painKing, Jr., the Dalai Lama, and the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat
Hanh. In addition to these individuals, large groups also advocate paci-
fism, such as the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and the Amish,
Mennonites, and Brethren.
Convinced that violence is inevitable in all societies, Jacque Ellul
argues for a Christian Realism by which he means seeing the facts of a
situation devoid of evasion or delusion and not recoiling in fear or horror
as the result becomes evident. Christian Realism demands that a person
be fully aware of what one is doing, why one is doing something, and
what the result will be. Ellul wants to counter violence with what he calls
the violence of love, which means to reject victory, exclude physical or
psychological violence, and place one’s faith in a miracle of the Kingdom
of God.
Further reading: Ellul (1970); Gandhi (1986)PAIN
A universal human, embodied experience that is without an object. Pain
is distinct from suffering in the sense that pain is a sensation associated
with tissue or bone damage. In contrast to pain, suffering is not a sensa-
tion but rather an emotional and evaluative reaction to any number of
causes, and some of these causes are entirely painless. The loss of a love
one is a common example of suffering for a survivor.
Pain can be involuntary or voluntary. The former type of pain can be
the result of an accident or a disease such as cancer. The voluntary type
of pain involves self-inflicted pain. Assuming that a subject is not sado-
masochistic, self-inflicted pain is often practiced within a religious con-
text by performing ascetic practices, martyrdom, or pilgrimage. Within
the context of devotional religious traditions, pain may enhance a per-
son’s bond with their deity and other members of the community.
Religiously related pain can also transform a person and provide insight
into life, provide meaning, and possibly even salvation. The context in
which pain occurs is suggestive with respect to interpreting its signifi-
cance because it alters the meaning of the pain within a religious context,
such as asceticism, martyrdom, initiatory ordeals, pilgrimage, or exor-
cism healings. Within a Christian context, ascetic, self-inflicted pain
functions to purify a person from sin, and it should not be construed as
something punitive.