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Jung, as is well known, goes beyond both ‘faith’ and ‘agnosticism’ or ‘enlightenment’ by accepting the indubitable fact that ‘there are metaphysical statements which are asserted or denied with considerable affect precisely because of their numinosity’ (p. 149). These are the religious archetypes, and in particular the archetype of the ‘Imago Dei’.…
… Answer to Job represents Jung's effort to get near to the dynamic archetypal experience expressed in the Bible in a free and individual way, succumbing to neither a sterile agnosticism nor the highly systematized and conceptualized viewpoints of orthodox theology. He cannot be open to the charge of lightly or amateurishly meddling with mysteries that are the rightful preserve of Churches and theologians.…
It is not easy to summarize Jung's account of the development of the archetype of God in terms of the image of Yahweh, and any summary must perforce weaken the impression of Jung's personal reactivity in his description. Yahweh is presented to the reader as everything in its totality, ‘an antinomy — a totality of inner opposites’ (p. 10). Thus Yahweh contained in himself both the ecstatic joy of creating and devastating attacks of wrath and destruction, both justice and injustice — all the condition of his tremendous dynamism. Furthermore, he had a distinct personality, and for him ‘human beings were a matter of first-rate importance’ (p. 11). Unlike Zeus, who ‘in a benevolent and somewhat detached manner’ (p. 11) simply lets things go on their accustomed course, Yahweh wanted personal ties, morality, praise, loyalty, etc., from men. So much so that he made a Covenant promising to love and protect Israel, provided Israel was loyal to him and his commandments.…
Yahweh, however, is extremely unconscious and unreflective. Accordingly, his right hand does not know what his left hand is about.…
The Incarnation begun in Christ will, however, require ‘continuation and completion because Christ, owing to his virgin birth and his