>>105322679I will prove to you that masturbation is wrong both intellectually and as sin on account of virtue and telos (since i had classes on this today)
Firstly, besides people, objects can also be virtuous; how so? Because virtue simply means strength, rather, the strength to realise a potential. But how does this make items virtuous? Well, items by their telos (purpose to accomplish or why they were made) or identity alone leave us with an expectation of what is to be a good or bad version of an item (e.g. a knife has its purpose laid out in it's very being (a sharp blade to cut things with) and is thus virtuous when it excels at accomplishing its telos (to cut) via being sharp. As such, a bad knife would be dull, and a good, virtuous knife would be sharp. However, there are many kinds of knives, each with its own telos; the object must align with the telos in order to be virtuous: a throwing knife ought to be aerodynamic and whatnot, a bread knife ought to be sarrated).
Secondly, in the matter of the morality of masturbation, a penis (and, by extension, the person to which the penis is attached to as well) is virtuous when it does its job well, with the telos of realizing its potential to bring forth offspring (given that it is the reproductive organ of the body). Yet, in this act of self pleasure, the telos is entirely abandoned resulting in a virtue which cannot be achieved in either ethics or object.
Furthermore, by partaking in this act, your will becomes an extension of your carnal desires, without seeking the virtue of self control, which is a telos of the body under the full rein of the mind, which is to be used as a tool of judgment. Essentially, you abandon your humanity in pursuit of pleasure, being led by your primitive desires.
In conclusion, from this point of view, masturbation is wrong because it does not follow the telos entwined within the design of the penis (or vagina), which is a complete abandonment of virtue and reduces your being to that of an animal (when performed willingly).
Now, as a matter of sin or not, it is pretty obvious once you learn of this concept of "telos". By building this idea of intent and purpose on God in the Christian paradigm, we can find out by reason whether or not masturbation is a sin— doing so on the foundation of the teachings of the Church, along with the ideas perpetuated by Holy Scripture.
First off, the foremost found concept in Scripture is that man is created in the image of God, which is the reason why murder and unwarranted harm, violence, or abuse inflicted upon fellow man is wrong and sinful. This sets up the foundation of Christian theology, particularly the idea of being made in the image of something (idea that is conveyed in full through iconography, which is fundamental to the correct worship of God), which is relevant to this topic as self pleasure is, in the eyes of St. Paul (or rather, in the eyes of the Christ, who spoke through Paul), a form of self abuse and sacrilege for reason of it being done upon an icon of the Son (since the Son is the icon of the Father) and because it isn't an action that the body was made for.
Following: in Christian theology, man was given a body to work, reproduce, and to differentiate him from the spiritual beings (while also to complete the trinitarian formula of man's being: body, mind, soul), which later would allow God to elevate matter in the assumption of flesh and blood via the Incarnation of the Son (planned all along, despite what Protestants tell you); but by engaging in masturbation, beyond the implication of submitting to lust (which is also a sin), you use your body in a way which was not meant to be used when you were made. The purpose of reproduction is salvific (in the context of building a family and in the presence of sacrificial, parental love), but masturbation is an act of the flesh triumphing over the spirit, which is an issue because while the spirit thinks of eternity, the body is purely concerned with the temporal (because of the fall)
Lastly: "So, let it be said, masturbation is a sin so hated in the eyes of God that on account
thereof He put to death Judah’s son Onan, who was the first man on earth to
perpetrate this wicked act, and it is from him that masturbation has also been given
the name onanism. For the Holy Spirit says in the book of Genesis (Chapter 38,
Verse 10): “And it appeared wicked in the eyes of God that Onan did
this, and he (God, that is to say) put him to death.” " (
https://afkimel.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/nicodemus-the-rudder.pdf (there is more in the document on this topic also))
This is more than sufficient, i'd say? I could have said little, but oh well
There are also sections on women @shondo
