Christian views on masturbation are derived from the teachings of the Church Fathers. Christian denominations have traditionally viewed masturbation as sinful but, since the mid-twentieth century, there have been varying positions on the subject, with some denominations still viewing it as sinful and other churches viewing it as a healthy expression of God-given human sexuality.
Bible The passage of the Bible that relates to masturbation is , in which Onan was punished by God as he "spilled his seed upon the ground".
Early Christian attitudes Jewish antecedents According to a 2023 AdventistToday.org article, "Biblical Hebrew has no word for masturbation. Some have even questioned if the concept existed; they argue that it is impossible to have an idea without corresponding vocabulary... Indeed, all the rabbis appear concerned primarily with the appropriate use of semen. The rabbis considered spilling semen on the ground a sin... in the Jewish tradition, the primary concern had nothing to do with masturbation but the appropriate treatment of one's semen."
Sociologist Rodney Stark agrees that Jews and early Christians opposed the spilling of semen on the ground and that, therefore, on the basis of the Onan story, acts such as mutual masturbation were considered sinful by these communities, in contrast to the surrounding Greco-Roman culture's pagan form of sexual morality.
According to Jew FAQ, "Jewish law clearly prohibits male masturbation. This law is derived from the story of Onan (Gen. 38:8–10), who practiced coitus interruptus as a means of birth control to avoid fathering a child for his deceased brother. G-d killed Onan for this sin. Although Onan's act was not truly masturbation, Jewish law takes a very broad view of the acts prohibited by this passage, and forbids any act of ha-sh'cha'tat zerah (destruction of the seed), that is, ejaculation outside of the vagina. In fact, the prohibition is so strict that one passage in the Talmud states, "in the case of a man, the hand that reaches below the navel should be chopped off". (Niddah 13a)"
Phillip Tahmindjis, an associate professor of law at the Queensland University of Technology and a legal consultant to the Queensland office of Australia's Federal Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, states that, according to a "plain reading of the Bible, masturbation was a sin for the Jews." American theologian Anthony Costello agrees stating, "In sum, according to the most widely accepted tradition of Jewish law, masturbation is undoubtedly sinful."
A Messianic Jew, Reb Yhoshua, notes the similarity between this Talmudic injunction and Jesus' statement in Matthew 5:30: "... And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." Yhoshua's theory is that, "Jesus was using... hyperbole... to communicate the sinfulness of masturbation. It is extremely unlikely that he ever intended for any kind of amputation to take place." Craig S. Keener agrees that this statement by Jesus is,"... possibly a reference to masturbation..." Kevin J. Vanhoozer also agrees that this inference is suggested by the Talmudic parallels. He furthermore notes that, at the very least, Jesus clearly forbids masturbation if accompanied by sexual fantasies of a person other than one's spouse.
The Questions.org website, which is part of the non-denominational Our Daily Bread Ministries, argues that, "Leviticus 15:16-17 makes it clear that masturbation would have been considered "unclean" under Old Testament Law".
Early church
Greek-Egyptian Church Father Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–c. 215 CE) writes in his Paedagogus, or The Instructor of Children: (83) [...] Seed should not be sown on rocky ground nor scattered everywhere, for it is the primary substance of generation and contains imbedded [sic] in itself the principle of nature. It is undeniably godless, then, to dishonor principles of nature by wasting them on unnatural resting places. (91) [...] In fact, he says: 'Do not touch anyone, except your wedded wife,' [...] This is to share in God's own work of creation, and in such a work the seed ought not be wasted nor scattered thoughtlessly nor sown in a way it cannot grow. (95) [...] To indulge in intercourse without intending children is to outrage nature, whom we should take as our instructor. [...] The attempt to procreate children is marriage, but the promiscuous scattering of seed contrary to law and to reason definitely is not.
Scholars such as Raj Bhala and Kathryn M. Kueny say that Clement's statements include both coitus interruptus and masturbation, these being the acts which make "injury to nature". "The use of spermicidal potions" is also included within it, according to Kueny. John G. Younger notes that Clement speaks about masturbation as well as "masculine women and effeminate men" in his Paedagogus. He says Clement makes mention that it is to violate the laws of nature "to have sex for any other purpose than to produce children".
Aside from Clement, the fathers of the Church were practically silent on the question of masturbation. The Roman Catholic historian, Adriano Cappelli, for example does not find any other mention of masturbation in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers (c. 60–200 CE). Cappelli states that "It would be wrong, however, to interpret the silence of the Fathers about masturbation as a tacit approval of it, or as a virtual indifference."
James A. Brundage offers a differing view. He believes that pagan and early Christian writers "apparently considered [the activity] trivial" and "paid only scant attention to masturbation..." James F. Keenan adds: "In fact, as Cappelli, Louis Crompton, and James Brundage each observe, prior to Cassian, masturbation was not considered a sexual offence for anyone."
Scholars such as Robert Baker and Simon Lienyueh Wei believe that Augustine of Hippo (354–430) thought masturbation was a sin. Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks and Carly Daniel-Hughes agree, saying that Augustine condemns all sexual activities that are contrary to procreation including homosexual acts and masturbationor "solitary pleasure". Carly adds that Augustine also regards "mutual masturbation" as "unnatural intercourse" based on Romans 1.
According to Simon Lienyueh Wei, John Cassian and Augustine of Hippo believed that it was a sin if nocturnal emission is the outcome of "a lustful encounter or pleasurable recollection"; otherwise, it was seen as "a physical function".
Celtic Christianity Celtic penitentials treated the subject in a practical and juridical way in the sixth century. Canon 8 of the Synod of the Grove of Victory from the 6th century imposes penances for "he who [has relations] between the thighs, [three] years. However, if by one's own hand or the hand of another, two years." Those acts refer to "mutual masturbation" and "femoral fornication".
Gildas also condemns masturbation in his monastic rule.
Another early set of rules which also prescribes penances for masturbation are Excerpts from the Book of St. David
Later, many other penitentials, such as Penitential of Finnian, Penitential of Columban, Penitential of Cummean and the two "synods of Saint Patrick", impose penances with different levels of severity for masturbation (alone or in company) to monastics and laity.
Teaching by denominations Eastern Orthodoxy Bernard Hoose and Mark Jordan suggest that claims to a continuous teaching by the Church on matters of sexuality, life and death and crime and punishment are "simply not true". Per Keenan, not only was there "inconsistency, contradiction and even incoherence" in the Church's doctrines, but tradition itself is "not the truth guarantor of any particular teaching".
A Byzantine Church Father and Doctor of the Church, Epiphanius of Salamis (310/320 – 403), states in his Panarion, or Medicine Chest: They [the Egyptian Gnostics] exercise genital acts, yet prevent the conceiving of children. Not in order to produce offspring, but to satisfy lust, are they eager for corruption.
John T. Noonan Jr. said that these Gnostics practiced "nonprocreative sexual acts" and that these were central to their religious rituals. He says that Epiphanius calls these practices, which include coitus interruptus, masturbation, and homosexual acts, "the rites and ceremonies of the devil".
With the rise of monasticism in the 4th and 5th centuries, Christian writers began to focus on monastic discipline, therefore masturbation as a serious moral problem.
Shenoute (348–466), a Byzantine abbot who is considered a saint in Oriental Orthodoxy, viewed masturbation as a form of sexual "misconduct" and an "outright illicit sexual activity". The Canons of Shenoute contain the prohibition, "Cursed be whoever dares with his own hands to grasp his members for a deed of impurity, that is, defilement".
The Canons of John the Faster (died 595) condemn the activity.
The Eastern Orthodox Church today views sexuality as a gift from God that finds its fulfillment in the marital relationship, and therefore the misuse of the gift of human sexuality is sinful. Because the act of masturbation is self-directed, and by its nature is incapable of expressing love and concern for another person, it is viewed as a distortion of the use of the gift of sexuality. This is especially apparent when masturbation becomes an addiction. In the least, the practice of self-pleasure is viewed as not honoring the purpose of God's gift of sexuality.
A controversial senior figure in the Russian Orthodox Church, Andrei Tkarchev, known for his pro-war sermons argues that societal tolerance of masturbation was one of the factors that caused the Ukraine War. He has declared, "If seed is spilled, then blood will be spilled. This is one of the factors explaining why war occurs – because seed is spilled indiscriminately. Seed contains blood; seed contains a person... The only place where a man's seed should flow is into the womb of his lawful wife. That's it! If seed is spilled elsewhere, then along with it, future blood is spilled. Where depravity appears, bloodshed is inevitable."
According to a church in Arizona, "the Orthodox view of masturbation... [is it] is a form of physical, emotional and spiritual suicide. This view is supported by Romans 8:13 which tells us: "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body you will live." All sexual sin is destructive because it involves some form of abuse of the body. The Bible declares that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and must be treated as such. Any form of abuse against the body is an act of disrespect not only to the body, but to the Holy Spirit to Whom the body is dedicated. We are called upon to care for our bodies in such a manner that we honor God first and then honor ourselves. When we attempt to gratify ourselves through the various forms of sexual addictions, we not only deny ourselves a healthy perspective of ourselves, we also deny God the opportunity to bring us into communion with Him and a potential partner with whom we can enjoy the sacrament of marriage that is based upon a mutual love and respect for one another. It is difficult to treat this particular addiction because of the medical and scientific professions that promote masturbation as a healthy way to nurture one's sexual needs..."