Is masturbation a sin? Is there any sin in exploring one’s body? People may be extremely uncomfortable in bringing up this topic, even in front of their better half. Many people have even found the internet as a refuge to answer this question for them. But who can actually say is masturbation a sin or not? According to the Bible, there is nowhere a complete forbiddance of masturbation. The problem is not in masturbation itself, but in the other dirty fantasies that accompany a person masturbating. Is masturbation a sin? Well, to get to the proper answer to this question, you need to go through the entire article as it completely dwells on this topic. Scroll down to learn more!
What does the Bible say about Releasing Sperm? Is masturbation a sin?
According to the bible (Leviticus 15 part 16):
“When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.”
Part 17:
“Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be uncleaned till evening.”
So, nowhere we can see the mention of the line, ‘masturbation is a sin,’ which simply means that it is not. But there are always two sides of a coil. One resembles righteousness while the other condemns it. According to the Bible, Satan is attracted to you if you masturbate through porn videos. It is said that if any other women are helping you to masturbate instead of your wife, they are evil. They promise you to give you heaven, but they give you hell. Satan then gets a hold of you. It makes you aroused with greed, which he did not bestow upon us with his blessings. This greed starts to grow each day while making you dissatisfied and empty as much as you masturbate that way. In short, according to the Bible, if the reason behind your masturbation is not your own wife, it is not correct.
Is Masturburation a Sin?
Well, no one has yet to decide that. This is because the topic of ‘masturbation,’ is generally very sensitive and it varies from person to person. Not only that, there are cultural, religious, and personal beliefs of each person that make them have conflicting views on whether masturbation is a sin or not. Some people are greatly religious and it is kind of forbidden for them to masturbate, or even talk about this. This generation is not so religious, and they believe masturbation to be a natural feature of human sexuality. It is quite a deep topic in which a person’s moral values, ethnicity, culture, and piousness depend.
So, we cannot just say that ‘masturbation is a sin’ or ‘masturbation is not a sin,’ because this answer depends on one individual and his or her own beliefs and faith.
What is the religious view? Is masturbation a sin?
Some may think, like the Christians and the Muslims that masturbation is a sin. This is because they think that masturbation is a stimulus to sex, and sex before marriage is a sin. But if we talk about the holy book of the Christians, that is the Bible, nowhere it is written that masturbation is a sin. Some people also condemn masturbation and think it is a sin because it is a physical form of lust and sexual pleasure. In most of the holy books, lust is regarded as a sin. Also, people state masturbation as a sin, because through time, it becomes really addictive and tempting.
Personal views on: Is masturbation a sin?
Sometimes even our intuition asks us, “Is masturburation a sin?” This is because this topic is quite sensitive and it is always causing a sense of confusion in a person. But this is the place where you should not feel confused. According to the book ‘The Purity Principle,’ it is stated that “When we turn to masturbation, we are medicating a pain- maybe loneliness, discouragement, rejection, or fear. There is something deeper than just the obvious desire. We need to address the root issue, to ask God to meet the needs that make us vulnerable to the temptation.”
This means that most of the time when we are lonely and vulnerable, masturbation comes to us as a refuge. It helps us to go through the difficult time when we are anxious or depressed. And we are sure, that there are no Gods that love seeing their children disturbed or depressed. Hence, if masturbation is a key to your happiness, then there is no harm in performing it, at least it is not a sin.
Hence, it is quite normal to masturbate either wise you are sexually active or not. Today, millions of people masturbate to get over depression, anxiety, or loneliness. It is like an escape from reality where the person can find pleasure.
Though we agree that masturbation is not a sin, it does become a nuisance when people start misusing it. For example, when men masturbate publicly. Masturbation should be considered as a private and personal act, and should not be performed in a place full of people. Engaging in such activities is considered inappropriate and unlawful in many jurisdictions. This is due to various reasons.
Why public masturbation is unethical?
- Violation of public decency- indecent exposure of one’s genitals may lead him or her to a problematic situation if a witness complains. This is caused because the witness may go through discomfort or distress in that situation.
- Legal consequences- obviously there are going to be harmful consequences for such nasty acts! It may lead to fines, and penalties or may even cause the person jail time.
- Respecting the boundaries of others- people who try to masturbate in public need to keep in mind that some people in public may find it discomforting to watch the scene. We must keep in mind, that we are human beings and that is why we made a civilization. We must respect each other’s boundaries.
Potential benefits of masturbation
As stated earlier it is not necessarily a sin if you are not doing it greedily and lustfully. Masturbation can have several benefits that have been proven scientifically:
Masturbation improves sleep. When orgasms are achieved through masturbating, it can make a person relaxed and tired, hence promoting easy sleep.
As stated at the beginning of this article, self-exploration of sexuality is needed for every human being. When one explores his or her body, and sexual responses, he or she gets their preferences which aids in increasing self-awareness. Also, according to a study performed, this can aid in comfortable intimacy in the future.
Masturbation works magic on people who have loads of stress. This is because masturbation is a natural stress reliever. This will eventually improve the person’s mood and cool their temper.
Physical pleasure can be achieved through masturbation. This component is needed in your body because it leads to pleasure and satisfaction that eventually makes you feel happy.
When a person masturbates, it aids blood to flow to the genital organs of that person, which improves the sexual function of the person. Not only that, it also promotes strength in the pelvic floor muscles and makes the person prompt to sexual arousal and response.
Surprisingly, masturbation can help in the growth and development of self-esteem. When one is comfortable with their own body’s sexuality, he or she can get the idea of a positive body image.
Last but not least, masturbation can contribute to relationship benefits. This is because, masturbation enhances a person’s confidence, self-esteem, communication skills, and pleasure which promises a more satisfying sexual relationship.
The benefits that a person gets from masturbating, depend from person to person. That means, that maybe some people have benefitted from all these factors, some may have gained a few of them, while some do not get any pleasure after masturbation.
Since now we know that most of the people from this generation think that masturbation is not a sin, it is not correct to say that it can be done all the time. Let us know some of the major disturbances caused due to masturbation.
Disadvantages of excessive masturbation
If a person masturbates regularly, it may cause irritation in his or her genital areas which will result in reddening, soreness, and swelling. Sometimes due to excessive masturbation, minor cuts are resulted.
Masturbation can decrease sensitivity. This means that from onwards it will be difficult for the person to receive pleasure or orgasm even after sexual intercourse if he or she masturbates regularly.
Sexual dysfunction such as erectile dysfunction or delayed ejaculation can occur to a person if he masturbates on a daily basis.
A person who masturbates frequently isolates himself from others because he or she is always thinking about masturbating, their focus is only on one thing. In this way, problems start to arise in their relationship with their family, friends, and especially their partner.
Masturbation can even cause psychological effects on an individual. We already know that there are some religions and cultures for whom masturbation is regarded as a sin, so maybe after masturbating the person overthinks about his or her conservative culture and traditional beliefs, which makes him or her feel guilty or shameful.
Regular or compulsive masturbation can cause medical addiction to a person. He may become so addicted that a pattern of compulsiveness occurs which interferes with the person’s psychological and physical behavior.
All these disadvantages only occur if the person masturbates daily, and that too, addictively. We should know that everything in excess is not good, and so is masturbation. But that does not mean that masturbation is a sin. In fact, it is a very normal and healthy sexual activity. So, to answer the question: Is masturbation a sin? We really need to go with our personal beliefs and faith.
Conclusive Insights
Well, it is a taboo world and here people may condemn activities like masturbation as a nuisance. But that does not make it a sin. Hence, we think you have got an answer to your question: Is masturbation a sin? We just have to make sure, that the people engaged in these activities are doing it privately so that it does not break the boundaries and privacy of others.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q.1 Is masturbating bad in Hinduism?
Ans. In Hinduism, there is no specific teaching or concept of sin related to masturbation.
Q.2 Can masturbation cause blindness?
Ans. Absolutely not. It is a myth.
Q.3 Give any one benefit of masturbation.
Ans. Masturbation or self-exploration of sexuality is needed for every human being. When one explores his or her body, and sexual responses, he or she gets their preferences which aids in increasing self-awareness. Also, according to a study performed, this can aid in comfortable intimacy in the future.