The Lucifer Effect

Last updated on: March 28, 2008 at 3:14 pm by David Hayward

The Lucifer Effect 2008-03-28T15:14:54-04:00 David Hayward

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I just finished a fascinating book by the social psychologist Philip Zimbardo, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil. I highly recommend it. But I have to warn you: I feel like I plunged into the very heart of darkness while reading it. It examines the human heart’s capacity for evil. It concludes by encouraging us to see that the human heart also has the capacity for good. But even my wife and daughter pleaded with me to hurry up and finish the book so I could finally drag myself out of my serious and morose mood.

I don’t know if any of you remember the Stanford Prison Experiment that Zimbardo conducted in the 70s… an experiment where 8 healthy, normal male students were selected to be the guards and 8 healthy, normal male students were selected to be the prisoners. What was supposed to last 2 weeks had to be shut down in 5 days due to the escalating cruelty of the guards and the increasingly disturbing dehumanization of the prisoners. Zimbardo himself accepts guilt for allowing the prison experiment to deteriorate into such deplorable conditions. In 2004, Zimbardo became a key witness for “Chip” Frederick, a guard at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, where shocking incidents of sustained abuse, torture and even murder hit the news accompanied by photos and videos. Zimbardo’s basic thrust is that:

ordinary people, even good ones, can be seduced, recruited, initiated into behaving in evil ways under the sway of powerful systemic and situational forces (p. 443)

I like to read these kinds of books once in a while because they substantiate my theological position that we are all, given the right situation, capable of monstrous evil. All our feet are swift to shed blood. Books like these help me reach a wiser perspective on the human condition and hopefully lead me to a deeper compassion for people. It reminds me, as a person entrusted with the responsibility and care of a community of people, that I must continually hold myself up to severe scrutiny in order to be a good pastor. I also have to teach people how to resist any powers that would coerce, manipulate, humiliate, dehumanize or abuse them.

After the SPE, Zimbardo made a commitment which allies with a commitment I made some years ago:

Then and there I vowed to use whatever power that I had for good and against evil, to promote what is best in people, to work to free people from their self-imposed prisons, and to work against systems that pervert the promise of human happiness and justice (p. 179).

This is why I blog and pastor the way I do. I believe that the Church is one of the most powerful systems in this world that has the capacity, and often uses it, to dehumanize people. I’ve cooperated with this dehumanization in the past and have also been a victim of it. The last time I witnessed and experienced severe abuse at the hands of the Christian religion and its ministers in 2002, I vowed that if ever I would go back into ministry again, I would work to resist this power, teach others to do the same, and work to free people from the dehumanizing oppression of religion and the Church. I believe in the Holy Catholic Church, and that is why I am committed to demanding that it devote itself to its humble call: the communion of saints.

thought

Previous Post

March 28, 2008

cartoon: the four proud pastors

Next Post

March 30, 2008 prayer from the cell: midstmaking

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category art cartoons cartoons 2 freebie music one minute message podcast Sophia teaching technology thought

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 March 2006 February 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Hosanna" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Save us now Praise be to God Holy One The Lord reigns