Comments on: The Dark Side of God

By: BuddyN

BuddyN — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:16:07 +0000

You both are missing the point here. He was talking about the failure of the modern church to admit the presence of the dark side of God when he said, “He realized that they clung desperately to the God of love out of fear of facing the darker side of God. Jung got tired of the religious community.” The Church today is still missing the mark when teaching the totality of God. People in the pew have no idea what the darker side of God is all about. And if they knew, it would scare the hell completely out of them. Nice reading your stuff though.

By: nakedpastor

nakedpastor — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 10:47:15 +0000

Thanks for your comment Brian. I’m sure you know that Jung was not an anti-religious or anti-spiritual man. To the contrary! I think he must be writing here from his own experience as a pastor’s kid witnessing his own father’s faith and the life of his church. Yes, business, politics, art, the world, may lay claim to authenticity, as you say. But I think Jung came to learn early that religion is especially insidious because it claims to produce better people, when in fact in his experience it killed, mutated and oppressed people. It is religion’s particular boast to human elitism that he saw through. I think I know what he means. I think he would agree that it is not particular to religious people. I mean, most of his patients, I would guess, were “of the world”.

By: BrianM

BrianM — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:04:10 +0000

Hey,

Interesting quotes. Particularly in the way you’ve grouped them.
The last quote he suggests that most people don’t risk inner experience. The second he talks about the ‘worldly’ folk being more ‘authentic’ – my word, not his- and in the first quote he reveals his own anger at overhearing his father’s prayers that sound both authentic and all about the inner experience as he wrestled with his faith.

Interesting that today a whole load of the authentic worldly people are going 3 times a week to psychiatrist who may use Jung’s teaching to become nicer people with more natural emotions.

I enjoy having parties with pagans but I don’t really find them anymore authentic, genuine, real and not afraid of direct experience than my friends who follow Jesus. Sure, they may say, “Shit!” instead of “Shoot!” but if saying the first thing that pops into our minds is what authentic means it’s pretty hollow, eh?

Sorry, I have long thought Jung had a prophetic gift but it’s an illusion that the world is full of people who are more authentic than the church. As the great theologian Billy Joel pointed out, the Stranger is everywhere.

and thus ends my sermon for today…