Religious studies on body harm for spiritual purposes

Hurting the Body for the Sake of the Soul

The concept of sacred pain is one that has had a profound effect on the theory and debate, regarding faith. The real origins of inflicting pain upon one's body to cleanse one soul dates so far back and is pervasive in so many faiths that the resolution of its history is impossible. We can seek out in the Christian faith the sources of the potential or possible impetus and even find various examples of the phenomena in the literature and doctrine of the faith. The pretense of the act is similar to fasting, as one denies him or herself the comfort of food to affirm his or her faith in god. The jump is then made that the denial of comfort is not always enough to wash away the sins that are pervasive within our minds and souls.

Twice a day, proceeding slowly to the public square or to the principal church, they put off their shoes, stripped themselves to the waist and prostrated themselves in a large circle. By their posture they indicated the nature of the sins they intended to expiate, the murderer lying on his back, the adulterer on his face, the perjurer on one side holding up three fingers, etc. First they were beaten by the "Master," then, bidden solemnly in a prescribed form to rise, they stood in a circle and scourged themselves severely, crying out that their blood was mingled with the Blood of Christ and that their penance was preserving the whole world from perishing.... Christ, angry at the grievous sins of mankind, had threatened to destroy the world, yet, at the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, had ordained that all who should join the brotherhood for thirty-three and a half days should be saved. ("Flagellants" Catholic Encyclopedia)

The experience of the flagellants as they are called, was not isolated and the Catholic encyclopedia stresses the historical manifestation of what later became called heretical, but was once a social and ideological response to the connection between the body and the soul, the body being the vessel, that contained the evil mind, and was therefore often in need of cleansing, through self sacrifice and public sacred displays of pain. Suffering, was the way to enlightenment, be it the as simple as the denial of pleasure or the infliction of pain.

According to one of the leading researcher and writers on sacred pain, its history is a contradiction, as the concept of suffering and pain in the world has also led many to stray from faith, as they cannot believe in a God who would let so much pain exists in the world, without end, as the whole of human existence is marked by pain, both physical and emotional, and yet throughout history, there are countless examples of the infliction of pain to cleanse the soul, "Ascetics, mystics and martyrs have sought and applied pain -- in rights of passage (ordeals) and other forms of initiation -- in service of religious inquisitions (including trials by ordeal), execution of heretics and witches and others." (Glucklich 389) Absolution, in a place closer to God is the end, be it for yourself or the heretic. Glucklich also stresses that these examples of "sacred pain" are not limited to time or geography.

In a more in depth analysis of the phenomena Glucklich quickly demonstrates that unlike is commonly believed, by people who are not entirely aware of the current religious lives of many different cultures would like to believe, all this "sacred pain" is not sheltered by the past, as if we are far to intelligent a world to continue with such a practice.

A few years ago I visited Israel during the Passover holiday. I was watching television one night with a friend and the staterun network ran a show on several Easter practices. One practice that caught our attention was a ritual crucifixion in a small Philippine town. We were shocked to see volunteers being nailed to crosses, then lifted high up above a crowd of devoted onlookers. My friend, Jacob Goren, who is a retired professor of engineering, a socialist and atheist, immediately launched into a tirade against the superstitions of religion. He ridiculed not only the Catholics of the Philippines, but all the other similar practices he could think of -- the Shi'i, self-beating for the martyrdom of Husayn at Karbala; Native Americans who suspend themselves from hooks inserted in their chests; and medieval penitential practices he had seen in movies. "Why," he asked with a mixture of curiosity and derision, "would anyone in his right mind do this? I would say they're crazy, but they can't all be!"

Glucklich 3)