Regarding the idea of porn, sex workers etc, remember those who are saying "thou shalt not" are obsessed with limiting sexuality through repression and social controls-including the threat of hell.

But is that who God is? What has God got against pleasure anyway? God gave each of us pleasurable parts of our body...why? Because each of us has one pleasure button that has no purpose other than that–the male nipple and the female clitoris. What was the Creator trying to say about that? These same people who are so afraid of God are so very afraid of pleasure.

There is no biblical verse against sensual pleasure. We have the stories of Jesus that are all about his sensual life. Not once did he teach people to avoid pleasure. (The bible is very much against irresponsible hedonism-not because it is a sensual or sexual action, but because its excess is all about ego and forgetting other's needs.

To answer this question, use this helpful translation in The Message written by biblical scholar who was fluent in Greek and Hebrew.

5-8 Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored.

Notice this passage is not about sex or the body, but rather about our self-absorbed ego that ignores God. Paul uses "the world" and "the flesh" interchangeably. He does not mean sex. He means "the ways of the world" that lead to death and destruction. He always uses this "world/flesh" language to compare and contrast to the life of the Spirit his readers aspire to. This is not about homosexuality, sex with slaves, polygamy, sex-outside-of-marriage or looking at erotic photos of naked bodies. Paul's message is far deeper and more spiritual than that.

A couple of things to think about: The Law is quite clear that both the man and the woman were to be brought to trial. This was not a trial but a test for Jesus and the man was (conveniently) missing. The scholars-as you call them-are being disingenuous in their interpretation.

This story is not about adultery or any lessons we can take from it about sexual repression. It is about entrapment. And the moral lesson here is that Jesus chooses not condemn.

Secondly, adultery was prohibited NOT because of sexual morality as we understand it but so men would not steal other men's property. This was a pro-creationist culture that favored male babies and controlled a woman’s reproduction to assure the legitimacy of her babies. The lives of the women, sexual or otherwise, were of less importance and ranked at the level of cows (see the context of the Ten Commandments in Exodus about coveting).

Anybody who preaches that the prodigal son paid for prostitutes reveals this is what they would do if given the chance!  :) There are many reasons (many of them not good) to go into the "far country". But there are legitimate reasons for stepping out into the unknown. It is called stepping out in faith. The important thing is the intention of the heart.

Scripture notes Jesus called it "riotous living". This could be anything but usually means "had the wrong priorities." This is from the perspective of the parent who knew what was wise. Yet, for the rest of us who are inexperienced, we oftentimes don't know our priorities are messed up until after the fact–which this situation reveals.

“But, the story is not about WHAT he was doing, but rather about WHETHER it mattered. In fact, his father didn't wait to hear what he had to say. The focus is not on his confession but the father's joy at his homecoming. The moral of the story (for me) is we do the best that we can-some of it is misguided or stupid in hindsight-but we are always greeted by Love when we come to our senses!

I assume you are aware that you have asked a Protestant pastor for an answer to that question about masturbation. As a Roman Catholic, you might be better served to ask your priest. Then again, it is my impression that you may get conflicting answers on this subject. This is because the condemnation for masturbation that the Church, and especially Roman Catholics, were historically based on the teaching that sex was not to be for pleasure but for procreation.  Hence, masturbation was unacceptable. However, Pope Benedict's first encyclical was on Eros and he separated out procreation as the reason for sex and opened the door for pleasure instead making the procreative focus of less (or no?) importance. Pleasure is good, according to this Pope. So were I a Catholic I would now look at self--pleasure as just that: There is no need to feel guilt or shame about enjoying (and getting to know) ones body. There are good scientific studies that show masturbation has very good medical support: It lowers stress, decreases possibilities for prostate cancer for men, is great for arthritis pain and other good reasons. So if your faith is also informed by scientific research then that is another reason to look skeptical at any teaching that masturbation is wrong. I am aware that evangelical Protestants have made a big deal about what is going on in ones head while masturbating. These folks are usually always sexually repressive and sex-negative in their positions. While it is true we must be careful to watch our thoughts since they might lead to unrighteous behaviors of, (Jesus spoke of how anger could lead to murder and covetous lust to adultery), I believe our thoughts on pleasure are appropriate, good, and a gift from God. (As apparently Pope Benedict concluded in his teaching.) One more thing: There is much to-do about whether or not one is being “emotionally unfaithful” to ones spouse or partner if the fantasy during masturbation is of another person or a stranger and is condemned. However this idea exists only in the minds of those wanting to limit sexual expression to narrow confines of a restrictive mindset. In summary, the Bible is clear that God looks on the heart and knows our motivations. I cannot believe the Creator of a sensual creation would condemn the experiences of pleasure. Further, Pope Benedict made it clear that pleasure is part of Gods divine plan. So, enjoy!

PS See the YouTube series Sex is Good! on my channel (Rev Beverly Dale). One of those videos is on self-pleasure.

There is no religious significance to this custom in Christianity although many Christians do it as it is a cultural norm. It serves no real function for men and some argue that it actually significantly reduces pleasurable sensations. So if your religion is about reducing sexual pleasure in order to control it, then circumcision might be one option. What penises look like is totally irrelevant to function and the appearance may vary. I suggest you look for images if this is important to you. I suspect it will not be of interest to a partner however.