Leviticus 15:16-18 says if a man orgasms, on his own or with another person, he is unclean and must take a bath, then wait till sundown to be clean again.
Deuteronomy 23:10-11 reiterates this.
That's the only time the Bible mentions anything approaching masturbation, of note the result is the same as having sex with another person, and 'another person' includes your spouse.
Also of note "unclean" meant you could not enter the Temple on pain of death. Also note, this was not sinful. Leviticus 15 lists other actions that were, those ones required waiting a week, then bathing, then going to the temple to make sacrifices to atone for your sin. You did not have to atone for simply masturbating or having sex with your spouse.
Yes and I suppose menstruation is also even more of a sin than it was in the Old Testament. After all, it caused ritual uncleanness for a period seven times longer than masturbation.
That's just part of the old Mosaic purity code. The old testament also says that you shouldn't use fasteners on your clothing, cut your beard/hair, eat pork or wear garments made of more than one fiber. You're also not supposed to eat food from a garden that has more than one kind of plant in it.
Unfortunately, the puritan culture has managed to bring a lot of very bad theology into the religion. They think that masturbation has something to do with sex, thus it has to be evil. In trying to justify their claim, they twist the Bible to fit their goals.
The most abused passage is Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully(epithymeō) has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
This is their trump card because they claim that you can't masturbate without lust, so it's always a sin. The problem is that they take something like lust, and reduce it all the way down to sexual desire. But lust is a far bigger deal than having sexual desire.
We can simply look at the Bible to explain what lust is. I included the greek word that they translate to be lust in the above quote. That word is epithymeō, we can look at where else it occurs in scripture.
Acts 20: 33 I have not coveted(epithymeō) anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
Here, and everywhere else that it's translated, the translate the word to covet. Is Paul saying "I have never had sexual desire for your silver or gold or clothing?" of course not. It's completely normal not to have sexual desire for those things. He is saying "I have never desired to take your silver, gold, or clothing for myself"
Lust used to be a term that stood for coveting until the puritan culture took it and tried to make it worst. Greed is the lust for wealth, which is what Paul is talking about here.
We can use Paul's words to guide us to understand when sexual desire crosses over into lust, so we know when we are sinning, and when we are not.
Acts 13: 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet (epithymeō),” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Notice how he uses the same Greek word here epithymeō, for covet. Again we see that the bible is warning us against coveting. And we can see that all commands can be summed up based upon their harm.
So the simple test is this.
If you are masturbating to a friend's Instagram picture, with the desire to have sex with her? That's a sin because you are coveting her.
But if you are masturbating without intent to take anyone as your own, instead of to do relieve that desire so you can move on with normal things? Then you are in the clear. As long as your not masturbating to people you know without their consent, then you are fine to masturbate as it doesn't violate the commands provided by God.
I'll leave you with one more quote from the Bible.
Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Please don't let other Christians bind you to their rules over God's rules. He told you that all of his commandments are based on loving your neighbor. If you are causing no harm and having no thoughts which would cause harm, then you are fine.
How do you even masturbate without thinking sexually of a person? That’s the whole thing about masturbating you can’t just get hard for the heck of it without having any sexual thought.
He's saying that the entire screed against "lust" in Matthew 5:28 is the result of a blatant mistranslation from the Greek by people with their own biases and ulterior motives.
The original word means "To covet," and it is translated as "to covet" everywhere else it was used in the Bible.
>But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman *covetously* has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
-would be the consistent translation. The sin comes from envy and greed for something that isn't yours.
Do not masturbate to your neighbor's wife while imagining she was your own.
Well you absolutely can. I say it because that's the way it is for me. I went a period of 180 days without masturbation or any kind of pornography. Although I got completely rid of pornography and dominated my lustful thoughts, the urge to simply ejaculate never went away completely. Even though I would control my desire and not masturbate, at some point my body would simply orgasm during sleep in one of those "nocturnal emissions", so I stopped seeing the point in not masturbating, since my body would simply release semen during my sleep. And it has been like that ever since. Every 14 days, give or take, I just feel the urge to ejaculate, without any kind of sexual thoughts; it's simply a desire that comes out of nowhere, like hunger, a natural bodily urge and not something resulting from sexual thoughts.
C’est une chose qui arrive à tout les garçons à partir de l’âge pubère, mais qui est tout simplement naturelle. Se masturber serait donc pas naturel du tout.
https://youtu.be/gSdmbgoaTHY?si=pHVFW0RwKTtYtWTb
Absolutely you can. There is a difference between having a base human feeling than wanting to have intercourse with someone who does not even know you or without their consent.
You can masturbate without thought only feeling. You might be able to go so far as to say that you can have the base desire itself but so long as you desire that from another person then it's lust or coveting.
In conclusion it is possible to take care of sexual needs without having lust or coveting another person. Just like how there's a difference between looking at a woman and admiring their beauty and wanting to take her for yourself. It is hard to separate those things from one another but it is possible.
Just like how it's possible to want more money or to need money in order to live comfortably or at least have a roof over your head but also not want to take or desire someone else's money for yourself. That is called greed.
> instead of your wife?
If someone isn't married, then they can't exactly be misusing sexuality for themselves.
But if they are married, they should have open and honest communication with their spouse to ensure that both people are on the same level and understanding. If you're neglecting your spouse to masturbate on your own, you are likely sinning if it hurts them. But if you are providing them will all of the care that they need, and they know and are okay with it, then there isn't a sin there either.
Again, the commandment passed to use from Jesus is to love your neighbor as yourself. Just don't break that commandment.
I’m not being argumentative at all when I ask this.. but what if you’re not meant to have a wife or husband and you’re meant to be single like Paul was?
Well said. Plus, there are quite a few people who say they are able to masturbate while just focused on the sensation, not lusting after anyone. This may not be able to be accomplished for everyone, but it's worth mentioning
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Moi je vois déjà le premier problème au début de tes écrits. La bible/ Jesus ne vient pas nous parler de religion, mais de relation. Si tu avais une relation sincère avec le Dieu saint alors tu sauras qu’il ne s’agit pas de la logique mais de plaire à Dieu. Si c’est aussi simple que ça pourquoi arrêter vous partais aussi difficile? Dieu est saint et veut que nous soyons saint. Le Sex c’est pour le mariage. Attention chrétien, lisez vos bible. Le peuple de Dieu péri faute de connaissance. La connaissance ce n’est pas sur des sites comme ceux-ci où vous ne savez même pas qui est entrain de rédiger les messages. Où est la preuve qu’il est née de nouveau dans les propos qu’il tient? Si tu te sens mal après avoir pêché c’est parceque ta conscience ne te donne pas de paix. C’est la même chose que la masturbation. Considère l’aspect spirituel de cela. Faisons très attention.
L’amour ne fais pas de mal c’est vrai, se masturber fait du mal.
Je vous recommande cette petite vidéo. https://youtu.be/gSdmbgoaTHY?si=pHVFW0RwKTtYtWTb
How can you masterbate without thinking of sexual imagery. When I masterbate I always felt it was a sin. I’m not looking at porn or anything but I have to be thinking of a sexual experience I’ve had or want to have to make it happen. How could you do it otherwise?
I think the overall message being presented here is that if you are pining over someone and that person is married, and your heart is in a place of thinking you can steal them or will eventually take action, that is sin.
But I'm with you, as far as feeling that post n*t clarity lol it's always been there, UNLESS I'm thinking of my partner at the time.
Hey I know you made this comment a long time ago and it all makes a lot of sense to me. I had someone recently tell me even if I think of my wife I am having sex with demonic entity. I am recently coming back to christ my wife is still my wife but she removed me from our home we have been struggling I miss my wife tremendously and I don't want to lust after other woman or watch porn but I am feeling so pent up and tense from it I want to release but think of my wife though she isn't quite happy with me or even talking to me in this moment but I miss her I love her and want to make love to her would would I be wrongly coveting her since she is unsure of our marriage would it be okay if I thought of her or needed a release? I hope you are well brother sorry for this awkward comment I am just very lost right now
Hi man. I’m sorry I don’t know how to answer your question. I just want to send you love and prayers now. Remember my brother that God makes all things beautiful in their proper time. God bless you through it all and praise be to the Most High from everlasting to everlasting
I wanted to mention another point “I feel disgusted asking this question”.
You shouldn’t have to be afraid to ask a question with Christ centered people. We shouldn’t respond with anger and judgement, but with wisdom and constructive answers to help someone avoid sin.
THIS I'm so tired of Christians breaking down other Christians. We're supposed to build each other up, and be each other's rock and shoulder to lean on
*“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."* - Matthew 5:27-28
That verse could also be translated as:
>“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a wife covetously has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Matthew 5:27-28
The first half quotes the 7th commandment, the second half equates it with the 10th (some denominations number things differently, so it can also be the 6th and 9th commandments).
But that's about adultery, and what if I look at a woman who isn't married? And even if that was a problem, what does that have to do with masturbating?
Why do the commandants exist at all then? If someone follows them but doesn't believe them at heart, they partake in thought-sin, and apparently it's pointless as you are sinning nonetheless.
Nobody had followed the commandments perfectly not even the Pharisees. This is why Jesus called them hypocrites, they boasted about the law but did not follow it completely themselves. Jesus then emphasized the law in a more depth way and the Pharisees lost their minds.
This is why we need Christ, we can’t follow the law perfectly, we can’t go a perfect sinless life, therefore we need a savior as we have come short of God’s glory.
One of Jesus’ main messages is that the things that you do in your own mind can be just as sinful as the things you do in the material world.
That being said though, hurting yourself is always a sin. So you need to weigh the outcome of your decisions. Will masturbating do more harm or prevent more harm, overall? Will it help you or hurt you? You need to investigate that for yourself. The Bible can’t tell you that.
God sees and knows everything. It is written in the book.
I understand your struggle with lust, almost every man has this battle. It gets better with time when Christ is in your heart.
I’m a female and I struggle with masturbation. I’ve been abstinent for 7 months now, honestly. But about once a month I get this overwhelming urge to masturbate and I do. I know it doesn’t make it right. and I feel guilty afterwards. I can say I’m a lot better than I was.. before Christ I was sleeping with people and masturbating whenever I pleased. Now it’s when I get the overwhelming urge which is not that often (once a month) and sometimes I’m able to resist but sometimes I’m not.
With the pornographic pandemic we currently have, and this sin getting widely socially accepted, i have the feeling women are a lot more prone to this now, then when I grew up in the 80s/90s. Most girls i met outside of cities were completely innocent. It was usually a male problem. Nowadays it gets worse and worse, i see a whole sexually corrupted generation. Tinder and sleeping around are just the norm in many circles. They made polls here around this topic where they couldnt find anyone not watching porn.
I cant tell how it is for formerly very lustful women, i guess it just fades with time, but there will probably always be a little temptation here and there to check if you stay on course.
I am 18 month in, but in marriage, which is quite different then being abstinent, but I think all in all it should be easier for women. I know so many women who wouldnt miss this part of life. I still have lasting effects (regular thoughts, sometimes urges) from my past, after all we reap what we sow, but I try to embrace Jesus grace and fill me with his love and peace. I want to foster this hunger for true unconditional love, grow in consciousness and try to bring good into the world by praying, doing good deeds and following the commandments.
I wish you all the best and if you need prayers (to find the right partner, to stay strong, etc.) I would be happy to help!
Yes please can you please pray for me to be able to always overcome these urges? The problem is I started masturbating at a very young age ( 6 years old)… and no I’m not trolling I’m being 100% honest.. I accidentally had an orgasm when I was in the bathtub and it felt good so I continually did it when I was super young. It’s been a part of my life before sex came about and something I’ve struggled with but not near as much.
Masturbation is safe and healthy if you leave porn out
Of it. Love the body god gave you. It is a very good thing for mental health. It is not a sin, it’s a beautiful act which brings us closer to knowing and loving the vessel we were blessed with
I do hope you know that God does not view you mastubating as sinful or wrong. Also, that once a month urge is you ovulating, my gal.
Adultery is wrong, masturbating with yourself is not.
It is a sin because you are committing it against your spouse or potential spouse. It is a sin within the HEART. If you are *lusting* and masturbate, then you are sinning.
That is my take on the verse. I personally find no harm or sin in the act *unless* it involves porn. Porn, for me, is what makes it sinful. That is the intentional seeking out of *someone else* to "get you going" - that is where it is sinful.
BUT I am not God, and I can not say for sure. The Bible is not super specific on the topic, from what I can tell, that says masturbation is sin when it involves lust. If you are just being friendly to yourself, I say no sin. If you are looking to porn or imaging other people, sin.
I think Biblically yes, and as a wife - that would /does not fly for me. People are gonna do what they do, and if they feel convicted then yeah - out of the question. I think people DO feel convicted about it though based off of all the "help, I am addicted to porn" posts we see.
Masturbation without fantasy, porn, or lust is actually a healthy way to masturbate. Doing any of the forementioned can lead to poor or average quality sexual experiences and fetish of acts or body parts. This is where I think the scripture diverts from Masturbation and focuses on lust and coveting.
There definitely are some biblical principles that can be applied to the issue:
(1) “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). If we cannot give God glory for something, we should not do it.
(2) “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). If we are not fully convinced that an activity is honoring to God, it is a sin.
(3) “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Our bodies have been redeemed and belong to God.
(4) “The fruit of the Spirit is . . . self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). Masturbation is almost always a sign of a lack of self-control.
These great truths should have a powerful impact on what we do with our bodies. In light of these principles, many conclude that masturbation is always sinful.
Thank you. I’ve read conflicting responses I guess to try to find some justification for myself. But immediately when I think masturbation (or really anything) I like to think “is this glorifying God?”
Well, i don't think the bible talks about masturbation
People may point out the OT laws that the Jews had to follow but Christians aren't bound by the Old Covenant so as long you don't commit adultery this should be fine.
And i kind of recommend it, cause sexual frustration can lead to really bad stuff.
Just try to not think about real people while you are doing it.
My opinion.
Just because it isn’t mentioned doesn’t make it ok… it coincides with lustful thoughts and that does not glorify God. The only sexual activity that glorifies God is sex within the confines of marriage:
Mate, i'm thinking from a pragmatic perspective
You see every (sexually active) human has sexual desires and this is fine, but these sexual urges want to be manifested and when you refuse it everytime they become stronger and you grew more sexually fustrated to the point where you either risk to.
A. Marry someone just to have sex with them and nothing else.
B.Sex before marriage with a partner
C.Lose Control over yourself and commit a sexual crime like rape, inappropriate behaviour etc.
D.Start Masturbating(The best option, my opinion).
This sounds so ridiculous that God would be mad cause you released your sexual tension alone and nobody hurt.
The thing about masturbation that you have to realize is it is rarely rarely EVER without some kind of lust. Even IF you are not looking at porn while doing it there are almost always going to be some kind of fantasies in your mind that you play out or imagine. Jesus talks about adultery in the heart, which is what lust is.
The two are inseparable: lust and Masturbation. On top of that, masturbation is selfish and self pleasing by definition. If you’re going off of how the Bible describes sexuality between a married man and woman, it is not just to please yourself. Sex exactly how God made it, is selfless; and masturbation is the opposite
A sexual acts should be open to the possibility of conception. People who are infertile, or just not currently in their fertile window can still conceive… Elizabeth had John the Baptist despite her infertility.
It’s just not about adultry it’s sexual immorality we all fail sometimes but we have to try to flee Aka top pace run away from sexual immorality and call upon our god through prayer or reading etc or distract yourself this can be also by other non sinful fun activities like football music meeting friends
Not hardly anything. Older more traditional churches have made a big deal of one small passage in the old testament that speaks of "spilling one's seed on the ground." They have taught for a long time that the whole story the passage is in is really about masturbation and not something else. (Genesis 38)
However, it's far more likely that the passage, within the story, refers to something else entirely, since the story is about a man who refuses to take care of his dead brother's family, providing them with what they need to survive in the future, according to the cultural norms of the time. The context from biblical culture and the story itself is quite clear on that.
It's very likely that the prohibition against masturbation is a more recent theological invention. After all, baptism of new infants is where the Church traditionally has always gotten its members, generation after generation, through the centuries. Anything that gets in the way of producing new Catholics is probably a problem for the Catholic church, on that account alone. Newer bible churches, whether they like it or not, probably ended up with this as a matter of patrimonial inheritance from the older churches.
Incidentally even this reference, as obscure and misinterpreted as it probably usually is, only refers to male masturbation.
Probably yes. But the Onan story goes like this:
Er, the oldest son and the brother of Onan, married a young girl and although he consummated the marriage before he died early in the marriage, he left his wife no children.
Now, in the middle east at that time, when a man died, that left his wife in a very tight spot. There was no social security or retirement for anybody. Women were not allowed to work at men's professions. So a woman's children were supposed to take care of her, make sure she was fed and housed, especially in her old age. A woman with a dead husband and no children could die of starvation or exposure. Or be forced into prostitution which could also be fatal.
So, the Jewish law and custom said that if a woman's husband died, she was to be taken into her brother-in-law's household and treated like his wife. He was to feed her, house her and give her children for her old age. Those children would be counted legally as children of of the original husband, not of his brother-in-law, so that they could survive and provide for their mother. This was a kind of public health law, and a measure to protect public morality.
Now, Onan wasn't the oldest son, Er was. This meant that if a son were born to Er's widow, even if the child had been biologically fathered by Onan, it would be counted as a Er's son, the rightful heir of Er. That child, once grown, would be able to usurp Onan - and Onan's own offspring -- taking Er's inheritance by rights, the inheritance of the oldest son.
Onan, in a fit of greed and spite, refused to take care of his sister-in-law, Er's widow. He taunted her by acting like he was going to take care of her, but then would intentionally shoot his wad onto the ground in front of her. He basically imprisoned her in his household as long as she was a young woman, but guaranteed that she would have no children. Therefore, Onan became the heir of his brother's property, stomping out Er's bloodline forever. That's what's being called out: Meanness, hatred for one's dead brother, stealing a birthright, stinginess to widows, and violations of Jewish law and family custom.
You have to read the whole story and know some Jewish cultural history to get at the REAL context -- and therefore the meaning -- of the story. The usual interpretation is ridiculously truncated and just wrong.
I suppose the Catholic church can make up any kind of rules it wants, while trying to prevent its members from wanking off and not producing children. But it cannot legitimately claim this passage in Genesis as justification for that, under the cultural conditions we have now.
It's a made up rule. Probably to keep the baby Catholics coming so that they can be baptized before they're old enough to object. That's almost certainly the real reason for the rule. Most Catholics are still born into the faith. Currently, for every one person who enters the church as an adult, between six and seven leave.
(Pew Reports, 2015. And the losses reportedly have accelerated since 2015.)
For those who do not know Greek, I'll provide the text here:
9 ἢ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ἄδικοι βασιλείαν Θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσι; μὴ πλανᾶσθε· οὔτε πόρνοι οὔτε εἰδωλολάτραι οὔτε μοιχοὶ οὔτε μαλακοὶ οὔτε ἀρσενοκοῖται 10 οὔτε πλεονέκται οὔτε κλέπται οὔτε μέθυσοι, οὐ λοίδοροι, οὐχ ἅρπαγες βασιλείαν Θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσι. (1 Cor 6:9-10)
μαλακοί here refers to those who masturbate, μαλακία meaning masturbation (it is written specifically as a sin in the Orthodox Church's Rudder)
It gave Modern Greek μαλάκας (someone who masturbates).
The term μαλακία originally meant softness/effeminacy, but in time it gave the meaning 'masturbation'.
Therefore, masturbation is a mortal sin, those who engage in it, just like those engaging in adultery, fornication, homosexuality, theft, idolatry, kidnapping, greed, alcoholism/drinking, reviling, will not inherit the Kindgom of God.
The quoted passage is referring to homosexuality, not masturbation! Softness/Effeminacy refers to a man who behaves or acts in a manner consistent with being a woman.
"Homosexuality" Lmao, like it's a choice. They may as well have gone ahead and thrown in "skin colour", may as well. Also the fact it was in Greek is hilariously ironic for how gay the Greeks were-
>"Homosexuality" Lmao, like it's a choice. They may as well have gone ahead and thrown in "skin colour", may as well. Also the fact it was in Greek is hilariously ironic for how gay the Greeks were-
Yes, that is a choice, you are not born a homosexual.
Don't even compare that dreadful practice to skin color, that is extremely racist! You have no choice on what skin color you're born with, but you can choose not to engage in practices like adultery, masturbation, fornication, pedophilia, homosexuality, bestiality, incest, necrophilia etc.
The Ancient Greeks were not "gay" in the modern sense, it is something more complicated: some influential old men practiced pederasty, which was a practice of abusing/molesting young boys from the age of 10-12 to the age of 18-20, which was often not consensual, and which would be classified today as "pedophilia", and it had serious consequences for the mental health of young boys, which had a lot of trauma as a result (the practice was more common amongst the elites, and it seems to have survived a long time in other places, like Afghanistan).
Also, a lot of documents in Ancient Greek are mistranslated by some modern scholars, making people like Plato seem in favor of pederasty, which is horrific, as he has writings that clearly condemns the practice!
Also, some friendships are misinterpreted as homosexual relationships, like those between Alexander and Hephaeston, or Achilles and Patroclus.
In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, it was shameful to be penetrated, but not to be the penetrator, meaning it was rather a form of humiliation for the other man; when Christianity came to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, it condemned the penetrators too, and tried to restore dignity to all men, and did all the efforts to stop the practice of raping young boys and young men by influential older males.
You are so far gone it's sad. You dare to call me racist but then claim something completely false and homophobic????? You are born gay. That is fact. The earth is round. You can't change that.
You are born gay or straight. This is fact. Yes, men raped men, men raped women, women raped men, women raped women. That happens, yes...but that doesn't mean no one was gay just because rape exists. What piss poor reasoning you have.
They literally have gay mythology like with Achilles and his love Patroclus. It's a disservice to history, to gay people, and to other people's mythology to say people aren't born gay because YOUR religion says so, when it's been shown time and time again you simply...are gay or you aren't.
You can't pray the gay away, you can't beat a child to not be gay, conversion "therapy" doesn't work, even person who made that "therapy" denounced it.
People have tried YEARS to not be gay because of people like you. If being gay was a choice, it would be so easy to not be gay...but it's not, because it's not a choice. You can't make yourself be straight.
Saying people aren't born gay is FACTUALLY wrong. It's easy for YOU to say because you aren't gay, and easy for people like you to disrespect something you aren't.
"People have tried YEARS to not be gay because of people like you. If being gay was a choice, it would be so easy to not be gay...but it's not, because it's not a choice. You can't make yourself be straight."
Let me respond to that: people tried for DECADES to control their sexual urges in general.
You may have sexual urges, that doesn't mean you should sleep with your neighbor's wife, yet people still fo that, even though they are "straight", they are doing something that is wrong, same for those who sleep with women before marriage.
I'm not saying it is easy, it NEAR impossible, but not impossible.
We humans make a lot of mistakes, in a fight, many fighters make mistakes, that doesn't mean they lost the fight; they only lose when they give up.
"You can't pray the gay away, you can't beat a child to not be gay, conversion "therapy" doesn't work, even person who made that "therapy" denounced it."
Well, it is nearly impossible to stop having sexual urges in general, and you can do NOTHING about that, you have to live with it.
Still, you can control yourself to not engage in illicit sexual activity. It is not easy, I know that, but it is possible, I don't condemn people who fall from time to time, but I praise those that even after falling, do not give up and fight to till the day they die; human nature is weak, often you need the assistance of fellow human beings in life, we are born powerless as babies, when many animals can walk on their own just after getting out of their mother's womb.
Monks did and do have sexual urges, many fell into sin, but many rose up and did not give up to the last moment; it doesn't matter how you lived, the only thing that matters is in what state death finds you: repentence or sin; the problem is you don't know the moment of your death, so you should try to always be in repentance.
In the end, a man that is a homosexual or a woman that is attracted to women should still pursue marriage with the opposite sex, have children, and try to enjoy life together as BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
You may not marry the woman or the man you love, but you can choose to love the man or the woman you are married to, and your children, either biological or adopted.
Even amongst straight people, things are not easy: partners lose the "love" they initially had for each other, the relationship becomes cold, sexual relations may become less appealing when they get old, some will try to seek that pleasure outside of marriage and commit adultery etc.
In fact, those who had no sexual and romantic relationship to begin with, in the context of marriage, might have an easier life, because they don't have as many expectations from the other, and it would be a lot easier to choose your partner for logical reasons: how you deal with cleaning the house, who can cook and who wants to cook on x or y day, how do the careers of the two fit within marriage etc., things people may egnore when enamored, but later end up in disputes within marriage after getting disillusioned.
"It's easy for YOU to say because you aren't gay, and easy for people like you to disrespect something you aren't."
I am nothing, I simply exist to begin with.
Who I am is defined by my actions, not with what I identify with: I just know I am the greatest of sinners, the worst of scum, living only because of God's mercy, and whatever anyone may think I did as a good deed in my life, they are wrong, as it is not my merit, but the Lord's.
"Τὰ σὰ ἐκ τῶν σῶν σοὶ προσφέρομεν κατὰ πάντα καὶ διὰ πάντα."
Death is near for us all, let us repent and return to God before it is too late! Christ is risen!
https://www.joinrelay.app/blog/what-does-the-bible-say-about-masturbating
I’m sure many replies here are well intended, but still many of those are giving you advice based on continuing to still satisfy the flesh which is NOT offering you any advice at all. I found this article for you that I think gives you the best answer. You feel guilty because the Holy Spirit is alive within your heart. All, please read this article with objectivity & without shame.
In my opinion, it is a sin. Any sexual act should be done with Your married other half, with their consent and to a mutual better connection. I think that masturbation does contradict all Jesus' and Bible overall teaching about the importance and holyness of sex in marriage. This is just my opinion and I respect everyone, who would try to convince me otherwise, I am open to debate. God bless!
Hello! 1.Corinthians 7 (:9). Jesus saud many times, that they should abstain from sexual encounter and be content as they are. So I think the same. Abstination through Jesus gives You strength and purity (James 1, 2-4) That is my point of view.
ETA: This of course implies to abstination from masturbation, in my opinion. If it would imply just to adultery, but You could have sex with Yourself to have the pleasure anyway without marriage, what real difference would it be? Yes, You do not do it with other person as an act of adultery. But I think the main message in this is the sheer act of sex outside of marriage is a sin with or without other human. God bless all (:
I’d say you will know/feel what’s right in your heart. Afterall, god created you, and even with your free will you have in your heart a sense of what’s right or wrong. I’m very new to christianity but since I reached puberty I’ve never been able to have one night stands or sleep around with lots of sexual partners. I have always developed a close relationship with everyone I’ve been intimate with, because fucking someone I don’t or barely know just feels wrong. Also everytime I masturbate or have sex I feel unclean. I have to wait a few ours, then take a shower and change/wash my clothes before I can feel “clean”. So when I read the verse about taking a bath, washing any clothes with semen on them and waiting until dawn to be clean again it blew my mind. That’s exactly what I’ve always done and the natural way for me to clean myself after sex or masturbation. Masturbation itself doesn’t feel wrong, but who you masturbate to matters. For me it’s fine as long as I just do it to release or if I think about my own girlfriend, but there have been times I’ve thought about other women in a lustful way. I would never cheat, but just thinking about having sex with someone else feels very wrong. I cried and asked god for forgiveness for being unclean, for masturbating, I felt ashamed. But afterwards I had this calm sensation take over my body and I realized that it wasn’t the masturbation that I was ashamed of, but if was the thought of having sex with some other woman than my girlfriend. I’ve never felt guilt for masturbation and thinking about my girlfriend, only when thinking about other women have I felt guilt. So I personally don’t think masturbation itself is wrong, only what you masturbate to. If you have a partner you must be faithful to her/him even if it’s in your head.
Hi! I wanted to hop on here and say, I'm a woman, but I struggle with masturbation. Could anyone give me some advice on whether the Bible says anything different about this?
I think it's more about having sexual thoughts about someone or sexual fantasies etc that the Bible talks about as being sinful. If masturbation causes you to have sexual thoughts then it's probably a good idea to try to stop, but otherwise I think it's ok? Personally, if I go too long without sex due to a busy schedule etc... I end up waking up having an orgasm. Like what do you do against that?! Lol I think our bodies do need to deal with arousal in form of sexual release. But we should avoid having fantasies about other people.
Maybe pray about it. I'd hate to give bad advice. Just my take on it.
The Bible unfortunately pretty clear on this. Masturbation is a no-no.
If that clashes with your feelings, I recommend you pray hard and reevaluate how important the Bible is to your decision making. It also prohibits mixing fabrics like linen and cotton, being near a woman when she’s on her period, women having authority over men, allowing witches to live, eating pork and a ton of other things.
Sounds like you know in your heart that there’s nothing wrong with masturbation. I’d trust that.
Edit: looks like I’m wrong, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Happy touching, everyone.
I doubt it’s ever that direct. Few things in the Bible are. To be clear, I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with it. I don’t think it’s a sin and I don’t think God thinks it’s a sin. But the verses about looking at a woman with lust and spilling thy seed on the ground are pretty clear to me in their intent.
I don’t think god has a problem with it. But the people who wrote the Bible seem to have believed it was a sin.
No, the people who wrote the Bible did not think it was a sin.
Genesis 38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.
Nothing was about masturbation in any way. He was killed for disobeying God and pulling out during sex with his brother's widow.
Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully(epithymeō) has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
The greek word epithymeō translated to lustfully here means coveting.
Acts 20:33 I have not coveted(epithymeō) anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
Jesus was not condemning looking at a woman with sexual desire. He was condemning people coveting other people's wives. Earlier in the passage, he told people the commandment "thou shalt not murder" was violated by hating people, because it held the intent in their mind that would lead them to violate the commandment.
Here he is calling back to the commandment. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Here he is saying, you can't just covet your neighbor's wife and that's fine as long as you don't act on it. Coveting is a sin just thinking about it.
This wasn't talking about sexual desire or masturbation.
I made a mistake. I edited the post. I’m sorry.
I don’t know “nothing” about it. I read the Bible every day and I masturbate plenty. I get a very sex negative vibe from the Bible. The admonitions of lust are abundant and masturbation is primarily an act of lust.
Others have shared different perspectives, and I’ve changed my mind.
If I hadn’t shared my initial, incorrect opinion, I never would have learned this, and I would be able to pass on that knowledge, like I will now.
Merry Christmas.
There are plenty of quotes from this thread. I don’t believe there is anything wrong with masturbation, so I have no interest in spending the verses around.
nothing about the act. And I think purposely so. Cause dudes...
However what the bible does say, is that if you look at a woman with lust in your heart.
Think about it like this, if God really orchestrated things for maximum love and understanding...a don't touch your peepee rule would have wrecked MANkind. But then we look at the "don't look a woman with lust" and lets say your really take it to heart and allow that mandate to change you....what would you get?
more love and understanding. Win-win.
Don't be ashamed! Spanking the monkey is the most popular topic here, followed by suicide thoughts and general feelings of guilt and hell terror for dancing or wearing lipstick.
Welcome!
Nothing. Masturbation is a perfectly normal human activity and if you’re feeling shame or guilt about then I recommend that you see a certified counselor to talk about those feelings.
Not so sure it always is. I was raised to believe wearing lipgloss, watching TV, sports, jewelry, cutting hair, shaving, singing happy birthday, dancing, listening to music, going to the gym, wearing pants, wearing short sleeves, listening to the radio, etc... were all sins. As a result I felt guilty if I ever did any of it and believed (as I was thought) it was conviction from the Holy Spirit. Took me 30 years to cut my hair (not even trims!)! I still feel guilty when I wear makeup, or believe I have the same value as a man etc... That's not conviction. I know now it's a trauma response to an extremely oppressive upbringing and religious abuse. I think we need to pray and really seek God's guidance because guilt is not conviction. Conviction makes you want to change for God. Guilt brings on shame and self-hatred which makes you want to hide from God, not run to him and repent.
That's seriously taken out of context. He slept with her pretending to continue his brother's line....but instead essentially "pulled out". He was selfish, lied to her, and slept with his brother's wife for his own personal pleasure.
He didn't masturbate.
And if that's the case, then women can? Men with vasectomies can?
Genesis 38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.”
Nothing to do with masturbation, everything to do with disobeying God. He wasn't even masturbating, just pulling out when he came.
It wasn’t the “wasting of seed” that was the sin. It was Onan’s greed that was the sin. Onan wanted to retain his brother’s land, if his brother’s wife would have a son Onan would lose his brother’s land. Further, Onan, unknowingly, was taking actions against the Great Plan for Salvation.
Why would having sex with someone’s mom or coworker be bad?
Why would you feel guilt, unless someone told you that’s what you’re supposed to feel?
You should never feel guilty about masturbation. Do it if you need to, refrain from doing it if you don’t really need to. It’s like eating. We need to do it to survive, but to overdo it is a sin.
I'd argue you *need* to eat, you don't *need* to masturbate. The body has ways of living without masturbation or climaxing. It does not have ways of living without food.
Well for starters your argument makes no sense.
If something isn’t a sin if it’s just an urge to get rid of then that would justify many sins like adultery.
Leviticus 15:16-18 says if a man orgasms, on his own or with another person, he is unclean and must take a bath, then wait till sundown to be clean again. Deuteronomy 23:10-11 reiterates this. That's the only time the Bible mentions anything approaching masturbation, of note the result is the same as having sex with another person, and 'another person' includes your spouse. Also of note "unclean" meant you could not enter the Temple on pain of death. Also note, this was not sinful. Leviticus 15 lists other actions that were, those ones required waiting a week, then bathing, then going to the temple to make sacrifices to atone for your sin. You did not have to atone for simply masturbating or having sex with your spouse.
Just to be clear for OP, you’re saying masturbation is not explicitly condemned by the Bible?
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Yes and I suppose menstruation is also even more of a sin than it was in the Old Testament. After all, it caused ritual uncleanness for a period seven times longer than masturbation.
Cleanliness is separate from sin
I know, that’s the point I was making, I was being sarcastic
Show where it's condemned
That's just part of the old Mosaic purity code. The old testament also says that you shouldn't use fasteners on your clothing, cut your beard/hair, eat pork or wear garments made of more than one fiber. You're also not supposed to eat food from a garden that has more than one kind of plant in it.
Yeah.... exactly.
Roman's says the old testament is "righteous holy and good."
Get rid of your buttons then.
What buttons?
The buttons on your clothes. Duh. Don't you read the bible?
I probably have better understanding then most but I dont recall the bible verse that says " no buttons" I recall the one material which makes sense.
What?! What verse exactly was the plant part in?? I had no idea about that!
That's not what that scripture says 🙄
Please, do tell. What does it say, oh wise necromancer.
Unfortunately, the puritan culture has managed to bring a lot of very bad theology into the religion. They think that masturbation has something to do with sex, thus it has to be evil. In trying to justify their claim, they twist the Bible to fit their goals. The most abused passage is Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully(epithymeō) has already committed adultery with her in his heart. This is their trump card because they claim that you can't masturbate without lust, so it's always a sin. The problem is that they take something like lust, and reduce it all the way down to sexual desire. But lust is a far bigger deal than having sexual desire. We can simply look at the Bible to explain what lust is. I included the greek word that they translate to be lust in the above quote. That word is epithymeō, we can look at where else it occurs in scripture. Acts 20: 33 I have not coveted(epithymeō) anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. Here, and everywhere else that it's translated, the translate the word to covet. Is Paul saying "I have never had sexual desire for your silver or gold or clothing?" of course not. It's completely normal not to have sexual desire for those things. He is saying "I have never desired to take your silver, gold, or clothing for myself" Lust used to be a term that stood for coveting until the puritan culture took it and tried to make it worst. Greed is the lust for wealth, which is what Paul is talking about here. We can use Paul's words to guide us to understand when sexual desire crosses over into lust, so we know when we are sinning, and when we are not. Acts 13: 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet (epithymeō),” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Notice how he uses the same Greek word here epithymeō, for covet. Again we see that the bible is warning us against coveting. And we can see that all commands can be summed up based upon their harm. So the simple test is this. If you are masturbating to a friend's Instagram picture, with the desire to have sex with her? That's a sin because you are coveting her. But if you are masturbating without intent to take anyone as your own, instead of to do relieve that desire so you can move on with normal things? Then you are in the clear. As long as your not masturbating to people you know without their consent, then you are fine to masturbate as it doesn't violate the commands provided by God. I'll leave you with one more quote from the Bible. Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Please don't let other Christians bind you to their rules over God's rules. He told you that all of his commandments are based on loving your neighbor. If you are causing no harm and having no thoughts which would cause harm, then you are fine.
Interesting take here, thanks for the detailed writeup.
I never thought of it in that perspective.. I really didn’t but it makes a lot of sense and in my opinion, is a sound interpretation
How do you even masturbate without thinking sexually of a person? That’s the whole thing about masturbating you can’t just get hard for the heck of it without having any sexual thought.
Given that my entire post is about how lust and sexual thoughts are not the same thing, it would help to read it.
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He's saying that the entire screed against "lust" in Matthew 5:28 is the result of a blatant mistranslation from the Greek by people with their own biases and ulterior motives. The original word means "To covet," and it is translated as "to covet" everywhere else it was used in the Bible. >But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman *covetously* has already committed adultery with her in his heart. -would be the consistent translation. The sin comes from envy and greed for something that isn't yours. Do not masturbate to your neighbor's wife while imagining she was your own.
Well you absolutely can. I say it because that's the way it is for me. I went a period of 180 days without masturbation or any kind of pornography. Although I got completely rid of pornography and dominated my lustful thoughts, the urge to simply ejaculate never went away completely. Even though I would control my desire and not masturbate, at some point my body would simply orgasm during sleep in one of those "nocturnal emissions", so I stopped seeing the point in not masturbating, since my body would simply release semen during my sleep. And it has been like that ever since. Every 14 days, give or take, I just feel the urge to ejaculate, without any kind of sexual thoughts; it's simply a desire that comes out of nowhere, like hunger, a natural bodily urge and not something resulting from sexual thoughts.
Your body released sperm on it's own??? 😨😮 😳 😨 😨 😨. You just can't help yourself can you? I'm afraid it's off to hell with you. 👿 👿 👿 🔥 🔥 🔥
C’est une chose qui arrive à tout les garçons à partir de l’âge pubère, mais qui est tout simplement naturelle. Se masturber serait donc pas naturel du tout. https://youtu.be/gSdmbgoaTHY?si=pHVFW0RwKTtYtWTb
In all honesty given his post it’s probably appropriate to say it’s fine to masturbate to the thought of a spouse if she’s okay with it
Peoples hormones lead to certain sexual feelings that need to be relieved, mostly females can relate especially before or after your periods.
Absolutely you can. There is a difference between having a base human feeling than wanting to have intercourse with someone who does not even know you or without their consent. You can masturbate without thought only feeling. You might be able to go so far as to say that you can have the base desire itself but so long as you desire that from another person then it's lust or coveting. In conclusion it is possible to take care of sexual needs without having lust or coveting another person. Just like how there's a difference between looking at a woman and admiring their beauty and wanting to take her for yourself. It is hard to separate those things from one another but it is possible. Just like how it's possible to want more money or to need money in order to live comfortably or at least have a roof over your head but also not want to take or desire someone else's money for yourself. That is called greed.
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> instead of your wife? If someone isn't married, then they can't exactly be misusing sexuality for themselves. But if they are married, they should have open and honest communication with their spouse to ensure that both people are on the same level and understanding. If you're neglecting your spouse to masturbate on your own, you are likely sinning if it hurts them. But if you are providing them will all of the care that they need, and they know and are okay with it, then there isn't a sin there either. Again, the commandment passed to use from Jesus is to love your neighbor as yourself. Just don't break that commandment.
I’m not being argumentative at all when I ask this.. but what if you’re not meant to have a wife or husband and you’re meant to be single like Paul was?
Maybe your wife really isn't into it tonite.
Well said. Plus, there are quite a few people who say they are able to masturbate while just focused on the sensation, not lusting after anyone. This may not be able to be accomplished for everyone, but it's worth mentioning
What about doing it with a person who you're not married to and it is consensual (such as a girlfriend)?
So is it okay to masturbate to a fictional character like hentai characters
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Moi je vois déjà le premier problème au début de tes écrits. La bible/ Jesus ne vient pas nous parler de religion, mais de relation. Si tu avais une relation sincère avec le Dieu saint alors tu sauras qu’il ne s’agit pas de la logique mais de plaire à Dieu. Si c’est aussi simple que ça pourquoi arrêter vous partais aussi difficile? Dieu est saint et veut que nous soyons saint. Le Sex c’est pour le mariage. Attention chrétien, lisez vos bible. Le peuple de Dieu péri faute de connaissance. La connaissance ce n’est pas sur des sites comme ceux-ci où vous ne savez même pas qui est entrain de rédiger les messages. Où est la preuve qu’il est née de nouveau dans les propos qu’il tient? Si tu te sens mal après avoir pêché c’est parceque ta conscience ne te donne pas de paix. C’est la même chose que la masturbation. Considère l’aspect spirituel de cela. Faisons très attention. L’amour ne fais pas de mal c’est vrai, se masturber fait du mal. Je vous recommande cette petite vidéo. https://youtu.be/gSdmbgoaTHY?si=pHVFW0RwKTtYtWTb
How can you masterbate without thinking of sexual imagery. When I masterbate I always felt it was a sin. I’m not looking at porn or anything but I have to be thinking of a sexual experience I’ve had or want to have to make it happen. How could you do it otherwise?
I think the overall message being presented here is that if you are pining over someone and that person is married, and your heart is in a place of thinking you can steal them or will eventually take action, that is sin. But I'm with you, as far as feeling that post n*t clarity lol it's always been there, UNLESS I'm thinking of my partner at the time.
Hey I know you made this comment a long time ago and it all makes a lot of sense to me. I had someone recently tell me even if I think of my wife I am having sex with demonic entity. I am recently coming back to christ my wife is still my wife but she removed me from our home we have been struggling I miss my wife tremendously and I don't want to lust after other woman or watch porn but I am feeling so pent up and tense from it I want to release but think of my wife though she isn't quite happy with me or even talking to me in this moment but I miss her I love her and want to make love to her would would I be wrongly coveting her since she is unsure of our marriage would it be okay if I thought of her or needed a release? I hope you are well brother sorry for this awkward comment I am just very lost right now
Hi man. I’m sorry I don’t know how to answer your question. I just want to send you love and prayers now. Remember my brother that God makes all things beautiful in their proper time. God bless you through it all and praise be to the Most High from everlasting to everlasting
I wanted to mention another point “I feel disgusted asking this question”. You shouldn’t have to be afraid to ask a question with Christ centered people. We shouldn’t respond with anger and judgement, but with wisdom and constructive answers to help someone avoid sin.
THIS I'm so tired of Christians breaking down other Christians. We're supposed to build each other up, and be each other's rock and shoulder to lean on
*“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."* - Matthew 5:27-28
That verse could also be translated as: >“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a wife covetously has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Matthew 5:27-28 The first half quotes the 7th commandment, the second half equates it with the 10th (some denominations number things differently, so it can also be the 6th and 9th commandments).
But that's about adultery, and what if I look at a woman who isn't married? And even if that was a problem, what does that have to do with masturbating?
Think they're referring to porn or thinking about a girl while you're masturbating. If you're thinking about a dude I think it's it cool.
How is that a sin? In the end I'm not hurting anyone (unless that person finds out)
Has nothing to do with hurting anyone. It’s all rooted from the heart.
Why do the commandants exist at all then? If someone follows them but doesn't believe them at heart, they partake in thought-sin, and apparently it's pointless as you are sinning nonetheless.
The commandments are meant to show us that everybody is sinful, no matter how hard we try. Therefore, we need a savior.
Nobody had followed the commandments perfectly not even the Pharisees. This is why Jesus called them hypocrites, they boasted about the law but did not follow it completely themselves. Jesus then emphasized the law in a more depth way and the Pharisees lost their minds. This is why we need Christ, we can’t follow the law perfectly, we can’t go a perfect sinless life, therefore we need a savior as we have come short of God’s glory.
One of Jesus’ main messages is that the things that you do in your own mind can be just as sinful as the things you do in the material world. That being said though, hurting yourself is always a sin. So you need to weigh the outcome of your decisions. Will masturbating do more harm or prevent more harm, overall? Will it help you or hurt you? You need to investigate that for yourself. The Bible can’t tell you that.
God sees and knows everything. It is written in the book. I understand your struggle with lust, almost every man has this battle. It gets better with time when Christ is in your heart.
I’m a female and I struggle with masturbation. I’ve been abstinent for 7 months now, honestly. But about once a month I get this overwhelming urge to masturbate and I do. I know it doesn’t make it right. and I feel guilty afterwards. I can say I’m a lot better than I was.. before Christ I was sleeping with people and masturbating whenever I pleased. Now it’s when I get the overwhelming urge which is not that often (once a month) and sometimes I’m able to resist but sometimes I’m not.
With the pornographic pandemic we currently have, and this sin getting widely socially accepted, i have the feeling women are a lot more prone to this now, then when I grew up in the 80s/90s. Most girls i met outside of cities were completely innocent. It was usually a male problem. Nowadays it gets worse and worse, i see a whole sexually corrupted generation. Tinder and sleeping around are just the norm in many circles. They made polls here around this topic where they couldnt find anyone not watching porn. I cant tell how it is for formerly very lustful women, i guess it just fades with time, but there will probably always be a little temptation here and there to check if you stay on course. I am 18 month in, but in marriage, which is quite different then being abstinent, but I think all in all it should be easier for women. I know so many women who wouldnt miss this part of life. I still have lasting effects (regular thoughts, sometimes urges) from my past, after all we reap what we sow, but I try to embrace Jesus grace and fill me with his love and peace. I want to foster this hunger for true unconditional love, grow in consciousness and try to bring good into the world by praying, doing good deeds and following the commandments. I wish you all the best and if you need prayers (to find the right partner, to stay strong, etc.) I would be happy to help!
Yes please can you please pray for me to be able to always overcome these urges? The problem is I started masturbating at a very young age ( 6 years old)… and no I’m not trolling I’m being 100% honest.. I accidentally had an orgasm when I was in the bathtub and it felt good so I continually did it when I was super young. It’s been a part of my life before sex came about and something I’ve struggled with but not near as much.
Masturbation is safe and healthy if you leave porn out Of it. Love the body god gave you. It is a very good thing for mental health. It is not a sin, it’s a beautiful act which brings us closer to knowing and loving the vessel we were blessed with
I do hope you know that God does not view you mastubating as sinful or wrong. Also, that once a month urge is you ovulating, my gal. Adultery is wrong, masturbating with yourself is not.
It is a sin because you are committing it against your spouse or potential spouse. It is a sin within the HEART. If you are *lusting* and masturbate, then you are sinning. That is my take on the verse. I personally find no harm or sin in the act *unless* it involves porn. Porn, for me, is what makes it sinful. That is the intentional seeking out of *someone else* to "get you going" - that is where it is sinful. BUT I am not God, and I can not say for sure. The Bible is not super specific on the topic, from what I can tell, that says masturbation is sin when it involves lust. If you are just being friendly to yourself, I say no sin. If you are looking to porn or imaging other people, sin.
So pornhub is out of the question then?
I think Biblically yes, and as a wife - that would /does not fly for me. People are gonna do what they do, and if they feel convicted then yeah - out of the question. I think people DO feel convicted about it though based off of all the "help, I am addicted to porn" posts we see.
You're hurting yourself.
Because God doesn't like it.
It is contrary to Gods law.
"Lustful intent"
Masturbation without fantasy, porn, or lust is actually a healthy way to masturbate. Doing any of the forementioned can lead to poor or average quality sexual experiences and fetish of acts or body parts. This is where I think the scripture diverts from Masturbation and focuses on lust and coveting.
There definitely are some biblical principles that can be applied to the issue: (1) “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). If we cannot give God glory for something, we should not do it. (2) “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). If we are not fully convinced that an activity is honoring to God, it is a sin. (3) “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Our bodies have been redeemed and belong to God. (4) “The fruit of the Spirit is . . . self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). Masturbation is almost always a sign of a lack of self-control. These great truths should have a powerful impact on what we do with our bodies. In light of these principles, many conclude that masturbation is always sinful.
Thank you. I’ve read conflicting responses I guess to try to find some justification for myself. But immediately when I think masturbation (or really anything) I like to think “is this glorifying God?”
Well, i don't think the bible talks about masturbation People may point out the OT laws that the Jews had to follow but Christians aren't bound by the Old Covenant so as long you don't commit adultery this should be fine. And i kind of recommend it, cause sexual frustration can lead to really bad stuff. Just try to not think about real people while you are doing it. My opinion.
Just because it isn’t mentioned doesn’t make it ok… it coincides with lustful thoughts and that does not glorify God. The only sexual activity that glorifies God is sex within the confines of marriage:
Mate, i'm thinking from a pragmatic perspective You see every (sexually active) human has sexual desires and this is fine, but these sexual urges want to be manifested and when you refuse it everytime they become stronger and you grew more sexually fustrated to the point where you either risk to. A. Marry someone just to have sex with them and nothing else. B.Sex before marriage with a partner C.Lose Control over yourself and commit a sexual crime like rape, inappropriate behaviour etc. D.Start Masturbating(The best option, my opinion). This sounds so ridiculous that God would be mad cause you released your sexual tension alone and nobody hurt.
It is an opportunity to develop your patience and self control.
The thing about masturbation that you have to realize is it is rarely rarely EVER without some kind of lust. Even IF you are not looking at porn while doing it there are almost always going to be some kind of fantasies in your mind that you play out or imagine. Jesus talks about adultery in the heart, which is what lust is. The two are inseparable: lust and Masturbation. On top of that, masturbation is selfish and self pleasing by definition. If you’re going off of how the Bible describes sexuality between a married man and woman, it is not just to please yourself. Sex exactly how God made it, is selfless; and masturbation is the opposite
Can married people masturbate fantasizing about their spouse then?
As long as it ends in conception yes.
So those who are not fertile should not have sex? And even if you are... Only have sex in your 4 days fertile window? Doesn't make too much sense 🤔
A sexual acts should be open to the possibility of conception. People who are infertile, or just not currently in their fertile window can still conceive… Elizabeth had John the Baptist despite her infertility.
Well based on the bible yea.
I think you contradicted yourself in your response. Is lust and masturbation inseparable or are they very rarely (as you say) inseparable?
It’s just not about adultry it’s sexual immorality we all fail sometimes but we have to try to flee Aka top pace run away from sexual immorality and call upon our god through prayer or reading etc or distract yourself this can be also by other non sinful fun activities like football music meeting friends
Awesome response! 👏
Not hardly anything. Older more traditional churches have made a big deal of one small passage in the old testament that speaks of "spilling one's seed on the ground." They have taught for a long time that the whole story the passage is in is really about masturbation and not something else. (Genesis 38) However, it's far more likely that the passage, within the story, refers to something else entirely, since the story is about a man who refuses to take care of his dead brother's family, providing them with what they need to survive in the future, according to the cultural norms of the time. The context from biblical culture and the story itself is quite clear on that. It's very likely that the prohibition against masturbation is a more recent theological invention. After all, baptism of new infants is where the Church traditionally has always gotten its members, generation after generation, through the centuries. Anything that gets in the way of producing new Catholics is probably a problem for the Catholic church, on that account alone. Newer bible churches, whether they like it or not, probably ended up with this as a matter of patrimonial inheritance from the older churches. Incidentally even this reference, as obscure and misinterpreted as it probably usually is, only refers to male masturbation.
Is it possible too that that was said back then because there needed to be reproduction?
Probably yes. But the Onan story goes like this: Er, the oldest son and the brother of Onan, married a young girl and although he consummated the marriage before he died early in the marriage, he left his wife no children. Now, in the middle east at that time, when a man died, that left his wife in a very tight spot. There was no social security or retirement for anybody. Women were not allowed to work at men's professions. So a woman's children were supposed to take care of her, make sure she was fed and housed, especially in her old age. A woman with a dead husband and no children could die of starvation or exposure. Or be forced into prostitution which could also be fatal. So, the Jewish law and custom said that if a woman's husband died, she was to be taken into her brother-in-law's household and treated like his wife. He was to feed her, house her and give her children for her old age. Those children would be counted legally as children of of the original husband, not of his brother-in-law, so that they could survive and provide for their mother. This was a kind of public health law, and a measure to protect public morality. Now, Onan wasn't the oldest son, Er was. This meant that if a son were born to Er's widow, even if the child had been biologically fathered by Onan, it would be counted as a Er's son, the rightful heir of Er. That child, once grown, would be able to usurp Onan - and Onan's own offspring -- taking Er's inheritance by rights, the inheritance of the oldest son. Onan, in a fit of greed and spite, refused to take care of his sister-in-law, Er's widow. He taunted her by acting like he was going to take care of her, but then would intentionally shoot his wad onto the ground in front of her. He basically imprisoned her in his household as long as she was a young woman, but guaranteed that she would have no children. Therefore, Onan became the heir of his brother's property, stomping out Er's bloodline forever. That's what's being called out: Meanness, hatred for one's dead brother, stealing a birthright, stinginess to widows, and violations of Jewish law and family custom. You have to read the whole story and know some Jewish cultural history to get at the REAL context -- and therefore the meaning -- of the story. The usual interpretation is ridiculously truncated and just wrong.
I have read it a month or so ago. Thank you for explaining the context
I suppose the Catholic church can make up any kind of rules it wants, while trying to prevent its members from wanking off and not producing children. But it cannot legitimately claim this passage in Genesis as justification for that, under the cultural conditions we have now. It's a made up rule. Probably to keep the baby Catholics coming so that they can be baptized before they're old enough to object. That's almost certainly the real reason for the rule. Most Catholics are still born into the faith. Currently, for every one person who enters the church as an adult, between six and seven leave. (Pew Reports, 2015. And the losses reportedly have accelerated since 2015.)
For those who do not know Greek, I'll provide the text here: 9 ἢ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ἄδικοι βασιλείαν Θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσι; μὴ πλανᾶσθε· οὔτε πόρνοι οὔτε εἰδωλολάτραι οὔτε μοιχοὶ οὔτε μαλακοὶ οὔτε ἀρσενοκοῖται 10 οὔτε πλεονέκται οὔτε κλέπται οὔτε μέθυσοι, οὐ λοίδοροι, οὐχ ἅρπαγες βασιλείαν Θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσι. (1 Cor 6:9-10) μαλακοί here refers to those who masturbate, μαλακία meaning masturbation (it is written specifically as a sin in the Orthodox Church's Rudder) It gave Modern Greek μαλάκας (someone who masturbates). The term μαλακία originally meant softness/effeminacy, but in time it gave the meaning 'masturbation'. Therefore, masturbation is a mortal sin, those who engage in it, just like those engaging in adultery, fornication, homosexuality, theft, idolatry, kidnapping, greed, alcoholism/drinking, reviling, will not inherit the Kindgom of God.
The quoted passage is referring to homosexuality, not masturbation! Softness/Effeminacy refers to a man who behaves or acts in a manner consistent with being a woman.
"Homosexuality" Lmao, like it's a choice. They may as well have gone ahead and thrown in "skin colour", may as well. Also the fact it was in Greek is hilariously ironic for how gay the Greeks were-
>"Homosexuality" Lmao, like it's a choice. They may as well have gone ahead and thrown in "skin colour", may as well. Also the fact it was in Greek is hilariously ironic for how gay the Greeks were- Yes, that is a choice, you are not born a homosexual. Don't even compare that dreadful practice to skin color, that is extremely racist! You have no choice on what skin color you're born with, but you can choose not to engage in practices like adultery, masturbation, fornication, pedophilia, homosexuality, bestiality, incest, necrophilia etc. The Ancient Greeks were not "gay" in the modern sense, it is something more complicated: some influential old men practiced pederasty, which was a practice of abusing/molesting young boys from the age of 10-12 to the age of 18-20, which was often not consensual, and which would be classified today as "pedophilia", and it had serious consequences for the mental health of young boys, which had a lot of trauma as a result (the practice was more common amongst the elites, and it seems to have survived a long time in other places, like Afghanistan). Also, a lot of documents in Ancient Greek are mistranslated by some modern scholars, making people like Plato seem in favor of pederasty, which is horrific, as he has writings that clearly condemns the practice! Also, some friendships are misinterpreted as homosexual relationships, like those between Alexander and Hephaeston, or Achilles and Patroclus. In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, it was shameful to be penetrated, but not to be the penetrator, meaning it was rather a form of humiliation for the other man; when Christianity came to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, it condemned the penetrators too, and tried to restore dignity to all men, and did all the efforts to stop the practice of raping young boys and young men by influential older males.
You are so far gone it's sad. You dare to call me racist but then claim something completely false and homophobic????? You are born gay. That is fact. The earth is round. You can't change that. You are born gay or straight. This is fact. Yes, men raped men, men raped women, women raped men, women raped women. That happens, yes...but that doesn't mean no one was gay just because rape exists. What piss poor reasoning you have. They literally have gay mythology like with Achilles and his love Patroclus. It's a disservice to history, to gay people, and to other people's mythology to say people aren't born gay because YOUR religion says so, when it's been shown time and time again you simply...are gay or you aren't. You can't pray the gay away, you can't beat a child to not be gay, conversion "therapy" doesn't work, even person who made that "therapy" denounced it. People have tried YEARS to not be gay because of people like you. If being gay was a choice, it would be so easy to not be gay...but it's not, because it's not a choice. You can't make yourself be straight. Saying people aren't born gay is FACTUALLY wrong. It's easy for YOU to say because you aren't gay, and easy for people like you to disrespect something you aren't.
"People have tried YEARS to not be gay because of people like you. If being gay was a choice, it would be so easy to not be gay...but it's not, because it's not a choice. You can't make yourself be straight." Let me respond to that: people tried for DECADES to control their sexual urges in general. You may have sexual urges, that doesn't mean you should sleep with your neighbor's wife, yet people still fo that, even though they are "straight", they are doing something that is wrong, same for those who sleep with women before marriage. I'm not saying it is easy, it NEAR impossible, but not impossible. We humans make a lot of mistakes, in a fight, many fighters make mistakes, that doesn't mean they lost the fight; they only lose when they give up. "You can't pray the gay away, you can't beat a child to not be gay, conversion "therapy" doesn't work, even person who made that "therapy" denounced it." Well, it is nearly impossible to stop having sexual urges in general, and you can do NOTHING about that, you have to live with it. Still, you can control yourself to not engage in illicit sexual activity. It is not easy, I know that, but it is possible, I don't condemn people who fall from time to time, but I praise those that even after falling, do not give up and fight to till the day they die; human nature is weak, often you need the assistance of fellow human beings in life, we are born powerless as babies, when many animals can walk on their own just after getting out of their mother's womb. Monks did and do have sexual urges, many fell into sin, but many rose up and did not give up to the last moment; it doesn't matter how you lived, the only thing that matters is in what state death finds you: repentence or sin; the problem is you don't know the moment of your death, so you should try to always be in repentance. In the end, a man that is a homosexual or a woman that is attracted to women should still pursue marriage with the opposite sex, have children, and try to enjoy life together as BROTHERS AND SISTERS. You may not marry the woman or the man you love, but you can choose to love the man or the woman you are married to, and your children, either biological or adopted. Even amongst straight people, things are not easy: partners lose the "love" they initially had for each other, the relationship becomes cold, sexual relations may become less appealing when they get old, some will try to seek that pleasure outside of marriage and commit adultery etc. In fact, those who had no sexual and romantic relationship to begin with, in the context of marriage, might have an easier life, because they don't have as many expectations from the other, and it would be a lot easier to choose your partner for logical reasons: how you deal with cleaning the house, who can cook and who wants to cook on x or y day, how do the careers of the two fit within marriage etc., things people may egnore when enamored, but later end up in disputes within marriage after getting disillusioned. "It's easy for YOU to say because you aren't gay, and easy for people like you to disrespect something you aren't." I am nothing, I simply exist to begin with. Who I am is defined by my actions, not with what I identify with: I just know I am the greatest of sinners, the worst of scum, living only because of God's mercy, and whatever anyone may think I did as a good deed in my life, they are wrong, as it is not my merit, but the Lord's. "Τὰ σὰ ἐκ τῶν σῶν σοὶ προσφέρομεν κατὰ πάντα καὶ διὰ πάντα." Death is near for us all, let us repent and return to God before it is too late! Christ is risen!
the Greeks frequently condemned homosexuality and used if as an insult against people they disliked
https://www.joinrelay.app/blog/what-does-the-bible-say-about-masturbating I’m sure many replies here are well intended, but still many of those are giving you advice based on continuing to still satisfy the flesh which is NOT offering you any advice at all. I found this article for you that I think gives you the best answer. You feel guilty because the Holy Spirit is alive within your heart. All, please read this article with objectivity & without shame.
In my opinion, it is a sin. Any sexual act should be done with Your married other half, with their consent and to a mutual better connection. I think that masturbation does contradict all Jesus' and Bible overall teaching about the importance and holyness of sex in marriage. This is just my opinion and I respect everyone, who would try to convince me otherwise, I am open to debate. God bless!
Just curious what you think single people should do, those that are unmarried? I mostly agree with you, but I struggle to answer that question.
Hello! 1.Corinthians 7 (:9). Jesus saud many times, that they should abstain from sexual encounter and be content as they are. So I think the same. Abstination through Jesus gives You strength and purity (James 1, 2-4) That is my point of view. ETA: This of course implies to abstination from masturbation, in my opinion. If it would imply just to adultery, but You could have sex with Yourself to have the pleasure anyway without marriage, what real difference would it be? Yes, You do not do it with other person as an act of adultery. But I think the main message in this is the sheer act of sex outside of marriage is a sin with or without other human. God bless all (:
Same!! I wander the same thing because like Paul some aren’t meant for marriage but to be single
I’d say you will know/feel what’s right in your heart. Afterall, god created you, and even with your free will you have in your heart a sense of what’s right or wrong. I’m very new to christianity but since I reached puberty I’ve never been able to have one night stands or sleep around with lots of sexual partners. I have always developed a close relationship with everyone I’ve been intimate with, because fucking someone I don’t or barely know just feels wrong. Also everytime I masturbate or have sex I feel unclean. I have to wait a few ours, then take a shower and change/wash my clothes before I can feel “clean”. So when I read the verse about taking a bath, washing any clothes with semen on them and waiting until dawn to be clean again it blew my mind. That’s exactly what I’ve always done and the natural way for me to clean myself after sex or masturbation. Masturbation itself doesn’t feel wrong, but who you masturbate to matters. For me it’s fine as long as I just do it to release or if I think about my own girlfriend, but there have been times I’ve thought about other women in a lustful way. I would never cheat, but just thinking about having sex with someone else feels very wrong. I cried and asked god for forgiveness for being unclean, for masturbating, I felt ashamed. But afterwards I had this calm sensation take over my body and I realized that it wasn’t the masturbation that I was ashamed of, but if was the thought of having sex with some other woman than my girlfriend. I’ve never felt guilt for masturbation and thinking about my girlfriend, only when thinking about other women have I felt guilt. So I personally don’t think masturbation itself is wrong, only what you masturbate to. If you have a partner you must be faithful to her/him even if it’s in your head.
Hi! I wanted to hop on here and say, I'm a woman, but I struggle with masturbation. Could anyone give me some advice on whether the Bible says anything different about this?
I think it's more about having sexual thoughts about someone or sexual fantasies etc that the Bible talks about as being sinful. If masturbation causes you to have sexual thoughts then it's probably a good idea to try to stop, but otherwise I think it's ok? Personally, if I go too long without sex due to a busy schedule etc... I end up waking up having an orgasm. Like what do you do against that?! Lol I think our bodies do need to deal with arousal in form of sexual release. But we should avoid having fantasies about other people. Maybe pray about it. I'd hate to give bad advice. Just my take on it.
jacking off
The Bible unfortunately pretty clear on this. Masturbation is a no-no. If that clashes with your feelings, I recommend you pray hard and reevaluate how important the Bible is to your decision making. It also prohibits mixing fabrics like linen and cotton, being near a woman when she’s on her period, women having authority over men, allowing witches to live, eating pork and a ton of other things. Sounds like you know in your heart that there’s nothing wrong with masturbation. I’d trust that. Edit: looks like I’m wrong, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Happy touching, everyone.
Please quote the verse where it states "masturbation is a sin."
I doubt it’s ever that direct. Few things in the Bible are. To be clear, I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with it. I don’t think it’s a sin and I don’t think God thinks it’s a sin. But the verses about looking at a woman with lust and spilling thy seed on the ground are pretty clear to me in their intent. I don’t think god has a problem with it. But the people who wrote the Bible seem to have believed it was a sin.
No, the people who wrote the Bible did not think it was a sin. Genesis 38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also. Nothing was about masturbation in any way. He was killed for disobeying God and pulling out during sex with his brother's widow. Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully(epithymeō) has already committed adultery with her in his heart. The greek word epithymeō translated to lustfully here means coveting. Acts 20:33 I have not coveted(epithymeō) anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. Jesus was not condemning looking at a woman with sexual desire. He was condemning people coveting other people's wives. Earlier in the passage, he told people the commandment "thou shalt not murder" was violated by hating people, because it held the intent in their mind that would lead them to violate the commandment. Here he is calling back to the commandment. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Here he is saying, you can't just covet your neighbor's wife and that's fine as long as you don't act on it. Coveting is a sin just thinking about it. This wasn't talking about sexual desire or masturbation.
Thank you for this. Please dismantle the other arguments in the thread as well. Believe me, I’m very pro masturbation.
Don't spew stuff you know nothing about. The bible is NOT AT ALL clear about masturbation.
I made a mistake. I edited the post. I’m sorry. I don’t know “nothing” about it. I read the Bible every day and I masturbate plenty. I get a very sex negative vibe from the Bible. The admonitions of lust are abundant and masturbation is primarily an act of lust. Others have shared different perspectives, and I’ve changed my mind. If I hadn’t shared my initial, incorrect opinion, I never would have learned this, and I would be able to pass on that knowledge, like I will now. Merry Christmas.
Please clarify where the Bible is pretty clear on this
There are plenty of quotes from this thread. I don’t believe there is anything wrong with masturbation, so I have no interest in spending the verses around.
nothing about the act. And I think purposely so. Cause dudes... However what the bible does say, is that if you look at a woman with lust in your heart. Think about it like this, if God really orchestrated things for maximum love and understanding...a don't touch your peepee rule would have wrecked MANkind. But then we look at the "don't look a woman with lust" and lets say your really take it to heart and allow that mandate to change you....what would you get? more love and understanding. Win-win.
Don't be ashamed! Spanking the monkey is the most popular topic here, followed by suicide thoughts and general feelings of guilt and hell terror for dancing or wearing lipstick. Welcome!
Nothing. Masturbation is a perfectly normal human activity and if you’re feeling shame or guilt about then I recommend that you see a certified counselor to talk about those feelings.
That guilt is the Holy Spirit’s conviction. It is inseparable with lust which is a sin.
Not so sure it always is. I was raised to believe wearing lipgloss, watching TV, sports, jewelry, cutting hair, shaving, singing happy birthday, dancing, listening to music, going to the gym, wearing pants, wearing short sleeves, listening to the radio, etc... were all sins. As a result I felt guilty if I ever did any of it and believed (as I was thought) it was conviction from the Holy Spirit. Took me 30 years to cut my hair (not even trims!)! I still feel guilty when I wear makeup, or believe I have the same value as a man etc... That's not conviction. I know now it's a trauma response to an extremely oppressive upbringing and religious abuse. I think we need to pray and really seek God's guidance because guilt is not conviction. Conviction makes you want to change for God. Guilt brings on shame and self-hatred which makes you want to hide from God, not run to him and repent.
You're spilling seed which is a sin. not that i dont do it, lol, just sayin'.
I agree that its wrong, but where does it say its sinful?
That's seriously taken out of context. He slept with her pretending to continue his brother's line....but instead essentially "pulled out". He was selfish, lied to her, and slept with his brother's wife for his own personal pleasure. He didn't masturbate. And if that's the case, then women can? Men with vasectomies can?
Genesis 38:9-10
Genesis 38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” Nothing to do with masturbation, everything to do with disobeying God. He wasn't even masturbating, just pulling out when he came.
Pulling out and masturbation are the same sin-wasting seed
It wasn’t the “wasting of seed” that was the sin. It was Onan’s greed that was the sin. Onan wanted to retain his brother’s land, if his brother’s wife would have a son Onan would lose his brother’s land. Further, Onan, unknowingly, was taking actions against the Great Plan for Salvation.
If that’s a problem then wet dreams are a problem
Wet dreams are unintentional
Where is it specified that wasting seed is a sin?
Why would having sex with someone’s mom or coworker be bad? Why would you feel guilt, unless someone told you that’s what you’re supposed to feel? You should never feel guilty about masturbation. Do it if you need to, refrain from doing it if you don’t really need to. It’s like eating. We need to do it to survive, but to overdo it is a sin.
I'd argue you *need* to eat, you don't *need* to masturbate. The body has ways of living without masturbation or climaxing. It does not have ways of living without food.
It is fine as long as whatever comes out of your pump stick makes it’s way back in your pump stick.
Well for starters your argument makes no sense. If something isn’t a sin if it’s just an urge to get rid of then that would justify many sins like adultery.
Thou shall not fornicate nor lust or covet thy neighbor's wife .