# Is masturbation immoral **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776 "2007-12-21T01:12:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/81 "2007-12-22T04:19:13Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Yeah, but so is masturbation. Unless you’re doing it up on a soapbox on a busy street corner. [/QUOTE] True enough. I wonder if there’s a website for masturbating on a soapbox on a busy street corner? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/82 "2007-12-22T04:28:42Z")
Although I have no problem with human beings enacting a simple biological function that tends to relieve stress under certain circumstances, I really just wanted to say I find it \*really \* interesting just monitoring the responses. At least for those who have thus far responded, it would seem the boards are really leaning a certain way these days. I’ll not debase this thread with further speculation; just wanted to comment about a certain one-sidedness. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/83 "2007-12-22T04:37:00Z")
[QUOTE=Lars Aruns] Absolutely true. If God didn’t want us to masturbate, He would have created us with shorter arms that wouldn’t reach the genitals. What I am quite sure He does _not_ want us to do, using the same criterion, is to suck our own dick. 😃 [/QUOTE] Actually I was thinking more along the lines of how we can’t tickle ourselves. So, he _could_ have made it so, uh, self-manipulation didn’t have any effect. And to add some TMI, generally I’m not thinking about anything besides yeah… that feels good. But I’m a little screwed up in the head. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/84 "2007-12-22T05:22:32Z")
[QUOTE=Autolycus] I agree, but, the thing is, is it _really_ possible to masturbate without having lustful thoughts? I know it’s nigh-impossible for me, which is why I try to avoid it. [/QUOTE] Yes. It’s not even that difficult to get most of the way there without even thinking much about the act itself. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/85 "2007-12-22T06:07:22Z")
> [@Sage Rat](#): > > If you hold that the ability to create children is a holy gift, then you can make an argument that masturbating is spitting on that gift. (Similar to if someone gave you a car for Christmas and you went out, trashed it, and then sold it for scrap the day after.) If masturbating is spitting on that gift, then so is living for more than a day past the onset of puberty. Millions of sperm die and get replaced with new sperm every day, and if you go for long enough without masturbating, you’re going to release semen in your urine or while you’re sleeping. Lack of orgasm can also temporarily damage your sexual and reproductive abilities, making a refusal to masturbate or have sex _more_ of an insult to the holy gift of reproduction. In short, the concept that masturbation is immoral is based on a so-called “literal” reading of the Bible; as is the M.O. of the “literalists”, the rules about animal sacrifices, physical contact during menstruation, slavery, a man’s duty to marry his sister-in-law if she becomes a childless widow, the death penalty for wearing two or more different fabrics at the same time, having bowel movements within city limits, leaving all important decisions up to men, etc., are completely ignored in the name of post-industrialism while the restrictions that religious leaders can still hold over ignorant followers’ heads. The appropriate response is to throw the whole damn book out the window. FTR, **AskNott** , God wasn’t asking Onan to commit adultery. In fact, God demanded that Onan fulfill a significant part of the Jewish covenant: if you are unmarried and childless, and your brother dies married and childless, it is your (Onan’s) duty to impregnate his widow. > [@CS Lewis through Autolycus](#): > > And this harem, once admitted, works against his ever getting out and really uniting with a real woman. Yeah. We can tell this is a big problem because the world has become underpopulated since masturbation started becoming acceptable. OH, WAIT. > [@Trunk](#): > > He just wants to point and laugh at all the dopers talking about whacking off. He’ll come back in a month and go, “am I a bad person for eating a whole bag of Doritos while sitting at my computer.” > > It’s so fucking predictable at this point. I don’t think it really matters. There are some Dopers who are bucking the trend, and it’s interesting both to hear their side and to get a chance to present an argument for ours. > [@gigi](#): > > Sex exists for the unification of two married people and masturbation is seuxal activity that is contrary to that. How do you feel about nocturnal emissions? > [@gigi](#): > > I understand that sexual morals are harder to explain because the result of the immoral behavior feels good and presumably doesn’t hurt anyone. I can only pass on what it taught. Wouldn’t that be exactly what would say if they were trying to convince you? Doesn’t that sound like a dodge to you? ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/86 "2007-12-22T06:41:42Z")
I googled . . .is masturbation immoral. I got: > [@](#): > > So, given the boundaries, is it possible to masturbate without straying into sinful thoughts? The answer is yes; for God, in designing the human body, has given it the ability to respond to physical stimuli without the necessity of embracing sinful thought. And it’s all right to enjoy the pleasurable feelings that accompany the activity. > > For example, when someone eats his favorite food, he is enjoying the pleasure of the feel and the taste of the food. Is it sinful to enjoy eating a chocolate bar? No. It only becomes a sin if the activity and the pleasure of eating become something which crowds out God, becoming an end to itself rather than being seen as a blessing from a loving God. At that point, any activity—whether eating, playing golf, watching a sunset, or masturbating—has been abused, and the person has fallen into the sin of idolatry. When a person masturbates, his body will respond to the pleasurable physical stimulation that it’s being given—especially teenage boys, whose testosterone and other hormone levels are at an all-time high and whose physical need for sexual release is very great. > > And if the thought life is kept under control, the act becomes an experience of blessing from the Lord, rather than a shameful one. The sin doesn’t come in enjoying the experience, but rather in abusing a gift that a loving and gracious God has given. From: [Is Masturbation a Sin?](http://www.youthspecialties.com/articles/topics/sexuality/masturbation.php) And that pretty much sums up what I’ve read on the subject by other authors that I’ve read that have studied the subject. There’s a lot more in depth discussion in the article about Scripture and how he got to his conclusions. As for my religion, my google-fu skills work well regardless of my religion. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/87 "2007-12-22T06:51:00Z")
Of course it’s immoral! All those poor kittens… ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/88 "2007-12-22T07:19:22Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] How about mutual masturbation, on the subway, with a stranger? [/QUOTE] Why does this remind me of a really sick game of Clue? ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/89 "2007-12-22T08:38:49Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia] Of course it’s immoral! All those poor kittens… [/QUOTE] But think of all those adorable puppies! I was raised Catholic and I didn’t get the message masturbation was immoral. (Maybe I wasn’t listening; too busy masturbating?) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/90 "2007-12-22T13:08:26Z")
[QUOTE=Jeep’s Phoenix] Every time a _woman_ masturbates, God gives the world a puppy. 🙂 [/QUOTE] If masturbation transmutes kittens to puppies, why isn’t the world devoid of felines and brimming with canines? Therefore, some mechanism is transmuting them back… what could it be? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/91 "2007-12-22T14:18:46Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] Is there an actual or implied ban on masturbation before Paul? I don’t know if Paul was against it, but I’d sure bet that old sex hater was. [/QUOTE] No, he never mentions it specifically. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/92 "2007-12-22T14:43:00Z")
If masturbation is wrong, then I don’t want to be right…handed. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/93 "2007-12-22T17:21:57Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] Is there an actual or implied ban on masturbation before Paul? I don’t know if Paul was against it, but I’d sure bet that old sex hater was. [/QUOTE] Actually, it isn’t Paul who was the sex-hater so much as some of the Early Church Fathers. I think that’s where a lot of the anti-sex (and anti-masturbation) attitudes entered Christianity, probably aided by their exposure to Greek ideas, by misunderstandings of biology, and/or by those writers’ own, well, issues. For example, [QUOTE=Clement of Alexandria] Because of its divine institution for the propagation of man, the seed is not to be vainly ejaculated, nor is it to be damaged, nor is it to be wasted" (The Instructor of Children 2:10:91:2 [A.D. 191]). [/QUOTE] (cue Monty Python’s “Every Sperm Is Sacred”) ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/94 "2007-12-22T18:28:00Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by CS Lewis through Autolycus > And this harem, once admitted, works against his ever getting out and really uniting with a real woman. Yeah. We can tell this is a big problem because the world has become underpopulated since masturbation started becoming acceptable. OH, WAIT. [/QUOTE] My quote was referring to the experience of sex, not to a man or woman’s ability to engage in it. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/95 "2007-12-22T18:39:27Z")
If a man can’t unite with a real woman, how can that man get into that real woman’s pants? Do you honestly believe that marriages have become less loving/unitary since masturbation became acceptable? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/96 "2007-12-22T18:49:02Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] If a man can’t unite with a real woman, how can that man get into that real woman’s pants? Do you honestly believe that marriages have become less loving/unitary since masturbation became acceptable? [/QUOTE] I dont understand your first sentence. As for marriages being less loving, I dont know, but I think it’s possible that a marriage can be harmed if masturbation and lustful thoughts interfere with sex, by preferring the shadowy bride over the real one. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/97 "2007-12-22T18:53:38Z")
A marriage can also be harmed if alcohol, television, or the Dope interferes with sex. Your point? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/98 "2007-12-22T19:06:06Z")
What about women who do it? They don’t actually have any “Seed” to spill… ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/99 "2007-12-22T19:11:23Z")
Don’t worry, **vivalostwages** ; someone will come up with another absurd rationalization once Joel Osteen figures out that women can masturbate too. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776/100 "2007-12-22T19:36:23Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Yes, it’s immoral, and yes, I’m a churchgoer (Catholic). [/QUOTE] Take a look and you will find many church policies which forbid things that do not result in long term growth of the church and its membership. Babies among church membership tend to do that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-masturbation-immoral/430776.md?page=6)