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Jung on Christianity PDF

291 Pages·1999·2.07 MB·English
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J U N G O N C H R I S T I A N I T Y E N C O U N T E R I N G J U N G J U N G O N A L C H E M Y J U N G O N E V I L J U N G O N A C T I V E I M A G I N A T I O N J U N G O N M Y T H O L O G Y J U N G O N S Y N C H R O N I C I T Y A N D T H E P A R A N O R M A L J U N G O N C H R I S T I A N I T Y E N C O U N T E R I N G J U N G O N C H R I S T I A N I T Y Selected and Introduced by Murray Stein princeton university press ◆ princeton, new jersey Introduction and Selection copyright 1999 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 All Rights Reserved This book is composed of texts selected from the following volumes of the Collected Works of C. G. Jung: The Zofingia Lectures, Supplementary Volume A (cid:1)1983 by Princeton University Press; The Symbolic Life, Volume 18, (cid:1) 1958 by Bollingen Foundation, (cid:1) re- newed1986 by Princeton University Press; Aion, Volume 9ii,(cid:1)1959 by Bollingen Foun- dation, 2nd ed. (cid:1) 1969 by Princeton University Press, (cid:1) renewed 1987 by Princeton University Press; Psychology and Religion: West and East, Volume 11,(cid:1)1958 by Bollingen Foundation,2nd ed. (cid:1)1969 by Princeton University Press, (cid:1) renewed 1986 by Princeton University Press; Psychology and Alchemy, Volume 12,(cid:1)1953 by Bollingen Foundation, (cid:1) renewed 1981 by Princeton University Press; Alchemical Studies, Volume 13, (cid:1) 1967 by Bollingen Foundation; and Dream Analysis,(cid:1)1984 by Princeton University Press. Other excerpts are taken from The Collected Letters of C. G. Jung, Volumes 2,(cid:1)1953,1955,1961, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 by Princeton University Press; Memories, Dreams, Reflections,(cid:1)1961,1962,1963, and renewed 1989,1990,1991 by Random House, Inc. (reprinted here by arrangement with Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc.). Jung, C. G. (Carl Gustav), 1875–1961. On Christianity / selected and introduced by Murray Stein. p. cm. — (Encountering Jung) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN0-691-00697-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Christianity—Psychology. I. Stein, Murray, 1943– II. Title. III. Series: Jung, C. G. (Carl Gustav), 1875–1961. Selections. English. 1995. BR110.J84 1999 230—dc21 99–28902 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) (Permanence of Paper) http://pup.princeton.edu Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Introduction 3 Part I. Jung’s Relationship to Christianity 25 1. A Father’s Unfinished Work 27 2. “Thoughts on the Interpretation of Christianity” 43 3. The Experience of “Religious Realities” 61 4. “Why I am not a Catholic” 69 Part II. Jung’s Psychological Approach to Christian Doctrine, Ritual, and Symbol 73 1. “Christ, A Symbol of the Self” 75 2. “Christ as Archetype” 107 3. “Father, Son, and Spirit” 119 4. The Holy Ghost 127 5. “The Mass and the Individuation Process” 133 6. “Symbolism of the Cross” 155 7. Mythic Features in Christian Doctrine 161 Part III. Jung’s Interpretation of Christian History and Its Future 179 1. From “Introduction to the Religious and Psychological Problems of Alchemy” 181 2. “The Sign of the Fishes” 213 3. From “Answer to Job” 235 4. The Missing Element in Christian Doctrine 273 Index 277 J U N G O N C H R I S T I A N I T Y This page intentionally left blank INTRODUCTION The arcane substance [of alchemy] corresponds to the Christian dominant, which was originally alive and present in consciousness but then sank into the unconscious and must now be restored in renewed form. C. G. Jung (CW14, par. 466) In the passage quoted above, taken from the late work Mysterium Coniunctionis, Jung speaks as a religious man (a homo religiosus), and also as one for whom the central images of Christianity are a psychic reality that carries significant meaning. Often he writes about Christian themes in this way. He cares deeply about their value and importance, and he even proposes several important theological and practical revi- sions for Christianity. He speaks, however, as a psychologist and not as a Christian theologian or believer. This combination of factors, which characterizes Jung’s approach to Christianity, has led to several general misunderstandings. One major misinterpretation is that Jung was a Christian apologist, i.e., a defender of Christian truths within a contemporary setting using modern concepts and language. By some he has even been looked upon as a possible savior of Christianity in a time when its spiritual message is going unheard for want of persuasive images and concepts. His writings are taken at times as the words of a modern prophet. He is seen as a kind of evangelist in the garb of a medical psychologist. Clearly this kind of evangelical persuasion was not Jung’s intention, even if some of his writings give this impression. When he states (as above) that the Christian message “must now be restored in renewed form,” one might imagine him speaking in the voice of the Protestant Reformation but, given Jung’s overall perspective and psychological program, this is a misreading. Unlike his Swiss countrymen, Karl Barth and Emil Brunner, two Protestant contemporaries who did consider the revitalization of Christian theology to be their mission, Jung does 3 introduction not place himself within the Christian theological circle. This would be presumptuous. He was trained as a medical doctor, not as a theologian. He was not out to serve the church, nor, like Paul Tillich, to correlate Christian “answers” to modern culture’s “questions.” It is true that he expresses grave concern about a perceived lack of vitality in contempo- rary Christianity, but his focus lies not so much on the church as on modern people who are spiritually adrift and need living symbols to find meaning and direction in their lives. Also, unlike the theologians, Jung does not look to the Bible or to Christian tradition for authority or inspiration. Instead, he turns to the psyche and most particularly to the unconscious. This brings a wholly different dimension into play. To date, Christian theologians have not paid serious attention to the un- conscious. A second major misinterpretation—precisely the opposite of the first—is that Jung was anti-Christian and out to destroy Christianity or to supplant it with his own psychological theory, analytical psychology. This is as erroneous as it is to view him as a modern evangelist of Christianity. Jung’s attachment to Christianity was indeed profound, and it ran stronger than a mere nod to Swiss conventionality. His com- mitment became increasingly evident in the latter years of his life. Af- ter his taxing journey to India in 1938 at the age of sixty-eight, Jung turned almost exclusively in his thinking and writing about religious matters to Western—specifically to Christian—themes. He writes elo- quently and with great sensitivity about religious rituals like the Roman Catholic mass (“Transformation Symbolism in the Mass”) and about Christian doctrines like the Holy Trinity (“A Psychological Approach to Dogma of the Trinity”). He also dwells deeply on the symbol of Christ and considers the meaning of Christianity for Western culture and hu- mankind (Aion). In Answer to Job, he offers a stunning and highly con- troversial interpretation of the Bible. In all of these late texts, he speaks as a concerned psychologist. While he confesses ignorance of formal theology, he shows great awareness of theological issues and tackles some of the thorniest theological doctrines known to Christendom. These are not attacks upon Christian belief and practice, nor do they foresee their demise or suggest their replacement by analytical psychol- ogy. Clearly, Christianity meant a great deal to Jung. I believe that in later life it became for him something like an “ultimate concern,” to use Paul Tillich’s phrase for the religious attitude. Christianity’s past and future were close to Jung’s heart. He advo- cated the transformation of Christianity. This is significantly different from seeking to revitalize and reform it on the one hand or from aban- 4

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C. G. Jung, son of a Swiss Reformed pastor, used his Christian background throughout his career to illuminate the psychological roots of all religions. Jung believed religion was a profound, psychological response to the unknown--both the inner self and the outer worlds--and he understood Christiani
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