What does the bible and God say about masturbation? Is it wrong or right?

Question

I am so confused.. i am onl 14 and just starting to get these feelings. I got so upset about this earlier i started crying, and i just dont know what to do with myself right now.

Answer 1

it depends if your catholic or not! if your catholic its wrong i dont think it says any thing really definitive in the bible though

Answer 2

The Bible doesn't actually say anything on the act of masturbation. Given that it's pretty good at spelling out, "This is wrong," that probably means it's not inherently wrong.

However, it DOES say that it is wrong to lust after a person besides your spouse. Not your future one, but the one you're already married to. And, it says not to become addicted, to not let things or habitual actions control you. Masturbation can involve a great deal of thoughts about people other than your spouse, and it can be highly addictive. It can also distract you from things you need to be doing, which is also not really okay.

So... it depends. If a person does it along with lustful thoughts, or becomes addicted to it, then the Bible would call it wrong. If it leaves a person feeling horribly guilty, it's probably a sign that it's wrong for that individual person, because you don't need to waste time doing things that make you feel guilty.

If you want to understand one perspective on what the Bible has to say about this topic, check out Every Young Man's Battle. It explains a lot about things. We have two teenage boys who brought the book to us, asking for our support, so you wouldn't be the only teen on the planet to agree with it. There is a girls' edition, called Every Young Woman's Battle, and I assume it's good, but I have boys, so I've never read the girls' book.

Answer 3

I had often wondered about that myself until i read a book by a christian named Juanita Bynum. Before reading the book I would have said that masturbation was OK, but after reading the book my views have changed. When you masturbate your mind has to go into a different place. A place of lust. For instance something you've seen before like a porno or something that you wish would happen like a really cute guy you like going up your dress. When your mind is open like that any kind of bad spirits can come in. The battle field for Satan is in you mind. If he can control your mind, he can control your body. If he is controlling your body then you will find yourself in predicaments you don't want to be in. Satan always wants you to think that something is harmless and once you start you wont be able to stop. When those feelings come over you pray and God will relieve you. The bible says if you resist temptation it will flee.

Answer 4

I wondered the same thing for a long time and it is such a touchy and debatable subject. I came across this and it really answered my question!!!

"'When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening. When a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. (Lev 15:16-18)

Notice verse 18 deals with seminal emission during sexual intercourse, but verse 16 is speaking of a seminal emission that does not occur as a result of intercourse. If this is indeed a reference to masturbation, the matter-of-fact way in which God deals with this matter certainly indicates that no feelings of shame should be attached to it. He simply said, "Go take a bath."

It seems to me that if God were really bothered by such a practice, then He missed a teachable moment here in this passage. Since He clearly condemns sexual intercourse between men in Leviticus 18:22 and says "that is detestable", I think that if He had really wanted us to avoid this particular practice, He would at least have said something like "That is disgusting" instead of "Go take a bath."

Answer 5

Yes it is it is a sin against your body, your flesh, your members. Consider your body as God's temple and just ask Jesus for help when you get those feelings. If you commit the sin of masturbating then confess your sin and Jesus will forgive you, but don't do this regularly for it beats the purpose of His salvation. Remember to pray.

"1 Corinthians 6:18 (NIV) further confirms this, saying that unlawful sexual relations defile our own bodies. "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body."

"Isn't it still better to masturbate than to commit fornication?"

The easy answer to this question would be, "Yes, it is better to masturbate, because at best it corrupts only one person. It certainly is the lesser of two evils." However, why would a loving, holy, all-powerful God abandon you to a situation in which you have to choose any evil, whether it be "lesser" or "greater?" To really answer this question, we must again go back to God's original plan for sex.

First of all, masturbation will not truly relieve the sexual pressure that one may feel. It may for a short moment, but in the long run it only creates a deeper desire and capacity for sex, which will lead to more masturbation. If you let yourself become enslaved to a sexual high, you will find that you need to go to increasingly extreme acts to maintain the same degree of excitement. There are even ungodly sex therapists who recommend masturbation as a way of increasing sexual desire, not lessening it. This creates a vicious circle, like the junkie who craves a "fix," but is only temporarily satisfied. The more he indulges in his dependency, the more ensnared by addiction he becomes. This is the nature of all sin. That is why Jesus declared that all who sin become a slave to sin (John 8:34).

Furthermore, masturbation usually involves fantasy, visualization, and often pornography. The Bible is very clear as to what God expects of us in these areas of fantasy and lust. It teaches that we must not look lustfully at each other and nor should we behave in such a manner as to entice others to lust after us."




God bless.

Answer 6

Masturbation is wrong, because acording to the Bible sex for pleasure is wrong. But, don't cry. You are young and the religion is really confusing, itself. Maybe you should read the Proverbs in the Bible, those inspire me when I'm down. You could also pray and tell God how you feel.

Good luck, hun.
:-)

Answer 7

The Christian bible never discusses masturbation, so there is no wrong or right there.

1 Cor 10:23-24 (with emphasis on 24)

I suggest you search the web for sexual education masturbation.

God luck,

Answer 8

Who cares what the bible says? Can't you people ever just think for yourselves without consulting a book?

Sorry to be harsh, but it's just not normal to be upset over this. It just shows how damaging christianity can be to young kids. Masturbation is natural and normal, so no there's nothing wrong with doing it. Anybody who tells you otherwise is too wrapped up in religion to live life, and they probably do it too anyway because everybody does. Even your priest.

Answer 9

The Bible doesn't say anything about it. Don't feel ashamed for natural feelings, they are a gift. Lots of people will tell you its wrong, but we told our kids its normal and perfectly ok to have those feelings, and there's nothing wrong with masturbation. As a young person it's better than becoming sexually active.

Answer 10

The only thing I've ever found is a reference to being "unclean". If a man masturbates, he needs to wash himself with water, and he remains "unclean until evening". Which makes sense, really: who would want to go to church right after he masturbated?

Remember, when speaking near the burning bush, Moses was told to take off his shoes. They made him unclean. Just like taking a shower before church, it appears there are many natural acts that God wants us to separate ourselves from when we go before Him. He didn't expect Moses to walk through the desert and not have dirty shoes - He said "take off your shoes".

C.S. Lewis has a wonderful scene about this as well. There appears to be a true side of God that says "I know about this, but let's not talk about it." God Himself seems to have a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy about certain issues.

Answer 11

The action is not the issue, it's the condition of your heart. Every resource I have is quiet about physical masturbation.

The issue is, what's going on in your heart? Are you lusting? Yeah, that's wrong. Know that the lust is drawing you away from God. Don't fight masturbation, you won't win. Fight lust. You can win and then masturbation will follow.