The self-stimulation of the genitals which involves stroking your penis or clitoris to achieve sexual pleasure has been a taboo by the world dominated by people grounded in past beliefs.
The Catholic teaching on masturbation expresses the crushing guilt of shame. As per the doctrines urging man to take a vow of chastity, sex can only be powerful and valuable if used within marriage with the sole purpose of procreation.
Masturbation denies the promise of vows focusing on individual self, rather using it for your own pleasure. This makes an individual less than a human edging on a radically-centered and un-Christian practice.
Anti-Masturbating Groups Spreading The Message of Abstinence
There are forums or groups such as StopMasturbationNow.Org and Christian Mothers against Masturbation which are motivated by absurdly hilarious memes that sound like death threats in support of elimination of masturbation.
Watch out for such memes before they tip you off as you consider the way too much time people have on their hands!!
Are you the sinner if you are a slave to your own sexual urges?
Looks like Jesus doesn’t approve of his followers engaged in masturbatory sins!!
Apparently, men shouldn’t empty their prostrate because every sperm counts?
Should you really go to extreme lengths to prevent erections and masturbation in general?
If you break the rules, you are condemned.
Women have raped themselves already by reveling in orgasmic masturbation. Men, be careful.
Folks, God will leave you if you masturbate. Always remember this.
I don’t even attempt to read this tweet. I am literally pretending to close my eyes and ignore this cringeworthy box of lies.
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How Much Of The Abstinence Preachings Are True Across Churches In India?
Although masturbation is very common even among people who have a sex partner, the Church is still bent on unreasonable conclusions citing “self-pollution.”
These are some of the experiences shared by friends of mine who were not convinced with the rusted doctrine of Church as they chose to use words to speak about the dynamics of human conduct approved by the Church.
The human body is marvellous in many ways.
It’s round the clock functionality and ability to heal is absolutely amazing.
“As Christians we’ve got a very convoluted idea of masturbation being the defeater of sanctity. I was probably around 12 when I was first introduced to porn by a ‘dear’ friend of mine. It was the cliché pink world he got me acquainted with.
Funnily masturbation was quite vague amongst us and we were quite unaware of how to proceed with anything at all. It was awkward and unspoken of. The taboo wouldn’t allow us to have discussions about masturbation in educational spaces and personal spaces.
Spiritually masturbation gave me guilt. An act of pleasure which was supposed to ease the pressure on my testicles and body was making me feel like an adulterer.
The human body is marvelous in many ways. It’s round the clock functionality and ability to heal is absolutely amazing.We inflict our body with all sorts of emotions and factors. Some of which have a physical effect just as psychological it is. Self-pleasure is one of the greatest gifts our body can be given. It stabilizes hormones and releases stress. Most importantly it’s healthy for you.
Somehow causing oneself pleasure was a sin. It was sometime before I could break through the shackles and make some peace with my faith and the possible ‘sin’ masturbation inscribed. My argument has always been and will always be that the creator created this body of ours and he created pleasure for a reason. Make use of it while you can.”
-Activist and blogger Rohan Matthews
So while the church is against masturbation, it denounces the act and not the people who partake in it.
Masturbation or self-pleasure is an activity which is looked down upon by the church and is discouraged by them because it is considered an immoral or “sinful” activity. With that being said the church does not drastically enforce it, I have never encountered any preacher or priest who have shamed anyone or have demeaned the people who partake in self-pleasure.
Moreover, I have been to many workshops where they talk about this topic and I have never witnessed priests or pastors preaching against wedding people who do partake in self-pleasure. They only preach that it is wrong in the eyes of God and it should not be done by both males and females.
But it’s up to each individual to follow that teaching if they choose to and its at the family and individual level that these activities are promoted or restricted. And masturbation is something which is increasingly considered and accepted as natural part of life for both males and females.
So while the church is against masturbation, it denounces the act and not the people who partake in it.–Anonymous
Although the Catholics are trying to work their way through the consequences of these sexual strictures, I could have never guessed the extent to which people have gone to not sin themselves. This is one such experience which sounds traumatic especially for the guy who was looked upon with contempt as someone showing signs of a mental problem.
Masturbation is discouraged for pastors in denominations where they are expected to be celibate. This is with respect to a few fringe denominations in Kerala.
A lot of fringe Christian group also equate masturbation with self-abuse and quote biblical references to address the act as something sexually immoral. My Malayalam isn’t very strong so, can’t be sure about how much it happens down South but, heard it happens in the Northern, independent denominations of the Church.
I had a family friend who was taken to a kooky homeopathy guy because of masturbation.
His family made him share a room with his father until he was married so that it stopped.The Catholic Church’s example is one you can use because unlike other denominations, Catholic practices are fairly similar across the world. Even in India.
As I understand, Catholics view the act as self-indulgence and self-centred. It is viewed as a sin because apparently, it denies the meaning of sex and makes the person less human.
They fear the act is immoral and is sexual addiction. The Catholic Church preaches chastity. It also believes that the act of normalising masturbation as something natural and healthy also normalises self-indulgence and the lack of self-control.
-Anonymous.
Masturbation is a pleasant, safe and fulfilling sexual activity which is a part of the exploration of one’s body. There is no harm in masturbation as far as it doesn’t cause distress in someone else’s life, which in turn becomes a sexual assault especially if practiced in open spaces.
The Church needs to know that abstinence doesn’t work. And it’s high time the Church acknowledges the drastic changes since archaic times about what to consider normal instead of looking upon it as some tabboo.
Sources: The New York Times, Guardian, BBC and others
Image Credits: Google Images
Find the author at: @dhar_aatreyee
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