Masturbation, the art of self-love or self-service has been in existence for longer than than modern humanity. It has been practised by various species and most importantly by human beings. However the morality of the practice has come into scrutiny more often than not with stiff opposition from Christianity as well as many other religions. But is it really a bad practice as the Church has projected it to be?
Here are some things you need to know:
- There is no mention of masturbation in the Bible, neither is it condemned or forbidden by any of the Bible's authors, most notably, Masturbation was not mentioned amongst the forbidden sexual pactices listed in Leviticus 18 and 20
- Moses could not have been ignorant of masturbation. Matsurbation was so common in ancient egyptian culture that it is impossible to say that Moses did not know about it. Here are some of the interwinings of Egyptian culture with masturbation:
- The Creation Myth (The Heliopolitan Cosmogony): The most widespread Egyptian creation story recounts that before the universe existed, there was only a chaotic void and the first god, Atum. Being entirely alone, Atum chose to populate the universe by masturbating to ejaculation. His semen birthed the first pair of twin deities: Shu (the god of air) and Tefnut (the goddess of moisture). This "divine orgasm" was effectively the Egyptian equivalent of the Big Bang.
- The Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts: This foundational myth was carved directly onto the inner walls of pyramids and written inside sarcophagi. These official sacred texts explicitly credit the origin of life to Atum's hand.
- Pharaonic Rituals: Because the pharaoh was considered a living god on Earth and a mediator of cosmic order (Ma'at), the myth was re-enacted. During annual agricultural festivals (such as the festival of the fertility god Min), the pharaoh would ceremonially ejaculate into the Nile River. This public, ritualistic act was intended to ensure the fertile flooding of the Nile and a prosperous harvest for Egypt.
- Erotic Literature: Beyond religion, documents like the Turin Erotic Papyrus feature secular, graphic, and sometimes satirical depictions of human sexuality—including self-pleasure—showing that it was a normalized concept in everyday Egyptian society.
3.Jesus never condemned masturbation nor reference it though he mentioned lust which in not mutually exclusive to masturbation With all these, if masturbation was a sin, why didnt Jesus condemn it? Why didnt Moses condemn it as one of the practices of the heathen?
Rather than being a sin or having negative medical effects, masturbation has the advantage of lowering sexual tension and hormonal urges without intercourse thus even helping to fight lust and sexual immorality. So once again, is masturbation a sin or did we make it one?
