be-ing not do-ing wrote:Could someone point out in the Scriptures where it says that masturbation is a sin?
Ultimately, I think the question becomes the fantasies that come along with the masturbation....Considering that we are visual creatures, it is extremely hard to engage in sexaul activity without visualizing the opposite sex. Considering that most of these fantasies involve the opposite gender in an objectified manner (or perhaps more accurately, more likely to involve the opposite gender as objects), I would say that the sin comes in the thought process, not the action itself. In this light, Christ's address to lusting after women would belong here (and vice versa for women lusting after men)
Also, given the huge propensity currently for internet lust, it is very easy to start harmlessly enough and then find that one needs to view the stuff out there to fuel the fantasy.
I would say that women also struggle with this, certainly if not physically, then emotionally. We can objectify men with respect to romance, skewing our expectations just as men can skew their expectations of women physically.
This is an amazing article addressing the topic
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibr ... bal_Cause/
This article nails the heart of the concern....Satan will often drive us mad tormenting us with feelings of inadequcey with regard to this sin. We must never allow this to keep us from God. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive". oFten our guilt keeps us from Christ and this perpetuates the cycle.
