Product Description

Combines the insights of spychology, mythology, literature, philosphy, an d Christianity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #525058 in Books
• Published on: 1982-08-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 161 pages

Customer Reviews

Scholarly, practical and accessible to everyone!
John A. Sanford is a first rank scholar with an ability to simplify complex ideas and show they relate to real life. He is also been a profilic writter with many excellent books to his credit, especially books that relate or reinterpret Christianity through the lens of Jungian Psychology.

I work in the psychology field myself and I am extremely impressed with this author's work. His writing is straightforward, balanced, impartial, open, curious and often intimate. This is a man who has more than academic knowledge and a deep intellectual understanding of Christianity.

While I acknowledge that this author is best-of-breed, as with any other, I don't worship him or his opinions. However, he does what any good author does in this area, provoke meaningful questions, ignite the imagination and present well argued ways of looking at things that are often novel without imposing his beliefs on anyone else.

This look at EVIL while more psychological than religious in the conventional sense of the word is definitely a worthwhile read. Mr. Sanford enters this mysterious territory with humility and deep respect for all we don't know and may never know completely.

If the question of EVIL to you is interesting, you will enjoy this book no matter what your level of education, understanding of psychology, etc. A nice lighter read to go along with it is When Bad Things Happen to Good People. You may also find Jung's Map of the Soul: An Introduction a very helpful in-depth reference, if you want to have a deeper understanding of Jung.

interesting
I gave this 3 stars just for being different. Slightly more "academic" than I expected, but very interesting.

Thoughtful & challenging
Like all of John Sanford's books, this one combines a Jungian approach with a Christian one ... but not the cut-and-dried, live-by-rote Christianity that shuts down thought & exploration. Sanford isn't interested in comfirming the mindset (or rut) of the unquestioning & self-satisfied Christian. He calls for a living faith, one which examines & challenges the inner being of the individual.

Here he delves into the question of Evil: what is it, really? And how do we cope with it? Refusing to take the easy route of placing it all Out There Somewhere, he explains the need to face the darkness within ourselves -- and more, to accept it as part of ourselves, to learn from it, to integrate it into our lives & so lessen its power over us.

This won't be a book for those who believe in safety, or in living by dogma & authority. It places the responsibility for understanding Evil & coming to terms with it squarely in our hands alone. It requires that we question what we've been taught, what we've believed, in order to come to a living, personally meaningful truth. For those willing to walk this more difficult path, the rewards will be great. Highly recommended!