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The Library Congress catalogues this book under “1. Man (Christian theology) 2. Image of God 3. Psychoanalysis and religion.” This review cannot deal with anything belonging under the first two classification; those are happily left to religious believers. What should concern us here is the third one.
This slim volume is a highly personal document in which the author bares his persona (and, by his own beliefs, his soul as well) to an extent unusual in psychoanalytic works. Despite being personal, the writing is definitely not autobiographical. The author gives us a mere outline of his life: at the time of writing, he was in his 70s, a medical man, born a Jew and converted to Christianity at a young age. For 40 years, corresponding to his career in psychoanalysis, he has been a member of an Anglo-Catholic (Episcopal) parish. The text of the book was originally presented as lectures before a church audience, fellow members of his parish.
The book is introduced by its author as “my view of humanity, as psychoanalyst and Christian…” (p. x). This is, empirically speaking, a most unusual combination, as the number of Christian psychoanalysts, that is psychoanalysts consciously committed to Christianity, is relatively small, and psychoanalysts are not noted for their commitment to any religion. Converts are a tiny minority among the world's religious believers, and Jewish converts to Christianity are a rare breed. The book is, first and foremost, a religious document, with many statements expressing total commitment to Christian faith and to Christian mythology. One cannot, and should not, argue with faith, so this review merely notes the facts.