Any comments to those of who you are believers in both? All this talk about masterbation and porn...I'm curious, take away the porn, do folks still have a problem with masterbation alone?

And if not, why not?

Here's a link...
http://www.bible.com/answers/amasturb.html

This link has some great information on the sin of lust and adultery in the heart. However, like I said in my post in the other thread....My husband and I masturbate without the use of porn! I don't have to fantasize about another man, and more often then not, he's staring at MY butt while he's doing it. To assume that masturbation requires thinking about someone else is incorrect. It may apply to individual situations, but it's not a blanket truth. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="images/icons/smile.gif" />

A question I have is if the Bible doesn't specifically mention masturbation, how can the writers of that article correllate between an old time definition and scripture? If it was related to masturbation, I'm sure it would say something to the effect of "and sex with oneself." The verses, to my understanding, refer only to adultery and fornication. It is a person's interpretation to make it apply to masturbation.

Next, I agree with what Dr. Harley says on masturbation, that it can take away from relations with one's spouse.

However, there are circumstances when a spouse is not available. If it's simply mismatched drives, the less "willing" spouse should give as much as he or she can possibly give (the Bible specifies at least 3 times a week). If the spouse is sick or the drive of the "driven" spouse is much higher than the other spouse can meet, masturbation is preferable, IMO, to meeting the need some other way, and/or forcing it on the other spouse.

What about teenage boys? What is the physiological consequence of a boy told that he cannot masturbate when his hormonal drive is so high? Would we rather him seek out other children to relieve himself? Would we propose to give him a drug so that his drive is much lower, chemically castrating him, for the sole purpose of sustaining his "innocence?"

In "Bringing Up Boys," Dr. Dobson, and many parents including myself, disapprove of teenage boys babysitting. True, not all boys would try to experiment, but why put them and the children in that position of what may occur, risking all of their "innocence?"

I am, by no means, including the fact that I was never a teenaged boy, an expert. This is stuff I have hashed out though, trying to understand and make allowances.

Since I'm married, and I'm trying to raise a son, I want them both to meet their emotional and physiological needs in appropriate ways without feeling guilty.

I don't think my DH masturbates anymore, though he did at one point (which I think was wrong, because I was willing and it interefered with our relations), but if I was unable to keep him satisfied, I would not hold it against him to do it, to thoughts of ME, photos of ME or to my touchable naked body.

To bring other women into it, whether through porn or physically, would be wrong and I would be offended by that.

Which is the greater sin against one's own body, to deny his needs and allow illness, or infection, or extreme pain to come, or an exclusive (including only him and me, or him, or me...still exclusive) act that will allow his body to stay healthy, and our sex life as well?

Petals

soft spot for me.
if i am available and willing.....which i almost always am.....why not enjoy me?

now, if he is out of town....that's different.
but there is always phone sex.

i agree that that sf deposits those love units better than anything.
atleast for me. i am not sure what my H truly feels here.
he is obviously missing or craving something that i haven't been able to give him.

Hey Nelly...don't get all "upset" and start believeing that he's truely missing out on something...becuase somehere said he probably is becuase I can't understand why he wouldn't be totally fulfilled. That's my intreptration and all, who know's what your hubby feels.

oh, i know b22
i even have some ideas what it is.
he's never been totally honest w/ me or himself about these things. and i can relate to why.

it's just sometimes i feel that he married the wrong girl because i believe in the connected closeness that you mentioned in your other post so deeply. so i get offended.i can't help that...
and he would rather keep things to himself and wish i could get an attitude like smile's.

i just need to learn to live w/ it.....till i can't anymore.

What are the boundaries God gives for masturbation? When is it acceptable? When does it "cross the line"?

The first "boundary" is found in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Paul stated, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

Since there is no Scripture labeling masturbation as a sin, it stands to reason that it is an act which has the POTENTIAL to be honoring to God and is in line with the fact that the Holy Spirit lives in the person. SELF-masturbation is not an act that harms the body (in fact, the release of sexual tension promotes the wellbeing of the body), nor does it involve joining one's body and spirit to someone else, as is the case with intercourse. By releasing sexual tension, masturbation can act as a prevention or deterrent to getting release by way of immoral outlets. A part of honoring God with our bodies is doing everything necessary to keep our bodies under control. As far as sex is concerned, masturbation is an effective way of doing just that.

The second "boundary" is in Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable&#8212;if anything is excellent or praiseworthy&#8212;think about such things."

Here is a boundary that deals with the mind. One of the problems with masturbation in the minds of a lot of folks is that it's automatically assumed that fantasies must be used to achieve stimulation necessary for orgasm.

Even though sexual fantasies can be and are used, nothing suggests that they HAVE to be used. The choice is up to the individual as to what they think about when masturbating.

God designed our bodies to respond to sexual stimulation....not Satan. But it is NOT designed to respond ONLY and exclusively to wicked, lustful, sinful, immoral thoughts. God's no dummy. He put in us a HUGE capacity to respond to various sexual stimuli. It is no more required to fantasize about the divorcee' next door while masturbating than it is to fantasize about eating a 13 oz sirloin while eating at McDonalds. Nor is it necessary to view porn while masturbating.

Viewing porn is actually detrimental to the experience, and since pornography is clearly a violation of the command not to lust after another person, it introduces the element of sin into an experience that COULD have been used for the glory of God....keeping one's mind away from sinful things, and not indulging in sexual immorality.

So what can be thought about during masturbation? Colossians 3:17 says, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:1-2 says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

Now, I am not suggesting that it's practical or sensible to "think about GOD" while mastuarbating (although I guess one COULD), but those scriptures say that our 'thought life' is to ALWAYS be pure and of joy, and characterized by focus on God. The problems happen when our 'thought life' strays away from its boundaries and embraces sinful thoughts, like viewing pornography or lusting after another person.

So, is it possible to masturbate without straying into sinful thoughts? Yes. HOW? Because God, in designing the human body, gave it the ability to respond to physical stimuli without the requiredment of sinful thought. And it IS okay to enjoy the pleasurable feelings that come from it.

When you eat your favorite food, you are enjoying the pleasure of the taste and feel of the food. Is it a sin to enjoy eating a brownie? NOPE. It is only a sin when it crowds out God and/or sends you in a direction opposite of God. When that happens........ANYthing &#8212; eating, playing golf, watching movies, walking in the park , or masturbating &#8212; has been abused, and the individual is guilty of idolatry.

I am not a religious person, so I cannot comment on the topic of this thread, but wanted to make a comment about something Nelly said:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">wish i could get an attitude like smile's.

i just need to learn to live w/ it.....till i can't anymore.
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Hi Nelly, I just want to say that I hope you are not inferring that I am just trying to live with it until I cannot anymore. That is not at all what I am doing and I hope that is not what you end up doing.

Although there may be some similarities, our situations are very different because my BF and I are both having our SF needs met. He does not masturbate because he's not getting enough sex (unless I'm unavailable for more than a few days), he does it because he likes just pounding away with his own hand a couple times a week. It does not take away from my SF.

My outlook on masturbation, and porn for that matter, does not come from settling for what I can get, it comes from feeling secure and satisfied within my relationship. The porn/masturbation is not causing problems for me like it is for you and many others, thus I can sacrifice some of my ideals and feel satisified with that. I do believe marriage involves sacrifice. This is why our situations are so different...the degree of sacrifice for you and me are huge. I'm sacrificing my preference/ideals and needing to set boundaries and help my BF stick to them...but, you are sacrificing your happiness.

Hang in there...I know you are hurting. I hope my posts are not making things more difficult for you.

Smile

no SMILE......
i was talking about myself when i said need to find a way to live w/ it....not you.

my H actually was reading some of your thread yesterday and thougt you had a very mature outlook.
it's me that has the issues w/ it.
i want to be fine w/ it....but i'm just not.
an i am not going to preach to you about what a harlot you are, i promise.
i do not feel that way....i just have my own issues w/ it and his use offends me.
and i just can't get past that....i wonder if i ever will.
i have been trying to figure it out for awhile now.
i am still wondering what it is he is after etc. since at first he told me 1 story and that has since changed a few times.

i have no intention of telling him he can't look at it either......the very last thing i want to do is create another reason for him to lie to me.
so..i just need to learn to live w/ it or leave........or somehow change my views.
so, i am still trying that figure out.
thought things were going great.....actually, if i could just accept it....they are pretty much.
yet....i do feel like i am compromising myself right now....and i don't know how long i can go on feeling like that.

Nelly, what I'm trying to say is that I don't think you should just settle for this. Comparing our situations and I how I am handling mine will only get you so far. It might even make it harder for you.
I think you should be using the MB concepts to work with your H toward a solution that makes both of you happy. I think you are brave and wonderful for also focusing on H&O...the truth can be really hard to swallow and it's easier to just pretend you're okay with it and then believe everything is fine. People keep questioning me (as expected) because I keep bringing up concerns within my premarital relationship. I'm digging for these issues. I'm finding and dealing with them now so I know what I'm up against even if they are not a problem now. Porn is not a problem in my relationship. I saw in MB how it CAN be a problem and then addressed it in our relationship so that I better understand what I'm dealing with. I also discovered that it could become a problem if there were no boundaries.
You are in a different situation. You have a lot of work to do. It will work out <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="images/icons/smile.gif" />
Be strong and patient...please don't give up on your happiness.
Smile

Ok-- couldn't resist my 2 cents worth .....

First of all, I am a Christian. "Christian" meaning: follower of Christ... believes the Bible ..... "Christian" not meaning: follows a particular church or group, or persuasion, to the exclusion of all others.

Purely and simply, I believe in God and what the Bible says. I try to follow it but have to admit I fail many times, miserably.
There. That out of the way ....

I didn't even read the article. I already know that I will most likely agree with some of it, and disagree with some of it. This is just one person's opinion. We all have them.

Here's mine:

I believe this topic will ALWAYS bring about differences of opinions on BOTH sides of the equation simply because from reading MY Bible, little to NONE is said about the actual topic.

That's enough for me... there has to be a reason for that. God doesn't make mistakes and if you believe He inspired the Bible, then there has to be a reason for that.

Ok, so I have come to a personal conclusion about why this topic is conspicuous by absent. (oh I should say, there is one reference
that people quote to prove that masturbation is sin, but that one never really made sense to me, so I won't even mention it here but I am sure many Christians who know their Bible's will think of it now). Kindly don't bring that one up to me, I am not into debating it. *thanks* <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="images/icons/smile.gif" />

I believe one of the reasons it's not there is because it would be redundant. It is already covered in many other ways. I don't believe God wanted to make an arbitrary 'law' about this one because He already covered it when He preached to the people about lust and about sexual sins.

Before you assume that I might be saying it IS a sin, I am not, I am saying, it "could' be, based on a motive.

I can't tell any of you whether or not masturbation is "sin" for you. But I can tell you what the Bible defines as sin. It says "any disobedience against God... so?? Is masturbation disobedience? Or not? I think to find out that answer each person needs to look at their own motives. Examine their own heart and their OWN motives. Don't borrow you morals from anyone. It's waaaay too important to know whether YOU think it's ok, or not. Not whether someone posts a nah or yah about it on the internet.
We were ALL given a conscience and that little small voice that will tell YOU what is right and what is wrong.

Jesus made it pretty clear when He said that if you even LOOK at another woman (besides your wife) you are committing adultery in your heart. Pretty tough words! But He DID say it.

And I believe because God made us all, He has a pretty good idea how we all tick. He knows that lust will destroy a relationship.

So for me, it's pretty clear that ANYTHING, be it masturbation (*disclaimer here* on the big "M" IF it involves porno or any fantasy other than a mate) , or porno, or even an EA with another woman/man, that takes away from the marriage relationship it IS sin. No matter how great it feels.

I think that's the problem right there, people are debating this purely on the basis of how it FEELS. Well, duh, of course it feels great!! So does the thought of trading in your hubby at times for the latest version-- but we know THAT'S wrong.

God doesn't make rules and laws because He's some sort of kill joy and He secretly wants all the people of the earth to miss out on something "good". I believe all God's laws are good. All beneficial. All favorable. I also believe that humankind is about as far from that description as you can get. We are self serving, self defeating, selfish ..and every other "self" word you can think of. (not anyone on MB THO!! LOL)

So.... bottom line for me, each person has to check out their own motives. If you are TRULY just doing it for sexual release and not incorporating anything, or anyone else into your mind to achieve that, I say .. go for it .... but if you can honestly say, that there is ANY remorse or guilt after, than I would re-examine this. Your moral compass is working and you need to listen.

Even if there was a scripture that said "thus saith God, don't masturbate", I still believe as humans we would be looking for a loophole.....

For me, it's all about motive. What is your motive. Period.

Anyway, I preached here and I wasn't ever gonna do that ........ <img border="0" title="" alt="[Roll Eyes]" src="images/icons/rolleyes.gif" />

Diamonzzz

<small>[ September 04, 2003, 05:43 PM: Message edited by: Diamonzzz ]</small>

For me, masturbation in itself is just another "thing" we can choose to do - or not do. It is an action, just like shooting a gun. If it is done in such a way that it causes no harm to others (like target practice), then it is mearly a self indulgance for the sake of pleasure. If it becomes an issue that causes someone else pain (like when you shoot at someone rather than a target) it is no longer just a self indulgence, but a love buster.

TO me, God wants us to learn to love and be loved. If masturbation interferes with our ability to be loved, then it is causing us harm. Now, when I say "being loved" I am refering to loveing ourselves. If masturbation, or any other action, leaves me feeling ashamed or guilty then it is interfering with my ability to love myself. Anything that takes away from my own self respect is in conflict with God.

So.. whether or not it is right for you depends on two things... whether it is causing you to lose self respect and whether or not it is causing another person to loose respect for you. In either case, the selfish gratification of lust isn't worth the greater loss... at least it wouldn't be for me.

Smile....i didn't mean to come off so gloomy.

it's just a real sore spot. and it would take too long to explain all the reasons why.
we have been working on it and using MB concepts for almost a year......and my own version of them, for about a year before that.

my husband is receptive now and i love him for that.
he was very shut down about emotions for a very long time......he thought they were a weekness and should be kept hidden.
the fact that i refused to think like that....left him baffled and if he was in a certain mood he could easily feel less respect for me beause i wanted to talk about my feelings.(in his mind..weeknesses)

we have made tremendous progress in the last year.
but, you picked up on me for sure.......i am just not very patient and i need to remind mysef of that.
because this particular situation needs lots of patience.
it's much deeper than what you are dealing w/....(nt as simple as he has a highersexdrive and needs to relieve himself w/ o me from time to time)and goes much further back.

thanks for your concearn though. and i know i said this before but i will say it again....i truly admire what you and BF are doing to understand eachother etc. before marriage.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by bp22:
<strong>Any comments to those of who you are believers in both? All this talk about masterbation and porn...I'm curious, take away the porn, do folks still have a problem with masterbation alone?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I am Christian and have no problem with masturbation. I've reached this point after a long struggle with it, though.

As a youth, I was basically taught that it was not really a good thing and should be avoided, so I carried some guilt about it. As an adult, I can't imagine how a teenage boy could survive without it. I still think that moderation is important because I think too much emphasis on it would not be a good thing. When my own son hits that age, I hope to guide him to not have guilt about it.

As a youth and a young adult, I always anticipated that masturbation would greatly decline with marriage and a real sexual relationship with a woman. And I think that it has, but it's more because I'm busy with life and no longer suffer the hormonal melee of a teenage boy -- not because my W has fulfilled my sexual needs anywhere close to level that I would abandon masturbation.

From a marriage perspective, I think that all opinions and attitudes about a spouse's masturbatory activities are forfeited by a spouse that consistently fails to meet the need for SF.

From a Christian perspective, I kind of compare it to mowing the lawn on Sunday, which a lot of Christian folks refuse to do out of respect for the Lord's Day even though they will participate in lots of activities that involve noise, physical labor, or someone else working on the Lord's Day (like eating out after church).

Anyway, the lawn on Sunday... I generally don't like to mow on Sunday, but if it rains the other six days of the week and the sun shines on Sunday, I mow the lawn. Given a sunnier disposition toward sex in my M, I would probably have more respect for my W's thoughts about masturbation and would be better equipped to avoid it.

I have no problem masturbating without porn. I have a very difficult time focusing on women other than my W when I masturbate -- she is really a lot of fun... when she's in the mood.

Dilbert....i liked your answer. that's how i feel about it. i also think it should b ntroduced to teen age girls....but, that is another post alltogether.

i liked thatyou aid you don't NEED porn and have a problem focusing on women otherthan wife.
that i how I am....but didn't think many men could do that.
infact......i don't relly focus on an idividual at all. more te situation at hand...no pun intended........

but..how did you feel when you were younger..what did you focus on then?

what do you think is the deal w/ needing to imagine being w/ other women so much is?
i know it's basically an insecurity...a need to feel wanted etc......but, if anyone could elaborate on that for me......i'd apprecite it.

Thanks for all the replies...I do enjoy hearing them. Somewhat disappointed someone hasn't taken the "IT IS SIN" absolute route...but maybe this one is too, uhm, hard to resist. LOL

As a youth, I too thought it was wrong...and I did feel guilt. In fact, at one point I told mp22 about my habit, and I cried and cried and cried and thought I was the biggest loser, bound for hell, and didn't deserve mp22. WOW, that's why I talk about brainwashing...I still remember that day. It was a letter...one of the usual daily letters of 10 pages I wrote as a teen. LOL

And I have to agree as well, for me, during those times alone, I think of my wife. She, the one who hates foreplay and anything besides "getting right to it", and think about all that she is missing...and forcing me to miss out on too. There is no fantasy of others...or at least not more than 5% anyways, and if so, they always include mp22 as well. LOL Does that count?

So another question then....

Did Jesus masterbate? What do you think? If yes, then say why. If NO, then say how then can you "justify" it as acceptable in any way? Surely he felt the sexual tension as a human being, a human teen boy...

Not causing problems, just very curious.

It does amaze me how so many different interpretations can come from the same thing. It makes ME personally wonder how all the folks who were "inspired" by god to write the various books we call the bible interpreted what god had to say. But I suspect that somehow, those various folks were somehow all writing EXACTLT what god said...not how they interpreted it.

Hmmmm...that to me is a very interesting topic itself.

Smiles, I think you and your questioning attitude and your result peace and confidence is outstanding. If 5x's has any true sense in him, he won't ever let you get away.

BP,

Perspective is truly an enigma, isn't it? That was the hardest part for me in math. There is the two-dimensional plane consisting of the x and y axes, then there is the z axis. Somehow, trying to imagine objects from different angles, seeing inside and through them is rather difficult. Astrophysicists amaze me, because I can see how this correlates to finding a fixed point in space. It's something like being out to sea with no land in sight, or waking up in a pitch black room and not remembering which is the head and which the foot of the bed...startling!

So, the fact that 4 of the gospels reveal 4 different perspectives, among countless thousands, and they say very similar things...Wow.

Anyway, did Jesus masturbate? He was God in man, he could've if He wanted to, but could stop the feeling if He wanted to. He got hungry and fasted, and became easily tempted to eat. Why not tempted to envision some lovely Jewish girl while "taking care of physiological business?" However, the question remains, DID He even masturbate? How can we know? He was tempted as we are tempted.

Can boys get through puberty without masturbating? I would guess maybe a small number COULD. DID they? I don't know.

There's my answer...I don't know. The Bible says nothing about it.

Petals

<small>[ September 05, 2003, 12:32 PM: Message edited by: Zuzus_Petals ]</small>

I personally am not going to even think about whether Jesus did or did not, it has no bearing on my faith or belief.

I personally do not think that there is anything wrong with masturbation as long as it does not take away from the shared experiences of sf with ones spouse, ie if a person has a ready, willing, and able spouse yet chooses to masturbate instead of having a mutally satisfying experience with their spouse then I would say it is wrong.

I think that those that preach to our young that it is bad is setting them up for many years of guilt and shameful feelings which leads to tearing down their self esteem. To tell a young person that it is bad and a sin for something that many young people can not help doing does serious lasting damage to them. The guilt they feel for doing it, then their approach to God to repent and swear they won't do it again, only to backslide and do it again and again and again is not conductive to a healthy relationship with God. Don't teach them it is something to be ashamed of, it is a natural part of learning about your body and growing into your sexuality. By taking a stance that it is a sin people are doing a great diservice to the future spouses of these young people. They often end up with messed up views about sexusality, and the act itself.

Teach them instead that whether they do or not is up to them, and no one has the right to judge them for it and it should be a very private thing until such time as one marries and then after marriage it should not be used in place of fulfilling sex with their spouse and if their spouse requests that they don't then they shouldn't but only as long as the spouse is fulfilling the need with them. Because not only do they need a release at times for stress relief, they also need it fairly frequently for health reasons (unless they have been castrated).

I also personally don't believe that God judges us for if we do or not.

If you want to bring lust into it then you have to start debating if fantasies are ok and I am not going there either.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by nelly:
<strong>Dilbert....i liked your answer. that's how i feel about it. i also think it should b ntroduced to teen age girls....but, that is another post alltogether.

i liked thatyou aid you don't NEED porn and have a problem focusing on women otherthan wife.
that i how I am....but didn't think many men could do that.
infact......i don't relly focus on an idividual at all. more te situation at hand...no pun intended........

but..how did you feel when you were younger..what did you focus on then?

what do you think is the deal w/ needing to imagine being w/ other women so much is?
i know it's basically an insecurity...a need to feel wanted etc......but, if anyone could elaborate on that for me......i'd apprecite it.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Yeah, I have a daughter too. While I'm not comfortable with encouraging her to masturbate, I certainly hope to influence postively her self esteem and attitudes toward sex. I not afraid to explain it to her, but... I don't think I want to be the one to bring it up with her.

Don't misunderstand, I am as visually stimulated as most men and have no trouble getting aroused by porn. Even that, though, is more of a "wow, would ya look at that" kind of thing than a real lust on my part to have another woman than my W. But I'm sure my W wouldn't see it that way...

When I was younger... just about anything could get me going... girls in my school, girls at the pool, girls on TV, advertising. I think I was a pretty typical raging hormone case -- I just managed to duck most of the real thing until I was married.

I think most of the interest in being with other women is a craving for variety that I don't have. I like to look... but again those looks are on the order of "wow, check her out" rather than "man, I'd like to get me some of that."

I tend to subscribe to the idea that it doesn't matter where I find my appetite as long as I eat at home. When it comes to fantasizing during masturbation, that's kind of like snacking in the appetite/eating analogy -- it should be done at home.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by bp22:
<strong>Thanks for all the replies...I do enjoy hearing them. Somewhat disappointed someone hasn't taken the "IT IS SIN" absolute route...but maybe this one is too, uhm, hard to resist. LOL</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Sorry to disappoint you... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Razz]" src="images/icons/tongue.gif" />

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"><strong>Did Jesus masterbate? What do you think? If yes, then say why. If NO, then say how then can you "justify" it as acceptable in any way? Surely he felt the sexual tension as a human being, a human teen boy...</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Angels in the head of a pin, my friend...

I've always enjoyed contemplating the human experience of Christ. It can be a little crude when you stop to think about it, but He ate, slept, and defecated just like everyone else.

Given that Jesus was by definition sinless, I would have to say that if it was a sin, he did not and if it wasn't he very likely did. Like MBFW said, it just doesn't matter in regard to the Christian theology of salvation.

This leaves you right where you started, trying to decide if it is a sin or not.

Right or wrong, I've adopted the attitude that it's a natural human activity that, like many other natural human activities, can be either innocent or sinful depending on intent or degree. Eating is not a sin, but gluttony is. Recreation is not a sin, but wasting time (sloth) is. Masturbation is not a sin, but lust is.