Q&A Home > M > Masturbation

• As Christians what are our beliefs on masturbation?
• How can I be free from an addiction? Can I apply for the treatment center? Can I stop through prayer? My addiction is masturbation. I tried to stop for months, but then, I started again. I repented but started again after a month. How can I stop this addiction permanently?
• I am a 21 year old guy. I have a really close friend who is 18. We talk about everything and trust each other very much, more than brothers. We love God infinitely and go to church weekly. We are deacons and Sunday school servants. We also have two different fathers of confession, but we are dealing, as many others for sure, with the issue of masturbation, no matter how much we fill our day with activities or keep ourselves busy.  We learned in school that masturbation is important to prevent the risk of prostate cancer and to increase fertility and that it has many other sides which are beneficial for health. When we looked it up on the internet, we noticed that they were right.  Now as Egyptians and Coptic guys, we were raised up with the mindset that masturbation, sexual, etc. and it is dirty and sinful. We still cannot understand why masturbation is a sin? We could not find it in the Holy Bible and when we talked to our fathers of confession, we did not get a clear answer. We were told that it is an addiction. However, we are not talking about masturbation in a way of addiction but in a normal way. We also cannot understand why God should be against it, to love ourselves? That does not mean we will love Him less. God made us have lust and He gave us the feeling of sexual desire. Of course, we should not be like animals driven by lust but in a controlled way.  In the former days, people married at a very young age, which is not the case nowadays. People now marry at a quite older age. So, how should we manage that? Why should we fight against natural needs? Why do some fathers of confession take it more easily than others? Some say it is okay to do it at that age and when marriage comes, it will decrease alone. Some say, no, it is a huge sin, and are very strict. What is right now? Why are there different opinions? Is it a cultural issue? I ask you please for a clear answer and explanation, because this topic confuses us and depresses us with the desire to do it, because we still do not understand whether it is a sin or not and why?
• I have a habit of masturbation. I tried many years and methods to stop it. I prayed, washed with holy water, and talked to my father confessor, etc. I really want to stop this.