Is masturbation a sin if you believe in God?

It's a sin regardless. It makes you create lust in your mind, which is a sin (Matt. 5:28).


Bible.com

No, it's not a sin. It's a sin to spell the word wrong though. The correct spelling is "masturbate"

So which one is it YES or NO

God gave you free will so if you want to do it you are more than able to. All I'm saying is it causes you to create lustful thoughts in your mind. God knows what you are thinking. He does not condone lust. Click on that link I gave you.

One of the seven deadly sins, lust that is. So yes technically, but I try to stay away from religious debates. They only muddy the waters.

Phoenix, you will never get 100% agreement about masturbation. Some cultures and religions including Christian fundamentals/evangelicals say masturbation is always wrong, is a sin, an occasion for lust. (Like no one can be lustful without masturbation?? ) It's a way to find out how your body works, but don't overdo it. If one spends a lot of time masturbating, he/she isn't involved in life, especially social life. Also, masturbation can become an obsessive-compulsive habit that rules one's life.

Masturbation is not necessary for mental or physical health. It can be a relief for sexual tension or a type of contraception or a way to forestall premature ejaculation.

Humans are social animals and were made for sex between male and female, not for solitary sex.

Moved this post to Christianity, where you may get more discussion about whether it's a sin.

It's only a "sin" if you don't enjoy it and don't get a fabulous release!

Christian leaders and philosophers have gone way out of their way to spoil an individual's sexual life for many millennia. The big lie is that there is a separation between a person's body and a person's mind---dualism---and that living in one's head and puishing the body is a good thing--IT IS NOT A GOOD THING! In reality, an individual **IS HIS/HER BODY** which includes a brain, hence consciousness. The body is *not* to be punished deprived or scorned, WHAT NONSENSE. :)

Individuals are their bodies!! Just to reiterate. It is unhealthy to think with Dark Ages (my definition-fall of Rome to the Enlightenment) speculation done by weird guys who had no knowledge and plenty of neurosis'.

I'm a follower of Aristotle... **EVERYTHING** in moderation. (Including "religion")
Have a full well balanced life, everything in moderation.

It is only a sin if you believe it is a sin. Personally I do not think it is a sin. You really need to decide for yourself how much you believe in God and the words of the bible. But remember, you are no saint - you are a simple human being. And if the bible is the word of God - God forgives everything.

I would not necessarily agree, though that is no doubt often (or more likely most of the time) the problem. Lust is not wrong if the subject of that interest is your wife - that is the one exception. But I do agree that the majority of the problem with masturbation is that it does involve the sin of lust.

Masturbation is often called the sin of Onan because of this passage, which is often used to justify calling it a sin:

Gen 38:6-10
7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him. 8 And Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother." 9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother.
NKJV

Now this is not specifically masturbation. The sin here is that he was to raise up an heir and he sinned by not doing so.

It depends on how you interpret the scripture's admonitions against fornication and adultery. Since masturbation involves sexual "relations" with "someone" other than one's spouse, in all likelihood it's arguably sinful.

Why do you assume that it is not the person's spouse that they are lusting over? I grant you, your assumption is probably true most of the time, but what about a case where the spouse is away on a trip, or in hospital, or unable to have sex for medical reasons. My point is that we ought to be careful about making a blanket statement.

In any case we really don't truly know what the bible might have meant. Simply because that it's been altered too many times.

Really? Why do so many people make this claim, and yet no one brings forward any evidence of the so-called alterations.

Okay, if you can manage to masturbate on feelings alone, then no, but if you need to create mental images of women, which most men do, then yes, it is lust.
The only thing the bible directly mentions is in leviticus, saying that it is shameful for a man to spill his seed on the ground...
So its not a sin, but I think that if you want to please God, which is our purpse, and as christians we have decided to embrace that purpose, then you will abstain...

It really doesn't matter anyway because you have tons of time to pray for forgiveness. I always clean my seed up with a towel. LOL

Could you give a reference in Leviticus? The only reference that I have heard used before is the sin of Onan in Genesis 38, but as I piointed out earlier, the Genesis 38 passage does not apply to the specifics of what we are discussing.

For Christians, the OT is a guidebook, not a lawbook. The Ten Commandments no longer condemn us, but lack of love does.

Yeah I have to mention that wondergirl is right. The old testament laws were in the old covenant, the laws by which the jews must abide in order to seek atonement for their sins.
And the seed on the ground wasn't in leviticus, what I was thinking of was

Lev. 15:16 And if any man has a discharge of semen, he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening. 17And every garment and every skin on which the sperm comes shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening.


Either way, that's old law, not governing over us anymore.