Gazelam wrote: Jak,
Thank you for that.
I believe that Paul and Brack already know that they are in the wrong. For some reason they want to justify this behavior, and I will not speculate as to why. It is clearly viewed as wrong and a part of the law of chastity by every religious teacher I have ever heard, from any christian faith.
There is also this scripture that can be applied to the subject:
In Matthew 5:27-28, Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus Christ) is reported as saying: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
Lust is without question tied to masturbation, and the scripture is easily reversed to include the woman.
Gaz,
Jak does not believe that the Bible is divine.
Anyway, Here is some information about the Scriptural Passage of Matthew Chapter Five, Verses 27 through 28, From one of the Web Site Pages, From Religious Tolerance:
Did Jesus forbid masturbation?
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Feeling lust is equivalent to adultery:
In Matthew 5:27-28, Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus Christ) is reported as saying: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (King James Version).
In the past, many Christian theologians extended this teaching to even include husbands who had feelings of sexual lust towards their wives. They regarded all sexual intercourse as sinful to some degree. It was regarded as a necessary evil to prevent the human race from dying out. Spouses were expected to try to suppress sexual feelings and thoughts as they had sex. This belief is a minority position today.
Beliefs about sexual lust differ among Christians:
Most conservative Christians believe that the authors of the Bible were inspired by God to produce writing that was free of errors when interpreted as the author intended. They generally accept the literal meaning of this saying: that a man having feelings of lust towards a woman has already committed adultery. Most extend it to also include persons of all sexes (male, female and intersexual) who have even brief feelings of lust for another person.
Many liberal Christians reject this belief.
Some reason that lust is an emotion that comes from a more primitive part of the brain that is not under a person's conscious control. The triggering of feelings in general are beyond a person's influence. A person's hormones naturally causes them to have feelings of sexual attraction to persons of the opposite sex (if they have a heterosexual orientation) or to the same sex (if they have a homosexual orientation) or to both men and women (if they are bisexual). These feelings only become a sin if they result in inappropriate action, such as sexual behavior that is coercive, manipulative, not consensual, or unsafe. Most probably also include as a sin sexual activity which is outside of a committed relationship.
Some regard many of the sayings attributed to the words of Yeshua as actually having been created by the authors of the Gospels. They reflect the teachings of the early Christian movement more than the beliefs or statements of Yeshua. The Jesus Seminar, for example, rejects Matthew 5:27-28 as not reflecting Jesus original words or beliefs. They commented: "On lust: The injunction against lust occurs commonly in Israelite tradition. ('You must not covert your neighbor's wife' appears as one of the Ten Commandments) and so this admonition did not originate with Jesus."
Some have noted that the original Greek implies not simple lust, but overwhelming feelings of lust extending over a significant interval of time. Thus, they believe that a passing feeling of lust would not be equivalent to adultery.
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Does masturbation necessarily involve feelings of lust?
A person who is masturbating frequently fantasizes about a person of the appropriate sex. However, they can often find an alternative focus. For example, they could concentrate on their body's physiological responses, on an impending orgasm, or on some other thought not involving a human sexual object.
So, masturbation does not necessarily include lustful thoughts, and thus cannot always be interpreted as adultery, even by the most conservative Christians.
(Religious Tolerance:) Now, Here is Part of a Bible Commentary on the Scriptural Passage of Matthew Chapter Five, Verses 27 through 28:
i. With the words, “whoever looks at woman,” Jesus located the origin of lust back to the eyes. This is true according to Biblical statement (such as Job 31:1) and life-experience. “When one seemed to pity a one-eyed man, he told him he had lost one of his enemies, a very thief, that would have stolen away his heart.” (Trapp)
ii. However, it is important to understand that Jesus is not saying that the act of adultery and adultery in the heart are the same thing. More than a few people have been deceived on this point, and say “I’ve already committed adultery in my heart, so I may as well do it in practice.” The act of adultery is far worse than adultery in the heart. Jesus’ point is not to say they are the same things, but to say they are both sin, and both prohibited by the command against adultery.
iii. Some people only keep from adultery because they are afraid to get caught, and in their heart they commit adultery every day. It is good that they keep from the act of adultery, but it is bad that their heart is filled with adultery.
iv. This principle applies to much more than men looking at women. It applies to just about anything we can covet with the eye or mind. “These are the most searching words concerning impurity that ever were uttered.” (Morgan)
(Enduringword.) <>
"And I've said it before, you want to know what Joseph Smith looked like in Nauvoo, just look at Trump." - Fence Sitter