Guiltiness?

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God was upset with Onan, but for more complex reasons than, er, spilling his seed on the ground.

another question..
do ya'll usually masturbate to porn, or just alone in a bathroom or something like that.

Usually porn, although if there isnt any to hand (pardon the pun) I just think about the fitties I know (I have some damn hot female friends)

both, porn on compnothin when in bed(my RE teacher-hes a open person, said it was a sin to masterbate. But he then said he does it, so it doesn't really matter-no idea if he was pullin our legs (all boys class))

Over a period of years, I kinda parted ways with my Christian beliefs... but my wife and kids are strong believers and I don't interfere. Here's some stuff I grabbed from another site. I use this info when having my "talk" with my boys:Question: I’m 16, and I’ve been struggling with masturbation for a long time. I constantly ask God to help me stop, but I keep giving in to temptation. I feel guilty. What should I do? Answer: Each time we empty our mail bags here at Breakaway, we pull out questions just like this one. According to my boss, Dr. James Dobson, "Between 95 and 98 percent of all boys engage in this practice—and the rest have been known to lie." The fact is, God created you with a wonderful and appropriate desire for the opposite sex. Sure, these impulses are strong. But someday, when you’re married, you’ll be able to celebrate and satisfy these desires with a woman you love. This is all part of God’s incredible plan. But in the meantime, what’s a guy to do? As you probably already know, when masturbation becomes a habit, it brings with it feelings of guilt and shame. Are these feelings from God? Does this mean that regular masturbation is sin? This whole subject would be much easier to deal with if there were a Bible verse that said, "thou shalt not," or "verily, it is okay." But the Bible is absolutely silent on this issue. While there are those who claim Genesis 38:8-11 condemns Onan for masturbation and that 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 refers to this habit, the Bible scholars I’ve talked with believe these arguments are taken completely out of context. While I certainly don’t want to contradict what your parents or your pastor believe, I’d like you to consider this: It is the hidden fears, desires and temptations that cause us the most problems. As tough as this sounds, open up and discuss this struggle with a trusted adult—preferably your dad. Masturbation is harmful if it’s done . . . • while fantasizing about an immoral relationship (see Matthew 5:27-28). • with pornography or any other "unclean picture" set before your eyes. • to the point of becoming an uncontrollable habit. What’s uncontrollable? A general guide is several times a day every day, for months in a row. If that’s you, talk with someone. If you don’t struggle with masturbation, great. There’s nothing wrong with you either. But if you do, don’t lose sleep over it and certainly don’t let guilt drive you away from God. Just be sure to avoid the danger zones. Let me conclude with some excellent advice from Dr. Dobson (taken from his book, Preparing for Adolescence):"It is my opinion that masturbation is not much of an issues with God. It’s a normal part of adolescence, which involves no one else. It does not cause disease, it does not produce babies, and Jesus did not mention it in the Bible. I’m not telling you to masturbate, and I hope you won’t feel the need for it. The best thing I can do is suggest that you talk to God personally about this matter and decide what He wants you to do."

Wow! Good facts!! I think I will remember that someday when I have a son! I was brought up in a family that believed looking, touching yourself naked was a sin but I learned, that was part of our life and part of growing up.

I am a strong believer in God and christian..but the only thing that is iffy with me is..several times a day. Sometimes you just can't help it. I do believe the pornography and all that, even though I do it

You are definitely going to Hell. Unless you think Jesus likes your masturbating.

I know you were joking, Steve, but it's remarkable how widespread the view is that Christianity says that you accumulate merit and demerit during your life and it's all weighed up at the Pearly Gates. It's complete rubbish - the whole point is that no-one can merit heaven, it's entirely a matter of grace.

heaven is often portrayed as a perfect life up in the clouds...i think this is just to get christians to act more "christian"... my view of heaven is just a state of existence in which we are fully accepting god's grace

Heaven is the place where the planets and moons and gas clouds and background radiation and neutrinos hang out. The rest is fantasy.

Wow, this thread moved from a discussion on guilt/sin to a discussion on what heaven is.

Steve, I believe you are actually referring to "outer space". But everyone has their own opinion. What gets to me is Christians who claim to absolutely know *for sure* what happens after death... because someone told them so... or because they interpreted the Bible (which is a questionable source anyway) in a certain way.

I'm a christian, and i hav no idea wot it is like after death.The thing is, i believe it must be something, but i don't no wot, coz the first law of physics is 'Nothing Can be created or destroyed'. Your "mind" is something, and when you die, its not in your body any more - or else you would be alive. Therefore it must go somewhere.Also, the famous epression E=MC(squared - can't do small 2), means Energy=MassXSpeed of Light Squared. If you look at the first part: Energy=Mass. Maybe, just maybe, when you die, your conscious mind turns into energy.Not sure if u've noticed, but i've got a religious, but scientific mind Soz if you don't understand it, i can't really describe it by riting it down.

The bible is in short, a book of parables, some true, some fake, most of them are exagerated because back then there was no consept of science, all phenominons were discribed as acts of god.

personally i dont think masturbating is wrong at all, what i want to know is how to keep it from being so short.

That science makes absolutely no sense. Conscioiusness is a process, not a substance. Energy has absolutely no intelligence.> Your "mind" is somethingWhat is meant by mind? You have a brain that's going through certain processes when you're alive, and decaying when you die...just like your liver. The brain happens to go through electrical and chemical processes, but they stop when you die, just as your live stops what it does. Once the brain stops, consciousness ends.Consciousness has no mass. How would it get converted to energy, any more than then information on a page would?What do you think happens when you pull the plug on your computer? Does its "consciousness" go somewhere?> the first law of physics is 'Nothing Can be created or destroyed'Whose first law of physics? Matter can switch to energy under certain circumstances (like the detonation of a nuclear bomb, the burning of a star, etc.), as you pointed out in Einstein's special theory of relativity. Most people doing start going into thermonuclear fission or fusion when they die. And if they did, they'd be (partially or fully) converted into enery that had absolutely no intelligence.The idea of intelligent energy is very new-age, but completely meaningless.

Well, I personally believe that consciousness (the mind) is separate from the brain. I cannot fathom how the brain, as physical matter, could handle what we claim it does. If you try and compare your brain to a computer... how could even the largest computer ever store all the experiences (feelings, images, etc.) that we experience throughout our lives? Each day would require a massive amount of storage and processing power. (I suppose quantum computing could change my view on that though.) Yet we can remember it all in detail... either through memory or hypnosis.I believe the part that is uniquely "you" is made of energy (for lack of a better word) that is not detectable nor understood. Even though many will say that near-death and out-of-body experiences are hallucinations or dreams, I believe they can be real... and that they provide insight on why/how we are not just a body with a brain, but that we just inhabit them while in this physical plane of existence.Call this "new age" if you want, but it makes sense to me.

nice to find someone who thinks a bit like me *hugs* :grin:

In reply to:Well, I personally believe that consciousness (the mind) is separate from the brain.Why?In reply to:I cannot fathom how the brain, as physical matter, could handle what we claim it does.Oh...because you cannot fathom. What you say in the rest of the paragraph doesn't get us any further, since the largest computer that now exists can't model the brain. The largest computer that existed until the mid-90's couldn't beat a chess master. Now computers regularly beat chess masters. Even before that, the fastest non-horse-powered vehicle couldn't beat a running man.I could understand your saying, "I'm not an expert in neurology or artificial intelligence, so I don't understand how the brain does what it does; in fact, I don't think they folks who are experts in those areas have the whole story. I'll just have to say I don't know how the brain works and leave it at that." Instead you insist on believing a fantastic story that's based on no demonstrable evidence. It's simply a random religious belief.In reply to:I believe the part that is uniquely "you" is made of energy (for lack of a better word) that is not detectable nor understood. Even though many will say that near-death and out-of-body experiences are hallucinations or dreams, I believe they can be real... and that they provide insight on why/how we are not just a body with a brain, but that we just inhabit them while in this physical plane of existence.Not detectable? Then how can you even say anything about it? I can come up with any crazy idea and say "it's not detectable, but I believe it."The near death stuff has been explored scientifically, and it looks like the brain reacts in certain predictable ways to lack of blood or oxygen. No one has ever died and come back, so what does a near-death experience mean? The experience of a brain that was deprived of oxygen for some period?None of what you say is based on anything rational or detectable. It is pure fantasy. It is purely religious.In reply to:Call this "new age" if you want, but it makes sense to me.If it makes you feel good, then by all means, continue to believe it.

Yeah thats some pretty good points there. The only kinda scientific thig that i can think of at the moment pointing to god existing is the 36 grams or whatever it is that leaves your body when you die. No one could work out what this was since it wasnt gasses or anything like that. I belive in a religion but I just stopped going to church and following the rules mainly because it didnt make me happy. I dont see whats so bad about doing what makes you happy if it harms no one else. Thats why when masterbaton is talked about as being wrong it pisses me off so much. My religion now is to do what makes me and the people I love happy. Since in the end thats all that matters.

> 36 grams or whatever it is that leaves your body when you die

OK, what kind of foolishness is that?