Religious Punishment- Sexual Thrills??

So... I've been thinking about flagellation. For those who don't know what this is- it's the method of beating or whipping yourself (or others) as a form of punishment. It's kinda... sadomasochistic... but hey... who am I to talk. Now- I have a theory about flagellation. The ones who do it say that it's a way to punish themselves for their "sins" in the same way that Jesus suffered... which I think is crap... because- I bet Jesus would say- "WTF, FOOL? THAT SHIT HURTS! I DIED TO FORGIVE YOUR SINS- AND YOU GO WHIPPING YOURSELF ANYWAYS?? DUMBASS!" But... when you think about it, some of these people are thrilled by the pain, the anguish of the cat o' nine tails ripping into their back. What if they are whipping themselves to give themselves pleasure, rather than repent? And by doing that, how are helping anything? Anything but your morbid sex life, that is. I don't know, really, just a suggestion. What do you guys think?