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Voluntary Sadists
by Herbert Henry Ehrenstein
of the supposed pain they were in flicting. One observer said that he saw right before his eyes sane, sensible businessmen become raving madmen with fiendish smiles of pleasure on their faces as they administered more and more pain. Before the experiment began, Yale experimenters offered guesses as to how large a percent of the subjects to be tested would show sadistic traits. Even the most pessimistic experimen ters only ventured a guess of 3%. Yet, actually 65% of those tested flipped all the switches, inflicting what was supposed to be the utmost pain — and apparently without much twinge of conscience. My friends, this was America — not Nazi Germany. It was Yale Uni versity not the Belsen and Dachau concentration camps. And these were not depraved madmen from a mental institution; they were responsible businessmen. And yet people still make the ridiculous claim that man is becoming better and better all the time, morally.
A s a d is t is a p e r s o n who seemingly enjoys inflicting pain on another person, for one reason or another. Generally, sadism is thought to be abnormal and the sadist himself, a mentally-emotionally disturbed per-1 son. Unfortunately, sadism in its var ious forms has been on the increase through the years. Indeed, a recent experiment has shown that many peo ple appear to be sadistic even without realizing it. They seem to have hid den desires to inflict pain on others. Yale University conducted a series of tests or experiments to see how large a percentage of people will blindly follow orders even if they can see that, by following those orders they are inflicting severe pain on other people. The subjects being tested were supposedly normal, in telligent businessmen. In the experiment, the subject sat before a window and at his finger tips were a series of switches which would inflict electric shocks on the victim on the other side of the win Spiritual Homicides (continued) under thé “ perfect law of liberty.”2
dow. The switches were marked from “ Slight Shock” all the way up to “ Danger: Severe Shock” and a final switch marked “ XXX .” Behind the subjects being tested was the experimenter who gave the orders. He told the subjects that they were to demand certain things from the persons on the other side of the windows. The idea was to make the learner obey a command. If he failed — give him a shock until he did obey, by flipping more and more switches, as might be necessary. Actually, the switches did not give shocks at all — but the subjects being tested did not know this. The vic tims on the other side of the window were working with the Yale Univer sity experimenters. They would sim ply see a light flash and would pre tend to cry out in pain from a sup posed shock received. As the experiment progressed, teachers and observers were horrified to see how quickly and readily the subjects pressed switches, regardless
a united outcry against evil in any form as a militant part of our duty under Christ’s own command, “Ye shall be my witnesses.” All of us already have too much idle ness of thought, word and deed for which to account when at last we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Are we equal to a conversion in this respect? We can be if we dedicate ourselves irrevocably to the task, and trust God for the strength and the ability. Truly “ the battle is not your’s but God’s.” 3 But it pleases God while it is yet day to work through a church that now remembers from whence it has fallen, has repented and is ready to again do the first works. Let us remember that God’s Word says “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken .also, that thou mayest look at his nakedness.” 4 We may indignantly deny that we are guilty of this, and technically we are not. But where we fail to be concerned, to take an active stand, I believe we are guilty in God’s sight — and in satan’s sight — where the viewpoint really counts. The Church cannot effectively warn the wicked as re quired in Ezekiel 3:17-19, without actively engaging in fighting the sins that ensnare them. How will you answer God in this eternally essential matter? 1 Matt. 10:28. 2 James 1:25. 3 2 Chronicles 20:15. 4 Habakkuk 2:15. Documentation where sources are quoted may be seen on request.
Not long ago British columnist Cassandra, whose articles appear in many Canadian newspapers, declared in one piece headed “ The Bar, St.. Peter’s, Rome” that few people would believe that there is a bar deep in the heart of the “holy, consecrated structure of St. Peter’s” which opens at 6:30 a.m. To reach it walk halfway up the nave, turn smartly to the left, and nip in next door to the Treasury . . . you can get 39 different drinks.” He said also, “ sinners go there . . . and priests go there. Pope John has not yet been to the Bar of St. Peter’s . . . But his predecessor, Pius XII, is said to have had a coffee with a strengthener in the ante-room next door.” While this makes one glad indeed that we are “ sep arated brethren,” as we are termed by those who cry for a united church on man’s terms rather than God’s, the evangelicals cannot afford to be smug. Too long most of us have stood meekly by, mentally placing full respon sibility on the manufacturers and pushers of alcohol and their shareholders, no more above making millions out of human weakness and depravity than the producers and pushers of dope. Rather than worry so much about banishing the bomb that at most can kill the body if not overruled by our omniscient, omnipotent and just God, we Christians should be doing all we can under Holy Spirit guidance to ban booze and other snares of Satan. We must make
A P R IL, 1964
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