Tuesday, 25 October 2016

Jung and his father

Interesting little conversation Jung had with his poor beleaguered father Paul Jung (Visions 1311-12) :
"I had that argument with my father when I was a little boy. I said I believed in a devil who did evil things, and my father, who was a clergyman, was quite pleased with me that I admitted the activity of the devil. But I said: "You told me that God was almighty, so why does he not stop the evil-doings of the devil?" And my father replied that God was allowing the devil to have his time. Then I said: "Well, if our neighbor wanted to give his big bad dog a good time, he would let that dog loose upon children or sheep, and then the police would come and put the man into prison because he had done wrong. Now is there nobody to put God into prison for having let the devil loose upon innocent humanity?" Of course my father said humanity was not innocent, they needed such a taskmaster. "But God made humanity." "Yes, but they fell into evil ways." "Well, if I made a pot which turned out to be bad, nobody would make the pot responsible for it; I, the maker, would be responsible." Unfortunately my father was not aware of the Deus Absconditus. That concept comes from German Protestantism; Luther was much concerned with the hidden dark aspect of God, the aspect we cannot understand."

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