Masturbation and Porn

Our discussion on porn didn't last very long. Everyone pretty much agreed that "God doesn't like porn/doesn't approve of porn" and that "porn is definitely a problem in today's culture". We essentially agreed that "porn is bad" and consequently dropped it from the conversation. We did discuss the fact that porn is still not addressed as it should be by the church - the elephant in the pew.

Masturbation, on the other hand, was a different matter. There was much discussion of the various aspects of masturbation which have real implications in both our thought life and our physical actions.

Here are some of the issues we discussed:

• When do children become "aware" of themselves sexually? And when does that "awareness" become sinful?


• What does one think about when they masturbate? What thoughts would garner God's approval?


• Is this issue different for women and men?


• Is this issue different for singles and married couples?


• Can a married person just "think of their spouse" while masturbating?


• What if a married person "approves" of their spouse masturbating?


• Can a single person just "imagine their future spouse" while masturbating?


• Is it an issue of self-control or physiological release?


• What if a person thinks of an abstract concept rather than a specific person while masturbating?

During the course of our discussion, we looked at three verses which spoke to the importance that God places on our thought life, as well as the extreme nature of sexual sin in God's eyes: Deuteronomy 5:21 (CEV), Matthew 5:27-30 (NLT) , I Corinthians 6:17-19 (ESV).

We looked at two quotes which were interesting, possibly even absurd.

"Fathers should urge theirs sons, if they masturbate, to imagine their future wife, and never some girl they may know." - James Dobson

"Single males should pray before masturbating, thanking God for the gift of their sexuality and keeping Him in mind while achieving self-release." - Herbert Miles

If you listened to the church, you might be led to believe that women don't masturbate at all, but studies show that 60% of women have masturbated and 30% of the internet porn users are women.

Our next get-together will be on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 5:30 pm. We are going to talk for awhile about Evil: Where is it today?

At around 7 pm, we are going to go down the street and eat at the All-Saints Carnival, a catholic carnival which hosts local food vendors.