there are too many articles for me to include some quotations from all
of them, so i thought i'd start afresh....i wanted to add my $ 0.02 to
this thread, because i think there is something missing from this
discussion.

first of all, let me just say that i, too, am a "young person"--i'm 21
years old--and as i think we would all agree, it would be no
exaggeration to say that i deal with sexuality everyday.  i am a
student at a small liberal-arts college
which is QUITE liberal, and very much "into" the arts--so there are
(obviously) many other young adults around who not only deal with
sexuality, but who also seem to flaunt it (however they choose to
define it).  the toughest issue for me in all of this is that i happen
to be a Christian (good heavens, not one of those!!   ;)   )
in an environment that, for all intents and purposes, would love to
"change my mind" on many issues (including sexuality).

there is a point to me saying this...please bear with me...

i was a christian when i entered college, but i was one of those
"experimenting" christians, trying to figure out what really wasn't so
bad if i changed the way i looked at it--that is, i tried to
accommodate a lot of what went on at college into my Christianity,
instead of not compromising what it meant to be a Christian.  but at
that point i really didn't know better--i wasn't really living as a
christian, i only thought it was a sort of academic perspective.  i
don't think i need to get into any detail (although there isn't much,
luckily!) but i wanted you all to know where i'm coming from before i
say what i'm about to say, because it is important.

one of the most important things that we, as Christians, must realize
and understand is that (yes) we do have to live in a world that is
very physically real, that influences us, entices us, makes us feel
good, and sometimes makes us feel bad.  but, we also must not forget
that our bodies are temples in which the Holy Spirit of God resides.
these flesh-tents are holy if we do, indeed, belong to God, and it is
with this fact in mind that we must conduct ourselves, in all matters.
NO MATTER WHAT ISSUE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.  i often hear christian
friends asking others (and themselves) if they would do particular
things "if Jesus were here..."  the thing is, Jesus IS "here"--we've
invited His Spirit to reside within us.  i think that the reason many
people lose the "joy of their salvation" is because they forget this
principle, or they choose to ignore it.  this didn't occur to me until
a year and a half ago, and i've been a christian for quite some time
(since i was 12)!

i'm not posting this to "flame" anyone.  i just wanted to remind
everyone that we, as Christians, are not only priests unto God (my
Protestantism leaks through), but we are also holy temples--we should
consider this when we do/decide to engage in any sort of sexual OR
non-sexual behaviors.  there is a time and a place for them that ARE
riteous, and good, and holy -- the principle of us being temples of
the Holy Spirit, I think, is a good "filler" when the Bible is vague
or unclear on many issues like this "sexuality issue".

respectfully yours in Christ,
jenny

[Stuff deleted]
: God created us as sexual beings.  Although we start experiencing our
: sexuality at early ages, it slaps us in the face at puberty.  My

[More stuff deleted]
: expressed and what a godly view of it is.  I don't think that God
: intended for me to completely repress something that he's given me and
: then expect me to live up to this standard of chastity before marriage.

Paul,
I don't quite get your point here.  Are you saying that it is okay
to act according to your natural instincts once in a while since they
were given to you by God?  Man, instinctively, is bound to sin; but
does that justify sinning? Hardly!  This is almost like saying that God
created the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and didn't really mind
Adam and Eve eating from it.
        "God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond
        what you are able"  I Cor 10:13.

The attitude that somehow pretending that you didn't want to go to bed with
that person, but somehow you lost it and couldn't help it and now God can
forgive you, but if you consider the facts and still decide that even though
it's strictly against the guide we've been given, you're still going to be
sexually active, somehow you are not forgiven.  I don't think you can truly
repent until you've accepted responsibility for the sin in the first place and
then come to an understanding of how it has hurt you (damaged your reputation,
loss of self-respect, disease, unplanned pregnancy).  Many of us go through
stages of denial that we have done anything wrong, we bargain with God to
make sure what we did wasn't 'too' bad.  Once we've established that we're
not really evil, we proved to ourselves that God still loves us, and we'll try
that much harder next time.  But it won't work.  No one is justified through
the law.

Again, I'm not at all saying that just because I have some urge that I'm
looking for ways to justify it.  I just think that a healthier perspective
on what sexuality is really all about would make it easier for me to hold
to the calling that I have, and help others do the same.  My whole
motivation in starting this discussion thread is to find ways to help me
keep from sinning (as in premarital sex).  I hold strongly to the verse
that you quoted.  I think part of my responsibility in holding to this is
to do what I can to keep myself out of dangerous situations and trust
that God will do the same.  For me, repressing a natural desire, instead
of trying to understand it, is just setting myself up for trouble.

I hope that I've cleared that up.

Paul

    Hello, Can anyone tell me if it is against the Christian religion to
    masterbate?  Please answer over the net and not directly to me, thanks.

Paul Conditt:

    God created us as sexual beings. [...]  I don't think that God
    intended for me to completely repress something that he's given me [...]

Peter D'Souza:

    Man, instinctively, is bound to sin; but does that justify sinning? Hardly!

Me:

Is masturbation a sin?  This is something I have always pondered about,
so I'm glad I didn't have to start the thread <grin>.

I gather that the bible never comes right out and says it either way.
Which churches or religions say yes, and which say no?  For those who
believe it is a sin -- how do they discourage the behavior in their
children and deal with it if it happens?  Are there books out there
that state that it is in fact a Bad Thing?  Do they suggest ways to
reduce or eliminate the problem?

The world religious climate in general has moved from severely
anti-masturbation to a much more tolerant stance.  Is this perhaps
on the way out, along with not eating pork?

As far as your question of how one discourages this behavior in one's
children, I can only speak from the personal experiences of those other
Catholics that I know well (I have no children of my own), as well as my
experiences in my own family, and it appears to me as though not much is
done outside of the typical "don't do it, it's a sin" sort of thing that
was mentioned in another post in this thread.

As far as it being mentioned in a books, the only place I've seen it
condemned is in Catholic catechism literature.

Hope this helps to answer your question,