Is masturbation a sin? Asking for a friend.

[Jayne]

 

27 minutes ago, ReneeIW said:

Congratulations.

Renee, I'm done.  You said those things WERE in the Bible.  I merely tried to explain how I know that they are not.  You took offense and are still trying to prove they are.

This is a pointless conversation.

I never said self-gratification sent anyone to hell.  I only wanted to point out the inherent problems that are attached to it and stem from it.  Problems that could be avoided if self-gratification were avoided.  Problems which ARE sin.

Good day.

 

[ReneeIW]

5 minutes ago, Jayne said:

You said those things WERE in the Bible. 

Child abuse is in the Bible. You can’t abuse anyone. That includes children. How is that hard to understand? 

And I am not offended. I just didn’t understand the point of you bringing up how long you have been studying and teaching the Bible. 

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by ReneeIW

[ReneeIW]

1 hour ago, Seasoned by Grace said:

Why do we act like we're in Christianity 101???

My opinion is that the problem is not acting as if we are in “Christianity 101” but the opposite: overthinking basic Christian truths just for the sake of argument or to show one’s theological skills. It eventually takes us away from the simplicity that’s in Christ.

[other one]

8 hours ago, maryjayne said:

Any males care to let me know if NOT masturbating causes them physical pain, and do they HAVE to release the unbearable pressure?

Genuine question as, if that is the case, it would be cruel to tell people not to masturbate, wouldn't it?

Mind you, cutting off hands and plucking out eyes sounds pretty painful too

 

I don't know if it would releave that pain, but I can tell you this,  the doctor that did my vasectomy 35 years ago told me that I should have sex two times a week if I wanted to keep a healthy urinary tract all my life.  So did the urologist I went to two years ago when we discovered blood traces in my urine.  So far that isn't a problem at my house but it could be.  If something happene to my wife i doubt i'll. remarry, and cocubines are definately out of the question...  but we'll deal with that when the time comes

[Seasoned by Grace]

21 hours ago, ReneeIW said:

My opinion is that the problem is not acting as if we are in “Christianity 101” but the opposite: overthinking basic Christian truths just for the sake of argument or to show one’s theological skills. It eventually takes us away from the simplicity that’s in Christ.

A true Christian doesn't overthink the faith he is commanded to grow in. To me there is no such thing as a Christianity of simplicity. As time passes, Christianity becomes not only more complicated, but more challenging as the Holy Spirit continues to convict us of things or sins in our life that needs to change. I love the complicated texture of my walk with Christ. It helps my faith to grow and makes me feel more alive and real in the faith and committments I have made to Christ, and the exciting future I have to look forward to, knowing I will continue to grow and become more like Christ.

It's an incredibly life to be living knowing that it is more real than all the rest of life and has icredible purpose above anything else on earth, and we have the undeserved gift of being able to share all we know with others so God can give them not only a better life now, but an afterlife beyond what we can possibly imagine.

Edited August 17, 2019 by Seasoned by Grace

[ReneeIW]

14 hours ago, Seasoned by Grace said:

To me there is no such thing as a Christianity of simplicity

I was referring to something else, but I understand and appreciate your post. 

◄ 2 Corinthians 11 ►

King James Bible   1Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 2For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

[BeauJangles]

22 hours ago, ReneeIW said:

My opinion is that the problem is not acting as if we are in “Christianity 101” but the opposite: overthinking basic Christian truths just for the sake of argument or to show one’s theological skills. It eventually takes us away from the simplicity that’s in Christ.

Point well made.

15 hours ago, Seasoned by Grace said:

A true Christian doesn't overthink the faith he is commanded to grow in. To me there is no such thing as a Christianity of simplicity. As time passes, Christianity becomes not only more complicated, but more challenging as the Holy Spirit continues to convict us of things or sins in our life that needs to change. I love the complicated texture of my walk with Christ. It helps my faith to grow and makes me feel more alive and real in the faith and committments I have made to Christ, and the exciting future I have to look forward to, knowing I will continue to grow and become more like Christ.

 

Your point also duly noted, and nice post, by the way. 

47 minutes ago, ReneeIW said:

 

◄ 2 Corinthians 11 ►

King James Bible   1Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 2For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

The authoritative biblical principle right here in one tidy passage. Thank you. 

[Seasoned by Grace]

1 hour ago, ReneeIW said:

I was referring to something else, but I understand and appreciate your post. 

◄ 2 Corinthians 11 ►

King James Bible   1Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 2For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Hi ReneelW

I see where you are coming from. I thought you were saying that Christianity should be kept as uncomplicated as possible. Christianity is very complicated and as you know needs to be gone over and over to understand it properly.

The words we read in the bible today were translated into several languages before it got to modern day English for SIMPLICITY  of understanding, but in that translation we can easily read what we have now and mis-apply words and meaning, that's why you see people here, including myself going back to the ORIGINAL languages the bible was originally written in , GREEK for New Testament, and HEBREW for Old Testament, to see what the writers intentions were and the words actually meaning as it could have been different, and usually is in many circumstances.

When I quote HEBREW or GREEK, I'm not showing off or trying to be smarter than anyone, I just want to understand what the original writers were actually saying.

That particular word SIMPLICITY in the GREEK is haploos. It's actually a word with a beautiful meaning and very appropriately describes Christ, in the GREEK, but not even close in your translation or my bible or any I've read.

SIMPLICITY here in it's context means - In Christ personality there is no ulterior motives or double motives like the serpent had. It describes Christ's heart of faithfulness toward others and that it is manifested in His helpfulness and giving assistance in His being benevolent. It is HIs faithful benevolence out of Godly motivation in His singleness of heart that is His motivation, as is the Fathers, as an example to us how we should live to honor God in the world around us- FABULOUS .

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this verse, Paul compares the dangers of false teachers invading the Corinthian church to Eve's deception by satan. Paul feared the Corinthians, like Eve, would fall prey to satanic lies and have their minds corrupted. The tragic result would be their abandonment of their SIMPLE (Singelness of heart to Christ)  devotion to Christ and their destruction as believers.

I hope this helps and adds new appreciation for the life Christ lived - Dave

Edited August 17, 2019 by Seasoned by Grace

[Bawcash]

On 8/16/2019 at 3:48 PM, ReneeIW said:

My opinion is that the problem is not acting as if we are in “Christianity 101” but the opposite: overthinking basic Christian truths just for the sake of argument or to show one’s theological skills. It eventually takes us away from the simplicity that’s in Christ.

ReneeIW I like the way you think.

[ReneeIW]

On 8/17/2019 at 1:28 PM, Seasoned by Grace said:

Hi ReneelW

I see where you are coming from. I thought you were saying that Christianity should be kept as uncomplicated as possible. Christianity is very complicated and as you know needs to be gone over and over to understand it properly.

The words we read in the bible today were translated into several languages before it got to modern day English for SIMPLICITY  of understanding, but in that translation we can easily read what we have now and mis-apply words and meaning, that's why you see people here, including myself going back to the ORIGINAL languages the bible was originally written in , GREEK for New Testament, and HEBREW for Old Testament, to see what the writers intentions were and the words actually meaning as it could have been different, and usually is in many circumstances.

When I quote HEBREW or GREEK, I'm not showing off or trying to be smarter than anyone, I just want to understand what the original writers were actually saying.

That particular word SIMPLICITY in the GREEK is haploos. It's actually a word with a beautiful meaning and very appropriately describes Christ, in the GREEK, but not even close in your translation or my bible or any I've read.

SIMPLICITY here in it's context means - In Christ personality there is no ulterior motives or double motives like the serpent had. It describes Christ's heart of faithfulness toward others and that it is manifested in His helpfulness and giving assistance in His being benevolent. It is HIs faithful benevolence out of Godly motivation in His singleness of heart that is His motivation, as is the Fathers, as an example to us how we should live to honor God in the world around us- FABULOUS .

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this verse, Paul compares the dangers of false teachers invading the Corinthian church to Eve's deception by satan. Paul feared the Corinthians, like Eve, would fall prey to satanic lies and have their minds corrupted. The tragic result would be their abandonment of their SIMPLE (Singelness of heart to Christ)  devotion to Christ and their destruction as believers.

I hope this helps and adds new appreciation for the life Christ lived - Dave

Seasonedbygrace,

I thought I had responded to this. Thanks for sharing with me the Greek meaning behind that word and verse. 

I had always been taught that the word “simplicity” in that  verse was referring to the simple message of the GOSPEL. The warning  was about being careful of those who want to complicate the message for their own gain. Or those who twist the meaning of the message for their own gain.

I don’t think quoting Greek and Hewbrew is showing off at all. It’s very helpful.  

I was referring to the argument about child abuse not being in the Bible. The simple biblical truth is that all kinds of abuse are bad. The discussion should end there.  Going into a theological discussion about the fact that those words aren’t in the Bible moves us away from the simple and basic truth that abuse is sinful. And in some cases, may provide an argument for those who want to abuse kids(I wonder how many priests have said that child abuse is not in the Bible). So when you get away from some of the simple messages it allows Satan to come in and muddy the waters. Just my opinion.

I remember being in Philosophy class and having the professor drag me into a debate about the fact that he believed the Bible teaches that a man can rape a woman. He was referring to a verse in Deuteronomy. We all know rape is a sin, but if we allow ourselves to get away from that simple and basic truth and dragged into some sort of theological debate about the verse in Deuteronomy, some may walk away believing the Bible condones  rape.

I’m not sure if  any of that makes any sense. Abuse of any kind is a sensitive subject for me and I get overly sensitive when someone claims it’s not in the Bible. Thanks again for your post

Edited August 18, 2019 by ReneeIW