health go, for humans as well as many other mammals.
Yet, you'd advocate for genital mutilation in the hopes of reducing masturbation, yet you'd never advocate cutting out people's tongues to reduce lying. Is a person really good if the only reason they don't commit sins is because they have been rendered physically unable to commit them against their own will?
-_- are you unaware that husbands with low sperm counts often need artificial assistance to get their wives pregnant? Having one's own husband be the sperm donor is not uncommon. In fact, I am pretty sure the sperm and egg freezing industry started out as a means by which young people could have children after going through cancer treatments that would render them infertile, such as removal of the testes.
Cross-Cultural Evidence for the Genetics of Homosexuality
-_- so do you keep lying or not? You can't act as if a person must absolutely stop all sinning or they are a bad person if you yourself continue to use lies day to day to avoid social drama, etc. Not without sounding like a total hypocrite. Maybe you lie about how you feel about something by forcing a smile, or you commit a lie of omission by refraining from mentioning that you don't like something a friend is passionate about. Maybe you think about having sex with a person of the same gender as you because you read this sentence.
All I can say then is:
I just said that based on some studies, circumcision may have this benefit, although this reason alone probably wouldn't justify it. I think the more important benefits are health to both marriage partners, and function, but understand some disagree with this position. If you believe that circumcision does have benefits, it fits in with God choosing as a covenant sign with His people, the same as with the dietary laws that prohibit unhealthy foods. If you don't, well, that's up to you.
Modern, "politically correct" studies. My experience agrees with the older studies, saying its caused by domineering mothers and weak fathers.
There's a difference between a thought and lust.
Incorrect and irrelevant.
Where does scripture say all sins are equal? All sin leads to death, yes, but not all sins are equal.
Let's not look at "professional creationists" with this one.
