Is BDSM Discipline Compatible with Christianity?

Christians are called to be “in the world but not of the world,” and yet our perspectives are inevitably shaped by the times and cultures in which we live. Public whippings and even executions were common throughout recorded history, but most of us living today are far more sensitive to the idea of corporal punishment. Despite all the violent movies and video games, most of us would find it extremely traumatic to witness a hanging or any of the punishments that were commonplace in Medieval Europe. It’s also worth considering the parallels between corporal punishment and corporal mortification, particularly with the “discipline,” the small whip historically used by monks, ascetics, and others for self-flagellation.

There are important, fundamental differences between historical punishments, religious rituals, and consensual BDSM, but it’s significant how much attitudes have changed over time. Before getting into the practical side of exploring BDSM discipline in a Christian marriage, it’s worth reflecting on some of these related issues. If Christians of past generations found scriptural ways to justify rather extreme rituals and punishments, then it seems like there must be room for comparatively mild, consensual forms of BDSM discipline.

Discipline in the Bible

Both the Old and New Testament were written in times when corporal punishment was considered normal. There are recommendations for beating slaves (Exodus 21:20-21, 26-27), children (Proverbs 13:24, 22:15, 23:13-14, 29:15), and fools (Proverbs 10:13; 19:29; 26:3). When beating slaves, you should try not to kill them or cause permanent injury. A slave should be able to recover from a beating in a day or two. Interestingly, when a person (presumably a free man) is flogged as a result of a court case, they shouldn’t be given more than 40 lashes because “If the guilty party is flogged more than that, your fellow Israelite will be degraded in your eyes“ (Deuteronomy 25:2-3).

While there’s no discussion of spanking as a bedroom activity, it’s clear that corporal punishment was considered perfectly moral in the biblical era. If the whipped slave or criminal avoided repeating the same offense afterward, then contemporaries may have argued that the punishment was beneficial for the person being whipped. The limitations on corporal punishment seem to focus on avoiding permanent injury and dishonor (at least for free men). From a certain perspective, similar concerns are emphasized in today’s BDSM workshops: If you’re going to experiment with consensual BDSM, then you need to be aware of the physical and psychological risks, and it’s your duty to minimize the risk of long term injury.

The New Testament doesn’t generally promote physical punishment, although Jesus made a “whip out of cords” (John 2:15) to drive the money changers out of the Temple. The most famous example of whipping in the New Testament is the scourging immediately before the crucifixion. For some Christians, self-flagellation has been considered a way to share in the suffering of Christ, helping to understand his experience or even participating in the redemption of mankind. Many mainstream Protestants would argue that it’s impossible to add to the sacrifice made by Christ, which was complete and sufficient for all sin… but suffice to say that Christians have different perspectives on redemptive suffering.

In the Bible, whippings tend to be given by authority figures to slaves, convicts, and children who “deserve” the punishment. Governments have moved away from relying on corporal punishments like whipping, but it’s interesting to speculate about whether the average American would object to “bringing back” whippings for certain violent crimes. As with the debate around the death penalty and parental spankings, it seems like Christians would find scriptural justifications for arguments on both sides.

Corporal punishment is generally inflicted by outside authorities, but discipline can also be inflicted by oneself. Under the right circumstances, hard physical labor and self-denial are generally approved as positive, character-building experiences. For many Christians in the past, ascetic self-discipline served essentially the same purpose as more controversial practices like self-flagellation.

“but I punish my body and enslave it,
so that after proclaiming to others
I myself should not be disqualified.”

1 Corinthians 9:27 (NRSV)

Ascetic Self-Discipline

Asceticism is a severe form of religious self-discipline which can include fasting and sleeping on hard surfaces. Other world religions have ascetic monks and hermits, but the Jewish and Christian tradition can be traced back to the Nazirites in the Old Testament. The Nazirites took a temporary vow (Numbers 6) that included avoiding grapes, wine, and anything else that might cause intoxication. Their uncut hair and special diet made Nazirites easy to identify, setting them apart for the duration of their vow. John the Baptist is generally considered to be a Nazarite, living on locust and honey, wearing clothes made of camel hair.

Moses fasted 40 days before and after receiving the 10 commandments, first to prepare himself and then because the Israelites had been worshiping a golden calf (Deuteronomy 9:9,18). Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13). In both cases, self-inflicted fasting was a way to get right with God. The period of Lent, from Ash Wednesday until just before Easter, roughly corresponds with Christ’s fasting in the wilderness. Lent remains a period of spiritual self-discipline, but different Christians have different ways of approaching the season. Some individuals might give up a personal vice like social media or television, converting their impulsive desire to watch television into a reminder to pray or redirect their thoughts to God. 

Self-Flagellation

Fasting and hairshirts are relatively mild, but Christians have used more severe ways to mortify the flesh. Self-flagellation was most recently and controversially depicted in The Da Vinci Code, as a practice continued by members of Opus Dei. The popular novel and film caused a backlash because the severity of the self-flagellation was exaggerated. The film portrayal is extreme, far beyond the norm for today’s discipline users, but more extreme types of flagellation have been popular at several points in history.

When it was publicized that Mother Theresa and Pope John Paul II both used the discipline to whip themselves, some Catholics tried to clarify how the practice was unlike BDSM. Father Robert Barron, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, wrote an article about John Paul II “…taking the discipline should never be confused with a wanton display of masochism: the instrument in question was usually a rope with a few small knots tied in it, and the actual physical pain involved was usually minimal. Da Vinci Code fantasies about vicious self-flagellation should be set aside.” Of course, it’s doubtful whether anyone can speak as an authority about the way someone else performed a ritual like self-flagellation in private.

While John Paul II may have inflicted only “minimal” pain, there were certainly periods when more extreme whippings were accepted among Catholics. Many saints and martyrs behaved in ways that look a lot like masochism from the outside, seeking out pain and suffering. Saint Junípero Serra (1713-1784) was a Spanish priest whose missionary work in North America earned him the title of “Apostle of California.” His work with Native Americans makes him a controversial figure, but his public displays of corporal mortification also sound extreme.

“In one of the missions he preached in Mexico City, having exhorted his audience to repentance, Serra interrupted his sermon, produced a chain, and after baring his shoulders (for this purpose he wore a habit and under-tunic which opened in front) began to scourge himself in so forceful a manner that his hearers began to sob. Finally, a man overcome at the sight of this advanced toward the pulpit, climbed the steps, took the scourge from the preacher’s hand, came down into the sanctuary, and began to imitate Serra, announcing to the audience at the same time: ‘I am the sinner who is ungrateful to God who ought to do penance for my many sins, and not the Father who is a saint.’ With this he began to scourge himself to a point of exhaustion until he fell down half dead. In that state he was attended by Serra or some other missionary. He was given the sacraments of the dying and later passed away.”

(Geiger 171-2)

After some of his sermons, Serra used a rock to beat his chest, and other times he pressed flaming candles to the same area (172). Biographer Maynard Geiger (1901-1977), also a priest in California, acknowledges that the whipping “got out of hand,” although he speculates that “Most probably the man died from a heart attack due to excessive emotionalism, rather than from the scourging itself” (172). On the next page, he cautions modern readers against thinking that Serra’s methods were fictionalized or highly unusual. “…the San Fernando document of 1780 makes it clear that these methods were general; Serra exemplified the spirit of his age.” (173)

Although his mission in California had taken him halfway around the world, Serra’s performance of self-flagellation was not alone (or particularly extreme) in historical context. In Europe, large processions of flagellants were sporadically popular from the 13^th to the 16^th century, peaking during times of plague. Reporting from second-hand sources, Jean Louis Lolme claimed that processions of flagellants might stop outside the window of their mistresses or give a gruesome kind of tribute to spectators. If the procession happened to move slowly or stop beside an attractive woman, they “never fail, by means of the increased briskness of their flagellations, and peculiar motions of their disciplines, plentifully to sprinkle them with their blood.” Anticipating the reaction of the reader, Lolme adds “How the Spanish Ladies can be pleased with feats of that kind, is certainly difficult to understand” (303).

…to be continued

Still to Discuss…

Who has the Authority to Discipline?

Dangers and Risks

Practical Examples of BDSM Discipline

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Resources

Barron, Robert “John Paul II and ‘Taking the Discipline’.” Our Sunday Visitor (March 15, 2010). Republished by Catholic Education Resource Center https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/controversy/common-misconceptions/john-paul-ii-and-taking-the-discipline.html

de Lolme, Jean Louis. The History of the Flagellants, Or the Advantages of Discipline; Being a Paraphrase and Commentary on the Historia Flagellantium of the Abbe Boileau, Doctor of the Sorbonne, Cannon of the Holy Chapel, &c. By somebody who is not Doctor of the Sorbonne, London: Sold by M. Hingeston, Yeats and Robertson, and Fielding and Walker, c. 1776 https://books.google.com/books?id=QBphAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Geiger, Maynard. The Life and Times of Fray Junípero Serra or The Man Who Never Turned Back. Academy of American Franciscan History, 1959, vol. 1, pp. 171–2 (drawing on Francisco Palóu’s account).