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#1 |
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Hellmouth Beastie
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Wherever misfortune has me
Posts: 366
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Weightlifting Cures Masturbation !!
While watching a new HBO documentary, called "Hard As Nails", which just
came out yesterday on HBO On Demand, I found out something that I never knew before. http://www.hbo.com/apps/hodschedule/...RS103593<br /> According to this preacher, Justin Fatica, a 25 year old former tough kid from NJ, it seems that weightlifting is a "cure" for masturbation. Now, I never knew that masturbation was something that needed to be "cured", never crossed my mind. It seems that preacher Justin, after having a priest tell him many years ago to do weightlifting as "penance" for his sins, came to the conclusion that it was a great cure for his masturbation. I really feel sorry for kids like this, who are shamed as young children into thinking that masturbation is a "sin". This type of thinking really screws with kids minds, makes sex a dirty word. They are brainwashed into feeling ashamed about perfectly natural, and acceptable, human feelings and natural reaction to these feelings. Now, that's a problem indeed, but what makes something like this type of thinking even more problematic is that when these kids get constantly preached to, it's very possible that they'll just blindly buy into whatever they're told. This brainwashing starts at a young age, when the mind is completely impressionable, and it starts the person on a path of non critical thinking. When someone raised in a background like this gets to their late teens and decides to "give themselves over to the lord" (like Mr Fatica), it becomes all the harder for that person to ever be freed from their clouded mind. They openly "laugh" at skeptics and atheists/agnostics and think "we're" the fools who just don't get it. This troubles me deeply. Very deeply. I'd say Richard Dawkins hit it right on the mark when he says that children shouldn't be labeled as a "Christian child", or "Muslim child", or "Jewish child". It really is, IMHO, dangerous to raise children with religious beliefs. Religion is mysterious enough and hard to fully comprehend by adults. Children don't have the mental faculties to use critical thinking, reasoning, and logic. It's just not there. Because of this, children will blindly believe almost anything and everything as being the truth, or factual. And why shouldn't they. In just about all other cases, parents and teachers ARE teaching children "truths" and "facts". A child's mind can't discriminate between facts/truth and "hmm...I'm PRETTY SURE it's true", especially when religious beliefs are grouped together with scientific facts and theories. Why..why can't parents be smart enough to realize that they'd be teaching their children a DIFFERENT religion if they (the parents) had been born in a different part of the world where the majority believes a different religion. Why can't they understand this. It's only because of geography, the religion of the parent's parents, and (to some extent), WHEN, in human history they were born. It's not that complicated. Not that hard to figure out. I know I got off my own topic, but it all ties in with religious beliefs and the harm it can cause. Any opinions? Anyone? Bueller?.....Bueller?.....Bueller? |
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#2 |
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Slide Rulez 4 Life
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Launching the army, waiting for Hok to commit her forces (then the moles strike...)
Posts: 4,081
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Is this bodybuilding-style weightlifting, or the actual sport?
If it's the sport, then bully for them for providing us with another lifter. And regardless of which it is: Boo on the mental manipulation. |
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#3 |
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Hellmouth Beastie
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Wherever misfortune has me
Posts: 366
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Nah..not for the sport. His sport might be getting whacked in the back with a metal folding chair (to show other young kids that jesus loves them, and so does this kid preacher, who'se willing to get a metal chair pummeling to show them just how much he loves them.) I kid you not...I can't make this juicy stuff up ![]() The weightlifting he does was just something a priest thought would be good for him to do. Basically to keep his mind on doing something "positive" for himself. The priest asked him to lift weights for 6 months at 3X a week to repent for his sins. I guess the priest thought it was good for the kid to do to maybe give him something to accomplish, hoping it would make him feel good about himself. For that reason, I can't fault the priest. Some dopey kids need a LOT of motivation to do anything productive, and it looks like this kid was once a trouble making prick, according to the documentary. |
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#4 |
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Your rice is served
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: A straight narrow river
Posts: 1,748
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The belief among the religious that masturbation is sinful has a biblical basis in Genesis 38 with the story of Onan. As usual though, their interpretation is way off. The story was about an ancient custom known as levirate duty, which you can read more about in Dt 25 and Ru 4:5. If a married man died before fathering a male heir, then his brother (the woman's brother in-law) was required to sleep with the wife in order to produce a son. However the son would legally belong to the dead man, rather than his biological father, and so the son would inherit the dead man's estate. In Onan's case, he realized that the son would not be his, so he pulled out and Yahweh whacked him for refusing to fulfill his duties. Later on in Dt 25:8-9, a provision is mentioned by which if the brother in-law refuses, the wife may remove one of his shoes and spit in his face (rather than God killing him).
In other words, there is nothing wrong with masturbation, in the bible or otherwise. The bible says absolutely nothing about it. It just sounds to me like this preacher believed he could replace one repetitive strenuous arm motion with another. |
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#5 |
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Hellmouth Beastie
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Wherever misfortune has me
Posts: 366
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Hmmm..... A brother's duty is to have sex with the wife of his deceased brother.
And THAT'S OK? And masturbation is "bad". Wow..talk about screwed up priorities. I don't think this religion could be more ridiculous if you tried. With all the bibles contradictions, it's amazing that people can actually still claim that they believe it all to be either: A) god's words or 2) Inspired by god Either way, if the bible were to be written today and handed in for a grading in college, it would no doubt be graded with a BIG FAT "F" (FAILURE, for those in countries with different grading systems). |
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#6 |
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Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 8,027
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Try to keep in mind when the bible was written. You can't compare the way things were done 2000 years ago with how it is today. Many people try to take it all literally as well. Believers and skeptics alike seem to only pick the parts that suit their argument.
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Don't argue with me. Don't you know who I think I am? |
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#7 |
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Scholar
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 59
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Sinclairmcevoy, are you suggesting that people didn't masturbate 2,000 years ago?
It doesn't matter when the Bible was written, it's worthlessness is timeless. |
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#8 |
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Scholar
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: midwest
Posts: 68
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I weight lift from time to time, especially when I don't have a girlfriend. I tend to be inclined to masturbate less so as to not waste all of that protein, but from my higher protein diet and the rigorous exercise I become more virile and want to do it more. Now I just need to find someone who'll love me as I get fat and I won't have to worry about it.
I don't think it's all wrong to raise kids with a religion, depending on the religion. I'm going to raise my kids Zen Buddhist. No big scary parental deity constantly looking over your shoulder, ready to cast you into an eternal unimaginable suffering if you ignore him(because he loves you so much). It's all about living in the moment, self discipline, and knowing yourself. People tend to get dumber when they group together under an identity, and since Christianity is one of the world's biggest religions.... |
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9+2=11, that's all the proof I need. |
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#9 |
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Chaotic Paradox Provider
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 170
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This is the gayest thread I have ever read . . .
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#10 |
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Cythraul Enfys
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 28,881
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#11 |
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New York Skeptic
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 13,794
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Cuming to your neighborhood theatre soon , Onan the Barbarian. See him loot, slay and spill his seed into the sand.
"I'll be Bach'" |
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#12 |
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Philosopher
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Colorado
Posts: 5,717
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You can't be serious about knowing this for the first time, can you? This problem has been with Christianity for it's entire history. Christianity surely can't be said to be intuitive or instinctive; you have to really try to get it, particularly the sophisticated "modern" religions. Indoctrination starts as an infact, and goes on through to the grave. This is the driving reason behind the Intelligent Design voodoo - scratch the "Wedge Document" and you'll read "protect our children from anything that doesn't support our religion".
The Jesuits have a saying: "Give me a boy for his first seven years, and I'll give you the man." As for the sex, W K Kellogg had the perfect cure for teenage impropriety - corn flakes. The rest is history. |
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#13 |
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Observer of Phenomena
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The other side of your screen
Posts: 42,956
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Jadey (in RvB game thread): I just want to take a moment to commend Arth on his role as Parasitic Alien Tumor. I think he really connected with the character and there were times when I forgot that he was just acting. That's the kind of talent that you can't teach. |
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#14 |
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Chaotic Paradox Provider
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 170
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#15 |
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Observer of Phenomena
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The other side of your screen
Posts: 42,956
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I didn't get the impression that the penance was for masturbation. The penance was for his (unspecified) sins, and the guy doing the weightlifting was the one who decided that it was a cure for masturbation.
And sorry for calling you on the "gay" thing. It's a pet peeve of mine that people frequently say "that's so gay" when they really mean "that's so stupid". |
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Jadey (in RvB game thread): I just want to take a moment to commend Arth on his role as Parasitic Alien Tumor. I think he really connected with the character and there were times when I forgot that he was just acting. That's the kind of talent that you can't teach. |
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#16 |
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Chaotic Paradox Provider
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 170
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no, I meant . ."That is so Gay."
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#17 |
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Chaotic Paradox Provider
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 170
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I mean . . .the bloody thing is called, "Hard as Nails"
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#18 |
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Observer of Phenomena
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The other side of your screen
Posts: 42,956
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Yes, I get what you mean now. And I can see your point. On the surface, it appears gayer than Turing.
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Jadey (in RvB game thread): I just want to take a moment to commend Arth on his role as Parasitic Alien Tumor. I think he really connected with the character and there were times when I forgot that he was just acting. That's the kind of talent that you can't teach. |
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#19 |
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Hellmouth Beastie
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Wherever misfortune has me
Posts: 366
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#20 |
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Chaotic Paradox Provider
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 170
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then I sit corrected . . .
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#21 |
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Critical Thinker
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 497
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Man, if masterbation is wrong, I don't want to be right.
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#22 |
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Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Sorth Dakonsin
Posts: 11,379
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Science doesn't lie. |
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#23 |
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Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Sorth Dakonsin
Posts: 11,379
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Science doesn't lie. |
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#24 |
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Muse
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 828
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In defense of this seemingly bizarre idea, the idea that is considered bad here is really "a man refuses to give his deceased brother an heir." Masturbation serves no societal purpose (aside from relaxation, I suppose), and it would be quite easy for superstitious ideas to develop around that idea.
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"A certain percentage of children have the habit of thinking; one of the aims of education is to cure them of this habit." -- Bertrand Russell on problems with traditional educational methods. |
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#25 |
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Observer of Phenomena
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The other side of your screen
Posts: 42,956
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Agreed. Inheritance then was a lot more important that it is now. It was absolutely imperative that a man's inheritance not go to a woman.
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Jadey (in RvB game thread): I just want to take a moment to commend Arth on his role as Parasitic Alien Tumor. I think he really connected with the character and there were times when I forgot that he was just acting. That's the kind of talent that you can't teach. |
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#26 |
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Chaotic Paradox Provider
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 170
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I wonder what the church felt about the clit, as it being the only physical aspect of either male or female that had no other purpose other than sex, (in some form or another).
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#27 |
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Observer of Phenomena
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The other side of your screen
Posts: 42,956
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In some cases they sliced it off.
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Jadey (in RvB game thread): I just want to take a moment to commend Arth on his role as Parasitic Alien Tumor. I think he really connected with the character and there were times when I forgot that he was just acting. That's the kind of talent that you can't teach. |
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#28 |
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Orthogonal Vector
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Tarrytown, NY
Posts: 26,417
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Sufficiently advanced Woo is indistinguishable from Parody "There shall be no *poofing* in science" Paul C. Anagnostopoulos Force ***** on reasons back" Ben Franklin |
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#29 |
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Orthogonal Vector
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Tarrytown, NY
Posts: 26,417
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Sufficiently advanced Woo is indistinguishable from Parody "There shall be no *poofing* in science" Paul C. Anagnostopoulos Force ***** on reasons back" Ben Franklin |
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#30 |
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Master Poster
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: In the dark, dark forest....
Posts: 2,251
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He's not suggesting any such thing. He's just pointing out that things like the rules in Leviticus were specifically formulated for a Middle-Eastern tribal society around 1500BC. The "impregnate your dead brother's wife" rule was to ensure that the property that the widow had inherited didn't pass out of the dead man's family.
It's the fundie dimwits who think the story has anything to do with masturbation. |
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"Nature is floods and famines and earthquakes and viruses and little blue-footed booby babies getting their brains pecked out by their stronger siblings! ....Nature doesn't care about me, or about anybody in particular - nature can be terrifying! Why do they even put words like 'natural' on products like shampoo, like it's automatically a good thing? I mean, sulfuric acid is natural!" -Julia Sweeney |
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#31 |
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Salted Sith Cynic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Rat cheer
Posts: 34,225
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Helicopters don't so much fly as beat the air into submission. "Jesus wept, but did He laugh?"--F.H. Buckley____"There is one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth ... His mirth." --Chesterton__"If the barbarian in us is excised, so is our humanity."--D'rok__ "I only use my gun whenever kindness fails."-- Robert Earl Keen__"Sturgeon spares none.". -- The Marquis |
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#32 |
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Master Poster
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: In the dark, dark forest....
Posts: 2,251
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There is very little protein in semen:
Semen does contain protein, but the amount you ejaculate is negligible compared to the total amount your body takes in. Eat an extra peanut or two and you've more than made up for the protein "loss" from one ejaculation. The amount of protein found in seminal fluid is very small, and estimated at only about 6mg. Your standard three-ounce pork chop has about 24g |
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"Nature is floods and famines and earthquakes and viruses and little blue-footed booby babies getting their brains pecked out by their stronger siblings! ....Nature doesn't care about me, or about anybody in particular - nature can be terrifying! Why do they even put words like 'natural' on products like shampoo, like it's automatically a good thing? I mean, sulfuric acid is natural!" -Julia Sweeney |
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#33 |
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Philosopher
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: St. Louis, Mo.
Posts: 9,519
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I can only say that I'm happy to have given up both weightlifting and Christianity.
In fact, I believe it was the church's ideas on "self abuse" that led me down to path to atheism.... |
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#34 |
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Master Poster
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: On the corner of WALK and DON'T WALK
Posts: 2,000
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I may try this, if I can find some one-handed barbells.....
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I'm lost. I've gone to find me. If I should return before I get back, please ask me to wait! |
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#35 |
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Critical Thinker
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 350
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Although not mentioned specifically as a sin, is not lust itself mentioned time and again as a Biblical sin? Would masturbation not fall under this greater sin?
Not that I care one way or the other... |
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"No, no, no...my name is spelled Raymond Luxury Yacht, but it's pronounced Throatwobbler Mangrove." -Monty Python's Flying Circus |
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#36 |
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Philosopher
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: St. Louis, Mo.
Posts: 9,519
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To get (only slightly) serious for a moment, it was fairly common in primitive societies to believe that a man had only so much "essential bodily fluid" per lifetime. For such people, with a high death rate in general and always worried about war, famine, etc., "wasting" this finite resource would be a bad idea.
Essentially, limiting the population potential..... Why various religions should continue to cling to this primitive idea is of course another question... |
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#37 |
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Orthogonal Vector
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Tarrytown, NY
Posts: 26,417
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The thing is that they also had views of the importance and requirements for men to release enough of their fluids to prevent harmful build ups.
It was not uncommon for a view that men must have a certain amount of sex to remain healthy, this was an position used to support the practice of prostitution. |
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Sufficiently advanced Woo is indistinguishable from Parody "There shall be no *poofing* in science" Paul C. Anagnostopoulos Force ***** on reasons back" Ben Franklin |
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#38 |
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Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 8,027
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I'm not suggesting that at all. What I'm suggesting is that some things that were done 2000 years ago (like marrying your dead brother's wife) are not done now.
People have been cranking their wanks for longer than 2000 years I'm sure. The bible does have some good points too ya know. Have you ever read the ten commandments? They are a guide to clean living. Is that worthless to you? |
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Don't argue with me. Don't you know who I think I am? |
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#39 |
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Based on a true story!
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Kansas City, MO
Posts: 12,967
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I took up masturbation as a cure for weightlifting. Turned out, I combined the two into one!
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"JimBenArm is right" Hokulele Mom |
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#40 |
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Master Poster
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: In the dark, dark forest....
Posts: 2,251
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I've heard a story that the head of the Kennedy clan believed that daily ejaculation was essential to male health, and taught that idea to his sons; hence the libidinous behaviour of the male Kennedys. And I once had a father-in-law who seriously believed that preventing ejaculation in any way (including via a condom) would harm his health.
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"Nature is floods and famines and earthquakes and viruses and little blue-footed booby babies getting their brains pecked out by their stronger siblings! ....Nature doesn't care about me, or about anybody in particular - nature can be terrifying! Why do they even put words like 'natural' on products like shampoo, like it's automatically a good thing? I mean, sulfuric acid is natural!" -Julia Sweeney |
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