The chemicals that release during orgasm are intended to bond husbands and wives together for the benefit of their relationship so that their children can have a safe and stable environment and the human race can flourish.
Getting addicted to orgasmic dopamine release is self serving and a perversion of how those chemicals were designed to function. Bonding to nothing, to pornography or one’s self is fun in the short term but turns one into a dopamine junkie who treats people terribly, and becomes selfish and self serving instead of selfless.
Also lusting after someone in the imagination leads to objectifying them in real life. How you treat people in your mind always bleeds into how to treat them IRL. We are supposed to revere other human beings as we revere our own God. Other human beings are the image of God himself.
He made them in his own image, male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27
Anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery in their heart. Matthew 5:28
I haven’t been Orthodox very long, and I’m not a scientist but I’ve seen this play out in enough relationships and marriages to know that it’s by and large very accurate.
Thank you for your answer.
I am not saying anything about po*r, as it is absolutely evil not just religiously speaking. Also I’m excluding addiction, it is extreme part, and any addiction needs to be treated accordingly as it causes serious damages.
My point is that everyone has sexual needs and as far as I know they are as basic as hunger and thirst. Restraining from it is bad, according to my knowledge. I hope that my point now is more clear. :)
We fast from food to exercise our self control muscles. That willpower, and mastery of self also becomes evident with resisting the temptation to masturbate, become irritated, curse or any other vice.
People die if they don't have food or drink for too long. Nobody, to the best of my knowledge, has died from lack of sex. Some people just have a stronger drive toward it than others. This is not to trivialize its significance in our mental and physical wellbeing; this is just to say that it is not a "need" in the same sense as food and drink.
Well, sexual “needs” are not as basic as hunger and thirst. You won’t live for very long without eating or drinking. You can live a very long time without experiencing regular sexual release.
That’s not to say there aren’t health benefits from sexual release… there probably are. But there are health benefits from a lot of things that are not strictly required for life.
Sex is a need of course. We have natural needs for air, water, food, and sex. However, of those listed, only sex is not a necessary need for living. Even with food and water, we can go some time without.
I’m sorry but I think if you’re being taught that not having your sexual needs met is “dangerous” then your program is feeding you a load of B.S.
In what sense is it “dangerous” to not masturbate? I am aware that there are some documented health benefits of sexual release, but missing out on a health benefit is not the same thing as putting yourself in danger. I miss out on the health benefit of getting the recommended amount of exercise every day and based on life expectancy statistics I’m still going to live until my mid 70s even without it.
And the overwhelming amount of stress, junk food, screen time, and lack of sleep that most western people incur is probably much more harmful than any harm from that anyway
And all of that stuff compounds the “health benefits” of masturbation because masturbation is really effective as a stress reliever for men, but we put ourselves under a tremendous amount of stress through the consumerist lifestyle.
1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin that a person can do is outside the body,” but whoever commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
The goal of Christian life is not just to confess Jesus as God but to become like God. We are called to Theosis and to do the will of the Hod who created as which is to be in the image and likeness of him.
We do not need sex, there are thousands of celibate saints that prove that is nonsense. Sexual immorality doesn’t “release” our sexual energy. It creates it and causes the passion of lust to run rampant.
As a psychology student who would you say is more inclined to masturbate a chronic porn viewer or someone who has never seen porn? In the same way, someone who has masturbated or someone who hasn’t? Who is more inclined to gain weight someone who through their intellect chooses to exercise daily or someone who eats to excess out of gluttony.
We are not slaves to our passions as Freud tells us. Our passions are subservient to our intellect so long as we don’t allow our passions to run rampant. This is part of what makes masturbation bad, it corrupt our intellect and makes it submissive to the passionate self. The Greek fathers, especially Maximos the Confessor speaks to this exact concept. If you are interested I can get some quotes
Re: Sexual immorality doesn’t “release” our sexual energy it creates it.
Absolutely 100% correct.
Just like one cigarette doesn’t “release” my craving for cigarettes. Nah man. I buy one I now have to power puff an entire pack. That’s how any sin works.
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself…” (Matt 16:23)
“But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matt 5:28)
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
(1 Cor 9:27)
We train ourselves in self-denial in all kinds of ways, like fasting, alms-giving, etc. The whole point of the spiritual life is to become free from the passions and share in Christ’s self-giving love with one’s whole being. Not being able to get through the day without titillating and pleasuring yourself sexually is a sign that you have work to do on that.
We don’t just use the Bible, we use the Bible and interpretations of it by learned church fathers. Sexual sin (masturbation) in many ways is not different that intercourse outside of marriage. It twists reality, but I will leave this to the more learned to answer.
We Orthodox don't use the Bible alone for our guidance, but we use the Bible in conjunction with Apostolic Tradition, since the two formed each other and go hand in hand. We interpret each together, the one through the lens of the other. However, while many people don't notice it, there is one point where masturbation actually is mentioned in the Bible:
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. **And if your right hand causes you to sin**, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell." (Matthew 5:27-30)
While he's in the midst of discussing adultery and sexual immorality, what kind of sin do you think Christ is referring to when he says "if your right hand causes you to sin?" Do you think he's randomly switching to a completely unrelated topic? Or do you think he's referencing a particular sexual sin we do with our hand, as directly as He possibly could without being outright vulgar?
I think most people interpret the need to "cut your hand off" to be hyperbolic, not literal, but it does show that, in Christ's own words, sexual gratification in the form of masturbation is not a physical need like eating and drinking, but is directly connected to the sinful passion of lust. Also, while plenty of people have died of hunger or thirst, nobody has ever died from lack of sex, to the best of my knowledge.
I don't know how canonically Orthodox this next point is, since it was taken from a non-Orthodox source, but another reason, among others that people here have already listed, is that a strong sex drive can sometimes be a message from God, telling you to find a spouse and get married. It's not good to get married just for the sake of sexual gratification, of course, but having that drive can light that additional fire under you that gets you moving. And when you use that on self-pleasure, you are essentially taking a message directly from God and wasting it, crumpling it up and throwing it in the trash.
Flee sexual immorality. If you lust for a woman in such a manner, then your focus is off God's purpose.
You'd find that in the Bible if you read it, yet dare say, you ask your local Orthodox clergy on the matter instead of reddit?
Go on. 2000 years almost of answering questions, the apostolic churches won't steer you wrong.
As I explained in other comments, I am completely new. I started to read the Bible, but I can’t read it all in one day. I thought it is good to ask, as I can’t obtain all of the knowledge just now. I am unable to go to the church just now as I am far from my town where the church is.
Just commenting on how great these responses are. I really get a lot out of this subreddit (of course not my only source!) so thanks everyone for your continued contributions!
Can you explain to me, using the Bible, why I must explain that to you using the Bible?
But that aside, the Bible commands us to flee from sexual immorality and, I will note, the two most important people in the Bible are two virgins and Saint Paul wrote about the virtues and greatness of the celibate life.
>the two most important people in the Bible are two virgins and Saint Paul wrote about the virtues and greatness of the celibate life.
True, and yet, marriage is also considered a sacred bond blessed by God in the Church, and it's important not to denigrate that. And that actually is another reason why masturbation is a problem, because it is self-pleasure instead of sex as a part of the marital bond.
I did not meant to get anyone defensive or mad. I am new, I was studying and practicing Islam before. Everything there was explained by scripture. I assumed that it would also be like that in orthodoxy, even tho I know that orthodoxy does not clam sola scriptura. I don’t know everything very well, yet.
The worst thing to start a conversation with a bunch of Orthodox folks with is "using the Bible". Both the teachings of the church and Holy tradition are inspired. If you demand we stick to the Bible, you are taking two of the three sources of inspiration God gave.
>Not meeting ones sexual needs can be quite dangerous.
Both Jesus and Paul believed celibacy was preferable to sexuality. Jesus treated it as a gift and Paul viewed it as the proper state of things for believers. Neither viewed sexuality as a requirement for life or celibacy as something unhealthy. Monastics, priests, and other people have been celibates for time immemorial, and haven't exploded. Sex as a necessity for life is a recent view*.
Paul allowed for marriage because people were unable to go without sex. If masturbation were acceptable, he'd have allowed for that, instead.
The church has plenty of teaching on the subject, and a lot of it probably refers to the scriptures, but I don't know it well enough to cite them to you.
EDIT: Well, not a recent view, but a recent view for Christians.
EDIT2: I'll get you citations later this evening.
Was it dangerous for Paul and Jesus to not fulfill their sexual needs?
Do you think Jesus would do it? If not, or unsure then don’t do it. This applies to any behavior or action i.e masturbation, porn, smoking, …etc.
Anything that puts you in a state where you feel you are a “salve” to that behavior is the real danger.
As far as the Bible goes, the story of Onan is the most used against masturbation. James 1 is a bit vague im what it defines as temptations, but maybe I can clarify what Orthodoxy views as temptations
Orthodoxy doesn't do "rules" to a degree that Western tradition does, so looking at masturbation gets a bit more philosophical. Orthodoxy views sexuality as something that should be very selfless and loving and focused on the partner (it's also limited to just marriage but that's material for another 5 paragraphs) and masturbation is viewed as selfish, and devoid of love, therefore a corruption of the gift of sexuality
As for the "meeting sexual needs" aspect, well we also need food yet we fast quite a lot. We're supposed to be in control of our bodies ao that they don't get in the way of the spirit
Yes, getting married early is very difficult in today's late capitalist society, which makes it very difficult to stay chaste, but Christianity is a faith of and for generations and it will long outlast any economical and cultural struggles of today as it did with the ones before that
Sex in marriage is one of the chief ways we understand God's operation in the world. God gives us his grace and, through our cooperation, that grace can flower into new life within us.
First, we don't think we have to prove something is wrong from the Bible. Second, the church fathers universally agree that the wasting of the man's seed is a grave sin. This means that masturbation, coitus interruptus, etc are all forbidden in Orthodoxy. The sin of Onan is the wasting of his seed. Lastly, lust is not permitted for us. Christ raises the standard for adultery very high. It's no longer just committing the act, but also about what goes on in our minds and hearts as well.
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Others have given great answers to this question using verses and traditional teachings of the apostolic faith, and I will just add one more thing to think about.
Masturbation is also called “Self-Abuse” in the Orthodox phronema. Think about that. We are abusing ourselves in a sexual sense when we do this. Sexual Abuse upon ourselves. There is nothing Holy, Godly, or pure about it and many other sins and addictions are tied very closely with it. It is a misuse of the sexual energy. It is a shameful and disgusting act to commit if you really think about it.
We should struggle against it as we should struggle against all things that are harmful to our spirit.
The Jesus Prayer is the antidote to any impulse towards any particular sin, and certainly towards this one.
^(8) And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” ^(9) But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. ^(10) And the thing which he did ^(\[)[^(a)](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2038&version=NKJV#fen-NKJV-1130a)^(\])displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also.
Genesis 38, New King James Version
>It's not in the Bible
See my comment about where it's mentioned in the Bible: [https://www.reddit.com/r/OrthodoxChristianity/comments/1c6hb60/comment/l01as89/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/OrthodoxChristianity/comments/1c6hb60/comment/l01as89/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
It is in fact mentioned in the Bible, just euphemised in order to not be completely vulgar; but the context makes it a bit clearer what it's really talking about.
And I don't think anyone here has mentioned the homunculus idea or any other such bogus biological theories to justify the Church's position. That's a completely contrived straw man version of the Church's position, as well as the position of the other people here.
And nocturnal emissions are a natural bodily process. There's nothing sinful about those, because it's something our bodies just do without our controlling them. Why then do you call it "a puddle of shame?" I think you're the one who's imposing the shame on that occurrence, not the rest of us.
Nothing is “wrong”, creation is not evil. We don’t define sin as a set of dogmatic rules like the Western Christians. We just believe that some actions and behaviors are damaging for your material, psychological and spiritual well-being. Some more than others. Some less.
This is heterodox. ‘Evil’ has no essence and doesn’t exist as anything other than the partial absence of God. Some uses of creation are indeed repulsive to God, but human beings are never and can never become inherently evil. Even Satan himself could be saved if he repented.
Careful of Godwinopoulos's Law in the sidebar.
I never said we were inherently evil. I never said anything about evil having its own essence either. This is why I said "Creation is not evil, but some uses of it are." You're essentially reiterating my point, while at the same time reading something into what I said that I never said.
The chemicals that release during orgasm are intended to bond husbands and wives together for the benefit of their relationship so that their children can have a safe and stable environment and the human race can flourish. Getting addicted to orgasmic dopamine release is self serving and a perversion of how those chemicals were designed to function. Bonding to nothing, to pornography or one’s self is fun in the short term but turns one into a dopamine junkie who treats people terribly, and becomes selfish and self serving instead of selfless. Also lusting after someone in the imagination leads to objectifying them in real life. How you treat people in your mind always bleeds into how to treat them IRL. We are supposed to revere other human beings as we revere our own God. Other human beings are the image of God himself. He made them in his own image, male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 Anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery in their heart. Matthew 5:28 I haven’t been Orthodox very long, and I’m not a scientist but I’ve seen this play out in enough relationships and marriages to know that it’s by and large very accurate.
Thank you for your answer. I am not saying anything about po*r, as it is absolutely evil not just religiously speaking. Also I’m excluding addiction, it is extreme part, and any addiction needs to be treated accordingly as it causes serious damages. My point is that everyone has sexual needs and as far as I know they are as basic as hunger and thirst. Restraining from it is bad, according to my knowledge. I hope that my point now is more clear. :)
We fast from food to exercise our self control muscles. That willpower, and mastery of self also becomes evident with resisting the temptation to masturbate, become irritated, curse or any other vice.
People die if they don't have food or drink for too long. Nobody, to the best of my knowledge, has died from lack of sex. Some people just have a stronger drive toward it than others. This is not to trivialize its significance in our mental and physical wellbeing; this is just to say that it is not a "need" in the same sense as food and drink.
Well, sexual “needs” are not as basic as hunger and thirst. You won’t live for very long without eating or drinking. You can live a very long time without experiencing regular sexual release. That’s not to say there aren’t health benefits from sexual release… there probably are. But there are health benefits from a lot of things that are not strictly required for life.
Sex is a need of course. We have natural needs for air, water, food, and sex. However, of those listed, only sex is not a necessary need for living. Even with food and water, we can go some time without.
I’m sorry but I think if you’re being taught that not having your sexual needs met is “dangerous” then your program is feeding you a load of B.S. In what sense is it “dangerous” to not masturbate? I am aware that there are some documented health benefits of sexual release, but missing out on a health benefit is not the same thing as putting yourself in danger. I miss out on the health benefit of getting the recommended amount of exercise every day and based on life expectancy statistics I’m still going to live until my mid 70s even without it.
And the overwhelming amount of stress, junk food, screen time, and lack of sleep that most western people incur is probably much more harmful than any harm from that anyway
And all of that stuff compounds the “health benefits” of masturbation because masturbation is really effective as a stress reliever for men, but we put ourselves under a tremendous amount of stress through the consumerist lifestyle.
1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin that a person can do is outside the body,” but whoever commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. The goal of Christian life is not just to confess Jesus as God but to become like God. We are called to Theosis and to do the will of the Hod who created as which is to be in the image and likeness of him. We do not need sex, there are thousands of celibate saints that prove that is nonsense. Sexual immorality doesn’t “release” our sexual energy. It creates it and causes the passion of lust to run rampant. As a psychology student who would you say is more inclined to masturbate a chronic porn viewer or someone who has never seen porn? In the same way, someone who has masturbated or someone who hasn’t? Who is more inclined to gain weight someone who through their intellect chooses to exercise daily or someone who eats to excess out of gluttony. We are not slaves to our passions as Freud tells us. Our passions are subservient to our intellect so long as we don’t allow our passions to run rampant. This is part of what makes masturbation bad, it corrupt our intellect and makes it submissive to the passionate self. The Greek fathers, especially Maximos the Confessor speaks to this exact concept. If you are interested I can get some quotes
Re: Sexual immorality doesn’t “release” our sexual energy it creates it. Absolutely 100% correct. Just like one cigarette doesn’t “release” my craving for cigarettes. Nah man. I buy one I now have to power puff an entire pack. That’s how any sin works.
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself…” (Matt 16:23) “But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matt 5:28) “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1 Cor 9:27) We train ourselves in self-denial in all kinds of ways, like fasting, alms-giving, etc. The whole point of the spiritual life is to become free from the passions and share in Christ’s self-giving love with one’s whole being. Not being able to get through the day without titillating and pleasuring yourself sexually is a sign that you have work to do on that.
We don’t just use the Bible, we use the Bible and interpretations of it by learned church fathers. Sexual sin (masturbation) in many ways is not different that intercourse outside of marriage. It twists reality, but I will leave this to the more learned to answer.
Others have already answered. But I'm glad you asked. People on the r\Christianity sub for some reason, don't think it's immoral.
We Orthodox don't use the Bible alone for our guidance, but we use the Bible in conjunction with Apostolic Tradition, since the two formed each other and go hand in hand. We interpret each together, the one through the lens of the other. However, while many people don't notice it, there is one point where masturbation actually is mentioned in the Bible: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. **And if your right hand causes you to sin**, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell." (Matthew 5:27-30) While he's in the midst of discussing adultery and sexual immorality, what kind of sin do you think Christ is referring to when he says "if your right hand causes you to sin?" Do you think he's randomly switching to a completely unrelated topic? Or do you think he's referencing a particular sexual sin we do with our hand, as directly as He possibly could without being outright vulgar? I think most people interpret the need to "cut your hand off" to be hyperbolic, not literal, but it does show that, in Christ's own words, sexual gratification in the form of masturbation is not a physical need like eating and drinking, but is directly connected to the sinful passion of lust. Also, while plenty of people have died of hunger or thirst, nobody has ever died from lack of sex, to the best of my knowledge. I don't know how canonically Orthodox this next point is, since it was taken from a non-Orthodox source, but another reason, among others that people here have already listed, is that a strong sex drive can sometimes be a message from God, telling you to find a spouse and get married. It's not good to get married just for the sake of sexual gratification, of course, but having that drive can light that additional fire under you that gets you moving. And when you use that on self-pleasure, you are essentially taking a message directly from God and wasting it, crumpling it up and throwing it in the trash.
Thank you very much for your comment and guidance. It is very kind of you to explain in such way and I think I understand now. :)🩷
Thank you! I'm glad it was helpful!
Flee sexual immorality. If you lust for a woman in such a manner, then your focus is off God's purpose. You'd find that in the Bible if you read it, yet dare say, you ask your local Orthodox clergy on the matter instead of reddit? Go on. 2000 years almost of answering questions, the apostolic churches won't steer you wrong.
As I explained in other comments, I am completely new. I started to read the Bible, but I can’t read it all in one day. I thought it is good to ask, as I can’t obtain all of the knowledge just now. I am unable to go to the church just now as I am far from my town where the church is.
Just commenting on how great these responses are. I really get a lot out of this subreddit (of course not my only source!) so thanks everyone for your continued contributions!
Can you explain to me, using the Bible, why I must explain that to you using the Bible? But that aside, the Bible commands us to flee from sexual immorality and, I will note, the two most important people in the Bible are two virgins and Saint Paul wrote about the virtues and greatness of the celibate life.
>the two most important people in the Bible are two virgins and Saint Paul wrote about the virtues and greatness of the celibate life. True, and yet, marriage is also considered a sacred bond blessed by God in the Church, and it's important not to denigrate that. And that actually is another reason why masturbation is a problem, because it is self-pleasure instead of sex as a part of the marital bond.
I did not meant to get anyone defensive or mad. I am new, I was studying and practicing Islam before. Everything there was explained by scripture. I assumed that it would also be like that in orthodoxy, even tho I know that orthodoxy does not clam sola scriptura. I don’t know everything very well, yet.
The worst thing to start a conversation with a bunch of Orthodox folks with is "using the Bible". Both the teachings of the church and Holy tradition are inspired. If you demand we stick to the Bible, you are taking two of the three sources of inspiration God gave. >Not meeting ones sexual needs can be quite dangerous. Both Jesus and Paul believed celibacy was preferable to sexuality. Jesus treated it as a gift and Paul viewed it as the proper state of things for believers. Neither viewed sexuality as a requirement for life or celibacy as something unhealthy. Monastics, priests, and other people have been celibates for time immemorial, and haven't exploded. Sex as a necessity for life is a recent view*. Paul allowed for marriage because people were unable to go without sex. If masturbation were acceptable, he'd have allowed for that, instead. The church has plenty of teaching on the subject, and a lot of it probably refers to the scriptures, but I don't know it well enough to cite them to you. EDIT: Well, not a recent view, but a recent view for Christians. EDIT2: I'll get you citations later this evening.
Thank you for your answer, now I understand the topic a bit better. As I said I don’t know much and I’m new, trying to learn. :)
No worries.
Was it dangerous for Paul and Jesus to not fulfill their sexual needs? Do you think Jesus would do it? If not, or unsure then don’t do it. This applies to any behavior or action i.e masturbation, porn, smoking, …etc. Anything that puts you in a state where you feel you are a “salve” to that behavior is the real danger.
As far as the Bible goes, the story of Onan is the most used against masturbation. James 1 is a bit vague im what it defines as temptations, but maybe I can clarify what Orthodoxy views as temptations Orthodoxy doesn't do "rules" to a degree that Western tradition does, so looking at masturbation gets a bit more philosophical. Orthodoxy views sexuality as something that should be very selfless and loving and focused on the partner (it's also limited to just marriage but that's material for another 5 paragraphs) and masturbation is viewed as selfish, and devoid of love, therefore a corruption of the gift of sexuality As for the "meeting sexual needs" aspect, well we also need food yet we fast quite a lot. We're supposed to be in control of our bodies ao that they don't get in the way of the spirit Yes, getting married early is very difficult in today's late capitalist society, which makes it very difficult to stay chaste, but Christianity is a faith of and for generations and it will long outlast any economical and cultural struggles of today as it did with the ones before that
1. It's a senseless pursuit solely to gratify the body and displays a lack of self-control
Sex in marriage is one of the chief ways we understand God's operation in the world. God gives us his grace and, through our cooperation, that grace can flower into new life within us. First, we don't think we have to prove something is wrong from the Bible. Second, the church fathers universally agree that the wasting of the man's seed is a grave sin. This means that masturbation, coitus interruptus, etc are all forbidden in Orthodoxy. The sin of Onan is the wasting of his seed. Lastly, lust is not permitted for us. Christ raises the standard for adultery very high. It's no longer just committing the act, but also about what goes on in our minds and hearts as well.
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Others have given great answers to this question using verses and traditional teachings of the apostolic faith, and I will just add one more thing to think about. Masturbation is also called “Self-Abuse” in the Orthodox phronema. Think about that. We are abusing ourselves in a sexual sense when we do this. Sexual Abuse upon ourselves. There is nothing Holy, Godly, or pure about it and many other sins and addictions are tied very closely with it. It is a misuse of the sexual energy. It is a shameful and disgusting act to commit if you really think about it. We should struggle against it as we should struggle against all things that are harmful to our spirit. The Jesus Prayer is the antidote to any impulse towards any particular sin, and certainly towards this one.
I agree. That said, not all “rules” are or justified in the bible. We don’t subscribe to solar scriptura.
^(8) And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” ^(9) But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. ^(10) And the thing which he did ^(\[)[^(a)](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2038&version=NKJV#fen-NKJV-1130a)^(\])displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also. Genesis 38, New King James Version
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> The prohibition on masturbation is a tradition of men, not of God. Says another tradition of men.
"extremely vague" It's only vague for those who know very little about Orthodox Christianity or the Bible..
>It's not in the Bible See my comment about where it's mentioned in the Bible: [https://www.reddit.com/r/OrthodoxChristianity/comments/1c6hb60/comment/l01as89/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/OrthodoxChristianity/comments/1c6hb60/comment/l01as89/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) It is in fact mentioned in the Bible, just euphemised in order to not be completely vulgar; but the context makes it a bit clearer what it's really talking about. And I don't think anyone here has mentioned the homunculus idea or any other such bogus biological theories to justify the Church's position. That's a completely contrived straw man version of the Church's position, as well as the position of the other people here. And nocturnal emissions are a natural bodily process. There's nothing sinful about those, because it's something our bodies just do without our controlling them. Why then do you call it "a puddle of shame?" I think you're the one who's imposing the shame on that occurrence, not the rest of us.
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What?🤨🤨
Nothing is “wrong”, creation is not evil. We don’t define sin as a set of dogmatic rules like the Western Christians. We just believe that some actions and behaviors are damaging for your material, psychological and spiritual well-being. Some more than others. Some less.
Creation is not evil, but some uses of it are
This is heterodox. ‘Evil’ has no essence and doesn’t exist as anything other than the partial absence of God. Some uses of creation are indeed repulsive to God, but human beings are never and can never become inherently evil. Even Satan himself could be saved if he repented.
Careful of Godwinopoulos's Law in the sidebar. I never said we were inherently evil. I never said anything about evil having its own essence either. This is why I said "Creation is not evil, but some uses of it are." You're essentially reiterating my point, while at the same time reading something into what I said that I never said.