Since the anti-masturbation candidate won the Republican Primary election in Delaware, there has been much blogging about masturbation and its Biblical context.
To cut to the chase, the opinion of Biblical scholars seems to be that the famous bit about it being ‘worse to spill one’s seed upon the ground than upon the belly of a whore’ isn’t actually in the Bible. The following is, however:
“8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Lie with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty
to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother.”
9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with
his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from
producing offspring for his brother.
10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so he put him to death also.”
(Genesis 38:8-10)
Not to beat the already dead horse, but hence the term ‘onanism’ as a synonym (antiquated) for masturbation. This passage says more to me about the distance between the biblical world and the world we inhabit. If conservatism means going back to that time, some who have carefully packed for the rapture may be very disappointed when their masturbating neighbors rocket skyward while they remain wondering when the next rapture is due. So far, the lord has smitten Palin and anointed Obama. If the conservative reading is to be literal, then the death toll reveals nothing more than an inexplicable caprice on the part of the almighty.
Take away the capital letter and think of other ‘bibles’ (in the sense of ‘collections of holy books’) and you have to wonder out loud on your blog if other bibles mention masturbation. Let’s Google it, shall we?
The Qur’an does not specifically mention masturbation, but Islamic scholars have . Some forbid it strenuously, and others offer subtleties.
Similarly, the Bhagavad Gita and the other texts that guide the practice of Hindus takes a more enlightened (that is, liberal) view of sensuality, but Hindu commentators and teachers differ in their opinions and some disparage self-gratification.
Your mileage may vary. Leaving aside the ‘bibles’ as guides to morality, which is a very subjective thing for those interested in ethical and practical behaviors aimed at self improvement, there is certainly a case to be made for getting a grip on one’s sexual practices in order to nurture certain outcomes. Masturbating, while in most cases self limiting, does indeed reduce the sexual drive where that drive is finite. So the candidate makes a point, albeit for dubious reasons and on dubious authority. Why is the issue even relevant for an office seeker in a secular society, one which does indeed separate “church and state”? The dissolution of this separation may be at the heart of the issue.
One would wish for proper, reasonable attribution if one is citing scripture (anybody’s) as the source of one’s ideas. We get that the candidate is not a scholar. We also get that the candidate has entered the public arena, which, since Roman times, has been full of both Christians and tigers.