Five Voices
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
"We are in our minds everywhere caught up in the limitations of symbols. "Drawing on Jungian concepts, then, what part of the individual - of Jesus - could the `tempter-voice' represent? Do the urgings derive from the shadow, lodged in the personal unconscious: the unwanted aspects of one's personality, which are hidden from others, denied by oneself, kept from colouring the persona, and unconsciously projected onto the images we may construe of others? "Note, that an affirmative answer here would suggest that Jesus at that point in time was not a mature, integrated personality. Such would not be consistent with his other experiences, which are described later in Matthew.” There was a pause. Will: “It's like a bunch of pegs for hanging experiences.” Steen: “Do you expect us to remember all that about Jung?” Michiko: “So, the 'devil' is not… an independent entity… with will and purpose, who seeks control.”
John: “Attributing what could be called an `evil' inclination to the intervention of an independent, human-like entity would be anthropomorphism. What could be its methodology? If, however, the inclination in question were the expression of normal, human psychological principles, then the term `satan' would be only a metaphor to represent the principles collectively and nebulously. The inclination would be a normal, legitimate part of the human and hence nothing to fear or hate.” Thornton: “If `devil' or `satan' were an entity, and an individual attributed an erotic physical urge to its meddling, then the individual would simply be denying the legitimacy of physical nature's purpose. `Satan' would be masquerading as a physical principle in seeking to overcome the mind. The material world could be seen as `satan's' sceptre… or vice versa. "If an individual believed this, and that a voice in his head could be satan pulling one way or God pulling the other, then he would not… be an independent entity himself. He would be attributing natural, internal energies to external, vying powers and feel like a piece of meat being split in different directions. He would epitomize the schizophrenic, whose distortion of perception would prevent him from leading a rational life. "So, agreed. Such terms express an unfortunate side of human psychology.” John: “If `satan' veritably were an invisible entity and the designs of such an entity were realized, what would it gain? Could it revel in watching all of humanity writhe in pain forever? Can an entity derive pleasure or satisfaction through the expression of hate forever? Can it make sense, that fear could ever be a reliable indicator of the good?” Michiko: “What about personal Karma?” John: “But that would not be an `entity' that is thought of as omnipresent… seeking to inhabit minds. `Karma', or indebtedness to others, would refer to principles of psycho-spiritual inertia. "We are born with hunger and taught to understand ourselves as a `creation'. Jesus - his character and qualities - would have resided in perishable, natural flesh that demanded sustenance, just as the flesh of others do.” Michiko: “In the NT somewhere, it says `by faith, we are saved'. It would mean we would be saved from ourselves.” Thornton: “Compare what the tempter says to what Jesus says later to his disciples, 4:19: `come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.' "So, Jesus wanted others to bait others to follow him and them! That would be to set up a kingdom for himself on earth! That's self-interest.” Steen: “And you fry fish!” John: “As will be seen in Chapter 8, being `fishers of men' by following Jesus would involve healing… the sick and suffering, not simply enjoying the material and social splendours of the world as provided by others. "In a sense, Jesus could be understood to represent the opposite of the metaphor of `prince of darkness', in that he `lights' the way. Put differently, Jesus would represent the principle that combats the negative, gloomy feelings of darkness.” Steen: “Why would anything want to represent the `way to darkness'? `Follow me, I'll show you darkness!'” Will: “Right. Who wants `darkness'? We are all born into consciou
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Five Voices depicts the course of a small, hastily arranged conference attended by five persons. The five persons are encouraged to draw spontaneously on individual experience in a collective attempt to analyze a cornerstone text of Christianity. Together they represent three different cultural backgrounds and distinctive positions on the issues of theism-atheism and mysticism-materialism. As the exchange develops, quotations are presented from two alternative versions of the text, each of which would incline the analysis in a unique direction. Aspects of both eastern and western religious traditions emerge. As two of the participants are educated psychologists, viewpoints from the fields of psychology and philosophy are generated and concepts are defined. Concepts from Transpersonal Psychology help to draw distinctions between realms of subjective experience. A third participant is Japanese, who after being raised as a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist had become a Christian Unitarian Minister. The book is comprised of three parts. Part 1 describes how the five individuals are drawn together through the agency of a common acquaintance. The character of each is illustrated through the initial encounter he or she has had with the common acquaintance in one country or another. In Part II analysis begins with the chairperson's offer of a sketchy background of the times of Jesus. The participants are encouraged to share candidly their insights, reservations and disagreements. Part III comprises a concise recapitulation of the main concepts and experiences that Jesus sought to mediate, as may be understood through language chosen from present day psychology and philosophy. The group's discordant analytic process extends over a period of three days. The story is told by an unidentified witness. Given the narrative style of Five Voices, sources and-or authors of the concepts borrowed from psychology and philosophy are acknowledged within the context where introduced.
About the Author
The author has lived and worked in different countries since 1971. Following the completion of a BA in Political Science in California, he flew to Japan with plans to return for Law School. Travelling and working in different countries turned out to be, however, a more promising classroom. After five years in Japan, he spent time in Hong Kong, Thailand and the maximum allowable seven days in Burma; then India, Nepal, Europe and Israel before returning to California to visit his ill father in 1977. Two years later, he went the other way round to Japan again. By the middle of the 80's, he was settled in Denmark with a Danish wife and family, where he received a BSc in Psychology from England. In addition to having been an interpreter at a Japanese nightclub, he has taught Fencing, English, Japanese martial arts and been an English language consultant.