This post as a part of the Key Principles series is a summation of numerous other posts on this site relating to the use of masturbation by single adolescents / adults. As such, it is a condensed version of the information that can be found on those posts, and those seeking more in depth discussions of this topic can seek out the posts elsewhere on this blog, for example under specific categories of posts such as Masturbation Sexuality, Male Sexuality, Female Sexuality, Adolescent Sexuality, Singleness Sexuality, etc. Principle 7 relates to specific healthy practices to be followed for the use of masturbation by single adolescents or adults. The key purposes of masturbation by all Christians is for sexual development, sexual discipline, sexual devotion (these are referred to elsewhere as the 3D principles), or alternately for physical, sexual and spiritual purposes (PSS). The core reasons for supporting masturbation for Christians in these groups is to provide a healthy release for sexual pressures that are experienced from the commencement of adolescence. Sexual desire which becomes a reality for Christian males and females through adolescence to adulthood is an important developmental step in the transition to intimate marital relationship and the most important functions and benefits provided for by masturbation are for sexual development and discipline.
The development aspect is that a single Christian learns about his/her sexuality and in so doing prepares for learning to share his/her body in intimate relationship of lovemaking in marriage, whilst discipline allows for the maintenance of celibacy, virginity etc alongside the reward of effective and regular sexual release and orgasmic pleasure, which are normal healthy bodily functions that are highly relevant to the day to day lives of males and females from pubescent onset. Discipline is the most important aspect for Christians because of their spiritual commitments which require high personal standards relating to holiness in relationship for God and appropriate personal behaviour in relation to others, including other Christians in church settings. We live these days in highly sexualised or sex-saturated societies in which these is a constant litany of innuendo and imagery presented to us in a way that is increasing rapidly with the rise of the Internet and consequent ease of distribution of sexualised content of all types. Pornography is becoming so widespread that it has become a major challenge to the personal holiness and sexual discipline of many Christians, and significant percentages of both male and female believers readily admit to the viewing of pornographic materials and even addiction to them, which is a major concern due to the often extreme depictions of sexual behaviour easily available through the distribution of free sample material on porn sites.
The intention with this article is to provide guidelines by which we believe single Christians who have passed the onset of adolescence can deal with all of these various pressures in relation to sexual drive and desire, an often difficult and challenging personal aspect of everyday life, whilst maintaining a standard of personal holiness of the highest impart. Attaining the required standard of sexual discipline is of the greatest priority for Christians seeking ongoing personal holiness and service in the Church and to God personally, and various benefits such as healthy sexual development leading to strong committed marriages in which both husband and wife are able to fulfill service and devotion not just to each other but to God through their sexual union are a part of the rewards experienced from seeking and committing wholeheartedly to these outcomes throughout their lifetimes. This begins with core standards committed to and consistently implemented throughout adolescence into adulthood until such time as marriage takes place, at which time different standards and expectations apply (these are set out in a different Principle). Specifically we believe the steps and processes to be followed by single Christian males and females include the following:
- A Christian is expected to shut down and /or deflect the pressures and expectations of sexualised imagery, innuendo and other forms which may be presented to them in public life in all manner of contexts whether they be in a workplace, institution, club, entertainment venue, social setting, church or private home, including solitary private time spent in one’s own bedroom or other personal space except as specifically described below.
- A Christian must actively take steps to distance or withdraw themselves from coercive, provocative, enticement or entrapment type situations such as may be presented to them from time to time in various settings.
- A Christian must ensure they control their viewing of people in various settings, this is commonly referred to as averting their gaze or bouncing their eyes, to avoid situations in which they risk lustful thoughts developing in relation to any particular person whom they may meet or encounter in everyday life.
- A Christian must uphold the highest standards of personal behaviour and integrity in relation especially to people to whom they may be naturally inclined to develop a sexual attraction to. This includes following commonsense rules of engagement to ensure appropriate professional and/or personal standards of behaviour are met especially in workplaces and institutions involving work with juvenile or other vulnerable populations.
- A Christian must take practical steps to limit the availability of internet based pornographic material as far as is reasonably practical through the use of web filtering or other technological means, especially for juveniles or other vulnerable populations in family or institutional settings.
- A Christian must ensure they follow appropriate standards of personal and professional accountability in their whole life. This includes professional supervision if appropriate for their employment, and personal accountability to another Christian believer.
We believe that masturbation as a means of achieving effective sexual discipline is on the basis that a Christian believer can compartmentalise their sexual desires (or horniness) into a private area of their life where they masturbate purely without reference to any people around them and in so doing, achieve strong control over the public expression of their sexuality in various day to day settings. The use of masturbation in this context is on the basis that sexual release and orgasm are normal and healthy bodily functions when engaged from the cusp of adolescence and as within a marriage setting, masturbation by a single believer in a solitary private setting allows the effective “consumation” of these desires “unto God” or in a sexual devotional context. That is, that the act of masturbation is to be undertaken primarily for an act of personal devotion to God from which various blessings / benefits naturally follow.
We believe that the use of visual materials is of benefit in relation to masturbation by an individual believer so long as the primary purpose of the use of such materials is to educate himself / herself about male and female sexuality, that depict expressions of sexuality that are consistent with Christian norms, and may include materials depicting either singles or couples whether dressed or undressed to any particular degree including full nudity and whether or not including the depiction of acts such as masturbation or sexual intercourse. A single believer may masturbate in a private solitary setting whilst viewing such materials subject to the strict provision that they must not view or seek to obtain for viewing any materials which depict anyone they personally know; and that they take practical steps to avoid becoming sexually addicted to the use of such materials, including that they avert their gaze from viewing such materials at the point of reaching orgasm during a masturbation session. We recommend that any visual materials are not obtained from any pornographic website and we furthermore recommend that each believer prays daily against the unintentional influence of any sexual perversion.
We note specifically in relation to masturbation by males that a limit on the number of orgasms achieved each day of not more than four should apply until such a time as it can be assured that sexual addiction or sexual idolatry is not an issue. Specifically, males are especially prone to the issue of sexual idolatry because most males have a cultural predisposition towards seeking spiritual fulfilment through sexual engagement with a woman. To overcome this, each Christian male who masturbates must be able to ensure that they have properly focused the purpose of masturbation away from spiritual fulfilment through a person, and instead focused on spiritual fulfilment through Jesus Christ. When this is assured, Principle 6 guidelines on daily orgasm counts can be considered.