Male circumcision is
not primarily a medical issue but rather has its roots in deeply held religious
beliefs and social customs that defy rational and humane understanding.
It is a major thesis of this presentation that male circumcision is not primarily a medical issue but rather has its roots in deeply held religious beliefs and social customs that defy rational and humane understanding. The devastating practices and consequences of female genital mutilation that have been so well documented by Fran Hosken (see page 22 in this conference report) provides a context for understanding the forces of toleration and support for male genital mutilations, i.e. circumcision. Why is it that certain elements of the medical profession can offer support for male genital mutilation (circumcision) but not female genital mutilation that is so widespread in other cultures of the world?
And why have the medical professions, until very recently, ignored and denied the extraordinary and excruciating pain that the newborn experiences when part of its skin (the foreskin) is shredded and cut from the rest of its body?
This indifference to human pain and suffering of the circumcised newborn is not confined to the medical profession but is widespread throughout many cultures, particularly where other forms of male and female genital mutilations are practiced. In this psychologist's opinion, all forms of genital mutilation that are inflicted upon unconsenting children are de facto acts of torture and mutilation which are in violation of Article 5 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that "NO ONE SHALL BE SUBJECTED TO TORTURE OR TO CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT".
This position statement has been unanimously approved as a resolution by the General Assembly of this Conference (see page 53).
It is my conviction that the acts of newborn and adolescent torture and mutilation which occurs in ritual male and female genital mutilations must be understood within the broader context of human torture, mutilation and violence against the human body which are pandemic throughout the world. The key to understanding this pain and violence is to be found in understanding its converse, i.e. pleasure and peace where physical pleasures of the body, particularly sexual pleasures, are considered inherently immoral by many fundamentalist/orthodox religious traditions which they believe threatens the salvation of the soul and society.
The key to
understanding this pain and violence is to be found in understanding its
converse, i.e. pleasure and peace . . .
Before proceeding with a summary of the religious, philosophical and scientific data in support of this thesis, I would like, to comment very briefly on two medical studies that purport to provide statistical medical evidence for the practice of circumcision and which raises serious ethical/moral issues when findings from presumptive pathological groups are generalized to healthy groups to justify surgical procedures on healthy groups in the guise of "preventive medicine".
First, is the study of Dr. William Cameron of the University of Manitoba where it was reported in a sample of 292 men who had patronized prostitutes in Nairobi, Kenya that 20% of uncircumcised men became infected with the AIDS virus, whereas, only 3% of circumcised men became infected with the AIDS virus. It was reported that 85% of the prostitutes were infected with the AIDS virus. It was concluded that circumcision offered a degree of prevention against the AIDS virus.
Assuming that circumcision vs. non-circumcision, and not other variables, can account for this difference, how can the grossly negligent and irresponsible sexual behaviors and poor personal hygiene practices of OTHERS be used to justify the genital and sexual mutilation of the INNOCENT? Another example of the misuse of statistical inference from medical data is provided by the studies of Dr. Thomas Wiswell.
In one of Dr. Wiswell's studies where he evaluated the incidence of Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in 422,238 boys born to Army families he found a ten-fold increase in UTIs in uncircumcised vs. circumcised boys. The incidence was 1.1% vs .11%, respectively, where one third of the l.1% later developed serious medical complications. This finding of 1.1% and/or the .034% serious medical complications in uncircumcised newborns is now being used to justify the routine genital mutilations of 99% of healthy male newborns who do not develop UTIs. Since female infants were found to have a 0.57% incidence of UTIs which is 50% of the uncircumcised males (1.1%) it is clear that there are other variables unrelated
p. 15, July/August 1989, The Truth
Seeker
to circumcision that contribute to UTIs. I will leave to
other investigators the exploration of these other uncontrolled variables that
contribute to UTIs. EARLY SENSORY INFLUENCES UPON BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR
There is a well established body of scientific data that documents the role of sensory stimulation and deprivation upon brain development and emotional-social, psychological and mental development. From the perspective of the developmental neuropsychological sciences there can be little question that the extraordinary pain experienced by newborns, children and adolescents who are subjected to ritual genital mutilations has a profound influence upon the brain and later behaviors. It is this writer's conviction that the extraordinary pain and trauma experienced through genital mutilations -- an organ and brain system that is designed for the experience of sexual pleasure and the expression of sexual love -- has permanently altered normative brain development for the normal expression of sexual pleasure and love. It is proposed that this genital pain has long-term developmental consequences for the ability of such individuals to differentiate pain from pleasure in love relationships and to develop intimate sexual relationships.
It is not without psychobiological consequence that the brain system which is designed for the experience of pleasure and the expression of sexual love is first encoded with extraordinary and excruciating pain. In such individuals, all subsequent acts or experiences of genital pleasure are experienced upon a background of genital pain that is now deeply buried in the subconscious/unconscious brain.
It is this developmental neuropsychologist's conviction that these early experiences of genital pain contribute to the encoding of the brain that begins the neurobiolgical foundation for sado-masochistic behaviors. The brain system that has been designed for pleasure has first and foremost become saturated or encoded with pain that now limits and qualifies all subsequent experiences of pleasure. When these early experiences of genital pain are followed by a developmental deprivation of physical affectional pleasure in the maternal-infant relationship and in the adolescent sexual relationship, then violent destructive behaviors are the inevitable outcome.
Equally significant is the prediction that the cumulative consequences of these developmental experiences of genital pain and affectional deprivation precludes the possibility of realizing the spiritual dimensions of human sexuality. These relationships have been discussed elsewhere and need not be repeated here. Suffice it to note that it has been possible to predict with 100% accuracy the torture, mutilation and killing of enemy captured in warfare in 49 primitive cultures from the two variables of deprivation of physical affection in the maternal-infant relationship and in the adolescent sexual relationship; and that brain dysfunction underlies those violent behaviors induced by Somatosensory Affectional Deprivation (Prescott, 1975, 1979, 1989; Heath, 1975). (See March/April issue of The Truth Seeker)
Tables I and II summarize the social-behavioral characteristics of primitive cultures that engage in male and female genital mutilations. Tables III and IV provide a similar summary for those cultures that punish pre-marital sex and extra-marital sex. Similarly, for Table V which characterizes cultures that have high gods. In general these cultures are patrilineal, subordinate women to men, have low nurturance of children, are sexually repressive, punish abortion, are violent and have a high god that supports human morality.
In summary, the confounding of pain and pleasure in the developing brain provides the neuropsychological foundation for individuals who must experience pain to experience pleasure, or who derive pleasure from the experience of pain.
One of the most recent studies that is particularly germane to this thesis was reported by Jacobson, et. al in Acta psychiatr. scand. (2987:76-364-371), entitled Perinatal Origin of Adult Self-Destructive Behavior. The summary of this study is provided by the abstract which reads as follows:
The study was undertaken to test
whether obstetric procedures are of importance for eventual adult behavior of
the newborn, as ecological data from the United States seem to indicate. Birth
record data were gathered for 412 forensic victims comprising suicides,
alcoholics and drug addicts born in Stockholm after 1940, and who died there in
1978-1984. The births of the victims were unevenly distributed among six
hospitals. Comparison with 2,901 controls, and mutual comparison of categories,
showed that suicides involving asphyxiation were closely associated with
asphyxia at birth, suicides by violent mechanical means were associated with
mechanical birth trauma and drug addiction was associated with opiate and/or
barbiturate administration to mothers during labor. Irrespective of the
mechanism transferring the birth trauma to adulthood -- which might be
analogous to imprinting -- the results show that obstetric procedures should be
carefully evaluated and possibly modified to prevent eventual self-destructive
behavior.
Specifically, the authors reported that a perinatal event
of Asphyxia (a lack of oxygen) carried a risk factor for suicides from hanging,
strangulation, drowning and gas poisoning that was five times greater
than for controls; for perinatal mechanical trauma, e.g. breech
presentations, forceps delivery and multiple nuchal loops, the risk factor for
suicides from hanging and other mechanical injuries was twice as great as
controls; for perinatal events of opiate/barbituate use the risk factor
for drug addiction was approximately three times greater than the
controls. In an earlier study of 52 adolescent suicides, Salk., et. al., (1985) reported three prenatal/perinatal risk factors that significantly discriminated the suicide group from the two matched non-suicide control groups. These were: 1) respiratory distress for more than one hour at birth; 2) no antenatal care before 20 weeks of pregnancy; and 3) chronic disease of the mother during pregnancy which were found in 81% of the suicide cases. These authors were quite uncertain as to the mechanisms by which prenatal/perinatal birth trauma were linked to suicidal behaviors.
David Levy in a 1945 study on the "Psychic Trauma of Operations In Children" reported on three cases of male circumcision at ages 12 months (2 cases) and at 6½ years. Psychological trauma included the development of night terrors, temper tantrums and rage. In the 6½ year old suicidal impulses developed. Levy reports:
"... a circumcision at the age of
6 years 7 months, was preceded by a struggle of the patient with his father and
the anesthetist before they overpowered him. Immediately after the anesthesia
wore off, he said over and over, "They cut my penis. I wish I were
dead." The rest of the day the patient never left his mother's side.
Thereafter his previous temper tantrums
[continued on page 17]
p. 16, July/August 1989, The Truth
Seeker
Tables
The % column reflects the percentage of cultures that
share in common the behaviors listed; the P column states the
probability level of statistical significance, e.g. a value of .003 means that
the probability that the behavioral relationships being compared could occur by
chance is 3 times out of a thousand; and the N column indicates the number
of primitive cultures involved in the comparision of the paired behaviors.
TABLE
I
SOCIAL-BEHAVIORAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURES WHERE MALE GENITAL MUTILATION IS PRESENT (N=83)
VS BEING ABSENT (N=242)
|
|||
|
Social-Behavioral Characteristics
|
Percent
% |
Probability
P |
N
|
|
|
|||
|
Castes are present
|
78
|
.0000
|
304
|
|
Weaving by males
|
78
|
.0000
|
100
|
|
Games of strategy
|
75
|
.0000
|
168
|
|
Metal working is present
|
71
|
.0000
|
238
|
|
Exclusively patrilineal
|
69
|
.0000
|
325
|
|
Slavery is present
|
65
|
.0000
|
314
|
|
High bride price
|
56
|
.0000
|
322
|
|
Husbandry is present
|
51
|
.0002
|
325
|
|
High god supports human morality
|
64
|
.0007
|
86
|
|
High god is present
|
54
|
.0009
|
257
|
|
Class stratification is present
|
56
|
.003
|
316
|
|
Leather working by males
|
65
|
.005
|
081
|
|
Polygamous rather than monogamous
|
60
|
.004
|
321
|
|
High exhibitionistic dancing
|
57
|
.03
|
82
|
|
Totemism is present
|
65
|
.04
|
26
|
|
Early infant child satisfaction is
low
|
69
|
.06
|
35
|
|
Longer post-partum sex taboo
|
67
|
.06
|
124
|
|
High oral socialization anxiety
|
63
|
.06
|
48
|
|
Exclusive mother-son sleeping -- 1
year
|
67
|
.07
|
42
|
|
High incidence of theft
|
66
|
.06
|
35
|
|
Patrilineal cultures
|
58
|
.06
|
137
|
|
High narcissism
|
58
|
.08
|
86
|
|
High god active
|
55
|
.08
|
155
|
|
Wife lending and exchange
|
71
|
.09
|
28
|
|
Infanticide is present
|
63
|
.09
|
30
|
|
TIME OF CIRCUMCISION: A) 1st & 2nd months: 4 cultures; B) 2 months
to 2 years: 4 cultures; C) 2 to 5 years: 7 cultures; D) 6 to 10
years: 23 cultures; E) 11 to 15 years: 21 cultures; F) 16-25
years: 7 cultures.
|
|||
TABLE
II
SOCIAL-BEHAVIORAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURES WHERE FEMALE INITIATION RITES ARE PAINFUL (N=9)
VS NOT BEING PAINFUL (N=29)
|
|||
|
Social-Behavioral Characteristics
|
Percent
% |
Probability
P |
N
|
|
|
|||
|
Male genital mutilation is present
|
83
|
.006
|
36
|
|
High bride price
|
61
|
.01
|
38
|
|
Cultures are exclusively patrilineal
|
79
|
.02
|
38
|
|
Segregation of adolescent boys
|
75
|
.02
|
28
|
|
Youth sex expression restricted
|
80
|
.03
|
20
|
|
High mother-child households
|
78
|
.04
|
27
|
|
High child anxiety over nurturant
behavior
|
91
|
.05
|
11
|
|
Torture, mutilation & killing of
enemy
|
70
|
.07
|
20
|
|
Incidence of theft is high
|
85
|
.08
|
13
|
|
Low infant protection from
environment
|
75
|
.08
|
13
|
|
NOTE:
Initiation rites mandatory for all girls between 8th & 20th years. Does
not include betrothal or marriage customs. From: R. B. Textor. A
Cross-Cultural Summary. (1967) HRAF PRESS: New Haven.
|
|||
TABLE
III
SOCIAL-BEHAVIORAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURES WHERE PREMARITAL SEX IS STRONGLY PUNISHED
|
|||
|
Social-Behavioral Characteristics
|
Percent
% |
Probability
P |
N
|
|
|
|||
|
Community size is larger
|
73
|
.0003
|
80
|
|
Societal complexity is high
|
87
|
.01
|
15
|
|
Class stratification is present
|
60
|
.01
|
111
|
|
Slavery is present
|
59
|
.005
|
176
|
|
Low female income
|
71
|
.09
|
24
|
|
Personal crime is high (392)
|
71
|
.05
|
28
|
|
Incidence of theft is high (392)
|
68
|
.07
|
31
|
|
Kin group exclusively patrilineal
|
62
|
.04
|
114
|
|
Kin groups patrilineal or double
descent rather than matrilineal
|
64
|
.002
|
62
|
|
Small extended family
|
70
|
.008
|
63
|
|
Wives are purchased
|
54
|
.02
|
114
|
|
Women have property rights
|
100
|
.008
|
9
|
|
Longer post-partum sex taboo
|
62
|
.03
|
50
|
|
Extramarital sex is punished
|
71
|
.005
|
58
|
|
Sex disability is present
|
83
|
.004
|
23
|
|
Castration anxiety is high
|
65
|
.009
|
37
|
|
Bellicosity is extreme
|
68
|
.04
|
37
|
|
Killing, torturing and mutilating the
enemy is high
|
69
|
.07
|
35
|
|
High god in human morality
|
81
|
.01
|
27
|
|
Narcissism is high
|
66
|
.04
|
38
|
|
Exhibitionistic dancing
|
65
|
.04
|
66
|
TABLE
IV
SOCIAL-BEHAVIORAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURES THAT PUNISH EXTRAMARITAL SEX
|
|||
|
Social-Behavioral Characteristics
|
Percent
% |
Probability
P |
N
|
|
|
|||
|
Slavery is present
|
67
|
.002
|
83
|
|
Personal crime is high
|
80
|
.02
|
20
|
|
Theft is high
|
81
|
.008
|
21
|
|
Abortion is highly punished
|
76
|
.05
|
17
|
|
Premarital sex is strongly punished
|
71
|
.005
|
58
|
|
Castration anxiety is high
|
87
|
.0001
|
30
|
|
Military glory is emphasized
|
62
|
.002
|
53
|
|
Bellicosity is extreme
|
77
|
.002
|
43
|
|
High killing, torture, mutilation
|
78
|
.002
|
42
|
|
Aggressive supernaturals
|
79
|
.02
|
19
|
TABLE
V
SOCIAL-BEHAVIORAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURES WHERE A HIGH GOD IS PRESENT
|
|||
|
Social-Behavioral Characteristics
|
Percent
% |
Probability
P |
N
|
|
|
|||
|
Caste system is present
|
52
|
.0004
|
244
|
|
Slavery is present
|
60
|
.0002
|
251
|
|
Patrilineal rather than matrilineal
|
68
|
.0006
|
167
|
|
Wives are purchased
|
65
|
.0015
|
258
|
|
High aggression socialization anxiety
|
71
|
.01
|
45
|
|
High infant pain by caretaker
|
63
|
.08
|
57
|
|
Early independence training
|
69
|
.06
|
29
|
|
Male genital mutilation present
|
54
|
.0009
|
257
|
|
Premarital sex strongly punished
|
59
|
.05
|
149
|
p.
17, July/August 1989, The Truth Seeker
developed into destructive rages.
During the treatment he played numerous killing games, in which his father was
the principal victim. The operation represented a castration by his
father." (p. 10).
Questions must be raised as to the extent to which rage
and suicidal behaviors are engendered by the assaults of circumcision whether
conducted during the newborn or child/pre-pubertal periods. (There are
approximately a third more suicides than homicides in the U.S.). Is there a
link between circumcision and the willingness to kill oneself or others for
one's religious/national beliefs, particularly when circumcision occurs at the
age of puberty, as it does in the Muslim cultures? The willingness of many
Muslim men to die or kill for their religious beliefs is well known, e.g. the
cases of Salman Rushdie and Sirhan Sirhan may be representative here. Jacobsen, et al. (1987) noted in their study that hypoxia during birth might cause minimal brain damage that could result in destructive behaviors. However, these authors questioned whether neurological injuries due to hypoxia could be the main factor, "since altogether rather few victims suffered from asphyxia during birth. None of the 86 suicides from poisoning by solid or liquid substance and none of the 53 alcoholics were reported to have been asphyxial."
There is a delayed
"time bomb" of brain damage that occurs long after the initial injury
or insult.
For example, sensory deprivation (like asphyxia) can damage the sensory receptors and sensory pathways of the brain. This neuronal damage from sensory deprivation prevents normal sensory stimulation of the brain which is essential for normal brain development and function. This is why the experiencing of sensory pleasure -- physical affection and sexual pleasure -- is essential for normative brain development, function and behavior.
The effects of sensory deprivation or altered and abnormal sensory environments upon brain development and behavior are well documented. This is the mechanism which I will now focus upon since it is my conviction that a variety of early traumatic events of pain, deprivation and stress, including asphyxia, damage the affectional neuronal systems of the brain. It is this damage that compromises or prevents the development of affectional bonds of pleasure since these brain systems for pleasure have been damaged by these early insults and injuries. This thesis constitutes the neuropsychological foundation of my SAD (Somatosensory Affectional Deprivation) theory of alienation, depression, addictive and violent behaviors.
It is for these reasons that SAD is proposed to be the process or mechanism which can account for the linkage between prenatal/perinatal trauma and suicides that have been reported by Salk, et al., and by Jacobson, et al.
Specifically, Somatosenory Affectional Deprivation (SAD) theory is based on the nature of brain processes where it has been well established that activation of the pleasure circuits of the brain inhibit the activity of the violence circuits of the brain. This normative reciprocal relationship ceases to function when the neuronal circuits of the brain that mediate pleasure are insufficiently developed -- a form of brain dysfunction/damage -- due to sensory deprivation of physical affectional pleasure, specifically, somesthetic (touch) and vestibular (movement) sensory stimulation. Gentle touch and rocking of the infant are powerful sensory stimuli for pleasure, comfort and a sense of "basic trust" for the infant/child. When these sensory stimuli are absent and, in addition, are replaced by painful sensory stimulation, then the neurobiological foundations for depressive, addictive and violent behaviors are established.
In brief, the emotional pain of affectional deprivation (the failure of love in the maternal-infant and parent-child relationships and in our sexual relationships) seeks relieve through drugs, alcohol and violence -- in the rage of our physical assaults against others; beatings, rape, homicide or assaults against our own bodies where the final solution is suicide -- one of the leading mental health problems of our children and youth. Why should our children and youth be committing suicide in such great numbers -- a 112% increase from 1980 to 1985 for children aged 10 to 14 years? Does genital mutilation in combination with SAD facilitate suicidal and assaultive behaviors?
It is for these
reasons that the pain of genital mutilation is tolerated and supported and why
the pleasure of genital stimulation is forbidden -- with all the developmental
neuropsychological and moral consequences that such events have upon the
individual and culture.
I will now review the real reasons for circumcision as given by certain moral traditions and the anti-pleasure ethic that is endemic to many religious traditions that supports the pain-pleasure reciprocity principal and provides the linkage to violent behaviors.
PHILOSOPHICAL/RELIGIOUS BASES FOR GENITAL MUTILATIONS
It is well recognized that circumcision in the Jewish religious tradition represents a covenant with God (see Gerald Larue's article in this issue). It is less well recognized that the
p.
18, July/August 1989, The Truth Seeker
The body is prior in order of
generation to the soul, so the irrational is prior to the rational. The proof
is that anger and wishing and desire are implanted in children from their very
birth, but reason and understanding are developed as they grow older.
Wherefore, the care of the body ought to precede that of the soul, and the
training of the appetitive part should follow; none the less our care of it
must be for the sake of the reason, and our care of the body for the sake of
the soul.
Aristotle,
Politica (384-322 B.C.E.)
p.
19, July/August 1989, The Truth Seeker
diminution of sexual pleasure is another major reason for
circumcision in the Jewish religious tradition. This reason is clearly stated
by Moses Maimonides in the Guide of The Perplexed (1190) which merits
its full reproduction:
ON CIRCUMCISION
"As regards circumcision, I think that one of its
objects is to limit sexual intercourse, and to weaken the organ of generation
as far as possible, and thus cause man to be moderate. Some people believe that
circumcision is to remove a defect in man's formation; but every one can easily
reply: How can products of nature be deficient so as to require external
completion, especially as the use of the foreskin to that organ is evident. This commandment has not been enjoined as a compliment to a
deficient physical creation, but as a means for perfecting man's moral
shortcomings. The bodily injury caused to that organ is exactly that which is
desired; it does not interrupt any vital
function, nor does it destroy the power of generation. Circumcision simply counteracts excessive lust; for there is no
doubt that circumcision weakens the power of sexual excitement, and sometimes
lessens the natural enjoyment; the organ
necessarily becomes weak when it loses blood and is deprived of its cover from
the beginning. Our Sages say distinctly: It is hard for a woman, with whom an
uncircumcised had sexual intercourse, to separate from him. This is, as I
believe, the best reason for the commandment concerning circumcision."
(Part
III, Chapter 49, emphasis added)
Elsewhere in the Jewish religious tradition clear
warnings are given concerning the dangers of sexual pleasure. The following
quotations are taken from the Code of Jewish Law:
Chapter 150
The Sin of Discharging Semen in Vain 1: It is forbidden to discharge semen in vain. This is a graver sin than any other mentioned in the Torah. Those who practice masturbation and cause the issue of semen in vain, not only do they commit a grave sin, but they are under a ban, concerning whom it is said (Isaiah 1:15) "Your hands are full of blood," and it is equivalent to killing a person. See what Rashi wrote concerning Er and Onan in the Sidrah of Vayeshev (Genesis 37), that both Er and Onan died for the commission of this sin. Occasionally, as a punishment for this sin, children die when young, God forbid, or grow up to be delinquent, while the sinner himself is reduced to poverty."
Chapter 151
Laws of Chastity 17. Semen is the vitality of man's body and the light of his eyes, and when it issues in abundance, the body weakens and life is shortened. He who indulges in having intercourse, ages quickly, his strength ebbs, his eyes grow dim, his breath becomes foul, the hair of his head, eyelashes and brows fall out, the hair of his beard, armpits and feet increase, his teeth fall out, and many other aches besides these befall him. Great physicians said that one out of a thousand dies from other diseases, while nine hundred and ninety-nine die from sexual indulgence. Therefore, a man should exercise self-restraint.
The Roman Catholic Church is equally affirmative on the moral dangers of masturbation whose only purpose is sexual pleasure. In the Vatican's "Declaration on Sexual Ethics", published by the Sacred Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith (December 29, 1975), formerly the Holy Office of The Inquisition, the following is stated:
On Masturbation
9. The traditional
Catholic doctrine that masturbation constitutes a grave moral disorder is often
called into doubt or expressly denied today. It is said that psychology and
sociology show that it is a normal phenomenon of sexual development, especially
among the young.... This opinion is contradictory to the teaching and pastoral
practice of the Catholic Church. Whatever the force of certain arguments of a
biological and philosophical nature, which have sometimes been used by
theologians, in fact both the Magisterium of the Church -- in the course of a
constant tradition -- and the moral sense of the faithful have declared without
hesitation that masturbation is an intrinsically and seriously disordered act.Elsewhere, the Roman Catholic Church affirms the moral value of pain and suffering in The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola (the founder of the Society of Jesus):
"The third kind of penance is to
chastise the body, that is to inflict sensible pain on it. This is done by
wearing hair shirts, cords, or iron chains on the body, or by scourging or
wounding oneself, and by other kinds of austerities" (1541).
Many other examples could be cited, the most significant
of which is the Crucifixion itself. God the Father's Divine Plan of
Incarnation for his Son: "So the Word was made flesh;" (John 1:14);
and "I did not come of my own will; It was He who sent me" (John
8:42) was a plan for the mutilation, torture and murder of His only-begotten
Son on the cross (euphemistically called "sacrificed") -- for the
ulterior motive of human salvation! The ultimate psychopathology of this event
is equating this mutilation, torture and murder with LOVE! Clearly, Christian
Love is as much an expression of pain and suffering as pleasure. It is this
fusion of pain and suffering with love that forms one of the roots of
sado-masochism which is so prevalent in monotheistic and patristic cultures.
Given the violence that this Father inflicted upon the Son He loved (and others), is it so surprising to find so much violence of other Fathers inflicted upon their sons (and daughters)? If "Man"is made "Unto the Image and Likeness of God", then the violence of "Man" becomes more understandable. Remember, it is this same God the Father that demanded the torture of helpless male newborns through the ritual mutilating of their genitals, called circumcision -- a practice that continues today in many monotheistic cultures.
Why was pain and violence and not pleasure and peace selected as the primary path for establishing the "bond" between God and Man and for human salvation? In all His Wisdom, Power and "Love" could He not have found a different solution to the enigma of human "salvation"? The answers to these questions lie elsewhere.
It should be recognized that the roots of the morality of pain and suffering and the immorality of physical sensual/sexual pleasure antedate the Crucifixion and the rise of monotheism. These basic concepts existed in parallel civilizations where, for example, the ancient Greek philosophers provided a clear metaphysical theory of good and evil that was directly related to a moral theology of pain and pleasure.
Greek Metaphysical Dualism provided the following equations:
MATTER=Body , Evil, Wickedness, Darkness, Chaos=FEMALE;
FORM=Soul, Goodness, Godlike, Lightness, Order=MALE.
p.
20, July/August 1989, The Truth Seeker
MATTER=Body , Evil, Wickedness, Darkness, Chaos=FEMALE;
FORM=Soul, Goodness, Godlike, Lightness, Order=MALE.
FORM=Soul, Goodness, Godlike, Lightness, Order=MALE.
There is a good principle which has
created order, light and man; and a bad principle which has created chaos,
darkness and woman.
[Quoted
in Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (1953).]
Given this formulation is it so surprising to find the
following in Ecclesiasticus (25:33): "From the woman came the
beginning of sin, and by her we all die." And in Paul, 1
Corinthians (7:1): "Now concerning the things whereof you wrote me:
It is good for a man not to touch a woman." Many other examples could
be mentioned that are too numerous to cite which reflect this absurd and most
erroneous dualistic moral theory of human nature, gender and behavior. Moses Maimonides has perhaps provided the clearest exposition of these metaphysical/moral/gender relationships in The Guide Of The Perplexed (When the word "matter" occurs think "female," when the word "form" occurs think "male"):
All bodies subject to generation and
corruption are attained by corruption only because of their matter; with regard
to form and with respect to the latter's essence, they are not attained by
corruption, but are permanent . . . Similarly every living being dies and
becomes ill solely because of its matter and not because of its form. All man's
act of disobedience and sin are consequent upon his matter and not upon his
form, whereas all his virtues are consequent upon his form . . . consequently
it was necessary that man's very noble form, which as we have explained, is the image of God and His likeness, should be bound to earthy, turbid and dark matter, which
calls down upon man every imperfection and corruption. He granted it -- I mean
the human form -- power, dominion, rule, and control over matter, in order that
it subjugate it, quell its impulses, and bring it back to the best and most
harmonious state that is possible.
(Part
III, Chapter 8, pp. 430-432)
Ecclesiasticus
(25:33): "From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all
die." ... in Paul, 1 Corinthians (7:1): "Now concerning the
things whereof you wrote me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman."
This fundamentalist/orthodox morality of Western Civilization requires that the sensual/sexual pleasures of the body must be extremely limited if not destroyed to achieve "salvation of the soul" (re, the "virtues" of celibacy, virginity and chastity). What better place to begin than with the mutilation and destruction of the genitals which are designed to experience
p.
21, July/August 1989, The Truth Seeker
sensual pleasure and share sexual love? It is not without reason that the monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) have carried their religions on the edge of the sword -- the same sword that cuts the genitals of children (male and female); and which mutilates their souls.
It is clear to this writer that before genital mutilations of our children can cease; before male violence against woman can end; and before human violence can be eliminated that a moral revolution must take place. Pain must be declared immoral and pleasure must be declared morally necessary if we are to become moral persons. In the words of Walt Whitman:
"IF ANYTHING IS SACRED THE HUMAN BODY IS SACRED"
In summary, the dualistic/theistic moral
foundations of Western Civilization must be transformed if human equality,
compassion, justice and love are to be realized; and if the human species is to
survive. Anand, K.J.S. and Hickey, P.R. (1987): Pain and its Effects in the Human Neonate and Fetus. The New England Journal of Medicine, (Nov. 19). V 317 No. 21.
Bullough, V. (1976): Sexual Variance In Society and History. Wiley: Interscience. New York.
Bullough, V. and Bullough, B. (1987): Women and Prostitution. Prometheus Books. Buffalo.
Faro, M.D. and Windle, W.V. (1969): Transneuronal degeneration in brains of monkeys asphyxiated at birth. Experimental Neurology, 24, 38-53.
Ganzfried, S. (1963): Code of Jewish Law (Holdin, H.E., Translator). Hebrew Publishing Company Brooklyn.
Heath, R. G. (1975): Maternal-social deprivation and abnormal brain development: Disorders of emotional and social behavior. In Brain Function and Malnutrition: Neuropsychological Methods of Assessment (Prescott, J.W., Read, M.S., & Coursin, D.B., Eds). John Wiley, New York.
Hosken, F. P. (1979): Female Sexual Mutilations: The Facts and Proposals For Action. Women's International Network News. Lexington, MA.
Ignatius of Loyola (1556): The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Jacobson, B., Eklund, G., Hamberger, L., Linnarsson, D., Sedvall, G., and Valverius, M. (1987): Perinatal origin of adult self-destructive behavior. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 76, 364-371.
Levy, D. M. (1945): Psychic Trauma Of Operations In Children. American Journal of Diseases Of Children (January) 69, (1), 7-25.
Lewis, J. (1949): In The Name Of Humanity. Freethought Press, San Diego.
Maimonides, Moses (1963): The Guide of The Perplexed. (Shlomo Pines, Trans.) Vols I & II. University of Chicago Press. Chicago.
Porter, F.L., Miller, R.H. and Marshall, R.E. (1986): Neonatal Pain Cries: Effect of Circumcision on Acoustic Features and Perceived Urgency. Child Development 57, 790-802.
Prescott, J.W. (1975): Body Pleasure and The Origins of Violence. The Futurist, April 1975. Reprinted in The Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists, November 1975.
Prescott, J.W. (1979): Deprivation of physical affection as a primary process in the development of physical violence. In: Child Abuse and Violence (Gil, D. G., Ed). AMS Press New York pp. 66-137.
Prescott, J.W. (1989): Affectional bonding for the prevention of violent behaviors: Neurobiological, Psychological and Religious/Spiritual Determinants. In: Violent Behavior Vol. I: Assessment and Intervention. (L.J. Hertzberg, et. al., Eds). PMA Publishing New York pp. 110-142.
Reich, W. (1971): The Mass Psychology of Fascism. Farrar/Straus/Giroux New York.
Salk, L., Lipsitt, L.P., Sturner, W.Q., Reilly, B.M., & Levat, R.H. (1985): Relationship of maternal and perinatal conditions to eventual adolescent suicide. The Lancet March 15, 1985.
Textor, R.B. (1967): A Cross-Cultural Summary. Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) Press. New Haven.
Vatican, The. (1975): Declaration on Sexual Ethics. Sacred Congregation For The Doctrine of The Faith. (December 29, 1975). United States Catholic Conference. Washington, D.C.
Wiswell, T.E. and Roscelli, J.D. (1986): Corroborative evidence for the decreased incidence of urinary tract infections in circumcised male infants. Pediatrics. V. 78. No. 1. July 1986.
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