Originally posted by rogue06
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The pain/pleasure of intense sexual release is generally noted. Why do we cry out when we orgasm? Why do many men experience la petite mort following orgasm? For a women a powerful orgasm can be so intensely pleasurable it borders on the painful.
Purely as an example, consider how the sixteenth century Teresa of Ávila recounted her vision of a handsome angel who pierced her heart with a flaming lance causing her both pain and rapture.
That ecstasy is captured in Bernini's sculpture where we have [said] handsome angel pulling aside the top of her robe to reveal her naked breast ready to be pierced by the lance - a phallic symbol. Then we have the look on her face. Is that divine rapture? Or is it orgasmic pleasure?
More to the point, is there a difference?
It should also be borne in mind that within Christianity there developed a deep underlying sado-masochistic element with the concept of a triune deity and the sufferings of the Christ, whereby that deity knowingly sent part of itself to be tortured.
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