Didn’t Dr. Sigmund Freud write some weird tract against masturbation? Supposedly, it weakens the self-indulgent. As far as I can see, no one has ever proven that wanking causes any problems.
So what? How does that harm the object of lust? And doesn’t having sex with them do the same thing? What if I think about my wife? Is that still a sin?
How many people do you know who prefer masturbation to actual sex? :dubious:
An orbital sander helps a lot, especially if you’re in a hurry. Remember to cover the sandpaper with a soft towel.
…and have 911 on speed dial…
I respectfully disagree with you on both of those points. A good-looking guy that I have lustful thoughts about who walks past me and I never see again is not de-valued; he had no value to me to start with. He was scenery in my life. I also agree with Dio - I don’t think many people prefer masturbation to real live sex with another human being, and if someone does, good for them. It takes all kinds to make life interesting.
Actually, it has been documented and published by a credible news source that masterbation is healthy for you.
…somewhere a Jack Chic tract just exploded in flames.
Well it doesn’t do any harm to anyone, except arguably yourself. I dont think having sex does the same thing, not at all.
That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that during masturbation, you’re dealing with an image of the person and thinking about that person only in a sexual light. Obviously if the target of the masturbator’s fantasy could be teleported onto his/her genitals, this would be preferred.
And while engaged in a debate with someone, you’re dealing with an image of the person and thinking about that person only in terms of their debating skill, denying them credit for their hot body and sexual skills. So what?
Well, hopefully those idea reflect the person, except in the case of devil’s advocate and the like. Why, are you suggesting we should masturbate to Dopers more often? 
The same thing happens during sex. Hell, sometimes people fantasize about people other than their partners during sex. If I’m having lawful sex with my wife but I’m thinking about Beyonce, am I committing a sin?
I’d say so, but maybe an exception could be made in Beyonce’s case. She is smokin!
How do someone’s hot body and sexual skills not reflect that person?
Why would I care what someone who is so ill educated and/or stupid that they don’t recognise that their argument contains a gaping excluded middle and is thus total crap?
Is she old enough to get pregnant? If not, why isn’t she pregnant? Isn’t she bleeding out God’s gift once a month?
Hmmm. Why would I care what someone who leaves the word “thinks” out of the first sentence of their last post thinks?
Your first sentence was already 31 words long. Nobody noticed.
Am I crapping out God’s gift when I take a shit? I don’t see why masterbation should be held to a higher value than any other bodily excretions or biological urges.
I don’t think you can make an argument saying, “if God hadn’t meant us to masturbate, he wouldn’t have made it possible to do it,” because it’s certainly possible to, say, hit people, or kill them, but that doesn’t mean we should do that.
My view is that masturbation is neither moral nor immoral in itself. It may be turned to moral purposes in some people (keeping them from going crazy with lust and neglecting their schoolwork or other responsibilities, or hitting on random strangers) and immoral in others (possibly becoming a compulsion).
I’m an agnostic, formerly Christian.
They do, but they shouldn’t be isolated from the whole person.
It would be just as easy to argue that debating skills, knowledge of pathology, marksmanship, rhetorical ability or writing skill shouldn’t be isolated from the whole person either, but we do that every day. It’s not possible to get to know every single person you ever see or dream up as a complete person, and it would be boring anyway.
Don’t ask me, it’s not my argument.