Author: Les Oglesby
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136019200
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 233
Book Description
This book brings together the work of Carl Gustav Jung and Hans Urs von Balthasar, two of the most creative thinkers in psychology and theology in the twentieth century, to critically compare their ideas on the perennial question of God’s involvement with evil. In later life Jung embarked on a project relating to Christianity, with psychotherapeutic and theological intentions, forming his collection of essays, Symbolik des Geistes, in which God and evil was a major theme. Balthasar gave significant attention to Jung’s psychology in his own theological trilogy, but opposed the approach to God and evil that Jung presented. In this book Les Oglesby provides a thorough examination of convergences and divergences in Jung and Balthasar’s thinking, their different approaches to the origins and reality of evil, as well as their alternative theological orientations. The book culminates with a study of each man’s understanding of the central event of Christianity, Christ’s death on the Cross and his descent to the dead and discusses how Balthasar’s ‘vertical’ and Jung’s ‘horizontal’ approach to this major happening can be held together fruitfully with one another. Illustrating how analytical psychology and Christian theology can mutually enrich one another when they are held in creative tension, this book invites reflection on the meaning of the central symbol of Christianity, and God’s involvement with evil as an aid to integrated psychological living and theological maturity. It will prove fascinating for students of psychology and religion as well as for Jungian analysts and practical theologians.
C. G. Jung and Hans Urs von Balthasar
Author: Les Oglesby
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136019200
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 233
Book Description
This book brings together the work of Carl Gustav Jung and Hans Urs von Balthasar, two of the most creative thinkers in psychology and theology in the twentieth century, to critically compare their ideas on the perennial question of God’s involvement with evil. In later life Jung embarked on a project relating to Christianity, with psychotherapeutic and theological intentions, forming his collection of essays, Symbolik des Geistes, in which God and evil was a major theme. Balthasar gave significant attention to Jung’s psychology in his own theological trilogy, but opposed the approach to God and evil that Jung presented. In this book Les Oglesby provides a thorough examination of convergences and divergences in Jung and Balthasar’s thinking, their different approaches to the origins and reality of evil, as well as their alternative theological orientations. The book culminates with a study of each man’s understanding of the central event of Christianity, Christ’s death on the Cross and his descent to the dead and discusses how Balthasar’s ‘vertical’ and Jung’s ‘horizontal’ approach to this major happening can be held together fruitfully with one another. Illustrating how analytical psychology and Christian theology can mutually enrich one another when they are held in creative tension, this book invites reflection on the meaning of the central symbol of Christianity, and God’s involvement with evil as an aid to integrated psychological living and theological maturity. It will prove fascinating for students of psychology and religion as well as for Jungian analysts and practical theologians.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136019200
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 233
Book Description
This book brings together the work of Carl Gustav Jung and Hans Urs von Balthasar, two of the most creative thinkers in psychology and theology in the twentieth century, to critically compare their ideas on the perennial question of God’s involvement with evil. In later life Jung embarked on a project relating to Christianity, with psychotherapeutic and theological intentions, forming his collection of essays, Symbolik des Geistes, in which God and evil was a major theme. Balthasar gave significant attention to Jung’s psychology in his own theological trilogy, but opposed the approach to God and evil that Jung presented. In this book Les Oglesby provides a thorough examination of convergences and divergences in Jung and Balthasar’s thinking, their different approaches to the origins and reality of evil, as well as their alternative theological orientations. The book culminates with a study of each man’s understanding of the central event of Christianity, Christ’s death on the Cross and his descent to the dead and discusses how Balthasar’s ‘vertical’ and Jung’s ‘horizontal’ approach to this major happening can be held together fruitfully with one another. Illustrating how analytical psychology and Christian theology can mutually enrich one another when they are held in creative tension, this book invites reflection on the meaning of the central symbol of Christianity, and God’s involvement with evil as an aid to integrated psychological living and theological maturity. It will prove fascinating for students of psychology and religion as well as for Jungian analysts and practical theologians.
Medical Humanity and Inhumanity in the German-Speaking World
Author: Mererid Puw Davies
Publisher: UCL Press
ISBN: 1787357716
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
Medical Humanity and Inhumanity in the German-Speaking World is the first volume dedicated to exploring the interface of medicine, the human and the humane in the German-speaking lands. The volume tracks the designation and making through medicine of the human and inhuman, and the humane and inhumane, from the Middle Ages to the present day. Eight individual chapters undertake explorations into ways in which theories and practices of medicine in the German-speaking world have come to define the human, and highlight how such theories and practices have consolidated, or undermined, notions of humane behaviour. Cultural analysis is central to this investigation, foregrounding the reflection, refraction and indeed creation of these theories and practices in literature, life-writing and other discourses and media. Contributors bring to bear perspectives from literary studies, film studies, critical theory, cultural studies, history, and the history of medicine and psychiatry. Thus, this collection is historical in the most expansive sense, for it debates not only what historical accounts bring to our understanding of this topic. It encompasses too investigation of life-writing, documentary, and theory and literary works to bring to light elusive, paradoxical, underexplored – yet vital – issues in history and culture.
Publisher: UCL Press
ISBN: 1787357716
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
Medical Humanity and Inhumanity in the German-Speaking World is the first volume dedicated to exploring the interface of medicine, the human and the humane in the German-speaking lands. The volume tracks the designation and making through medicine of the human and inhuman, and the humane and inhumane, from the Middle Ages to the present day. Eight individual chapters undertake explorations into ways in which theories and practices of medicine in the German-speaking world have come to define the human, and highlight how such theories and practices have consolidated, or undermined, notions of humane behaviour. Cultural analysis is central to this investigation, foregrounding the reflection, refraction and indeed creation of these theories and practices in literature, life-writing and other discourses and media. Contributors bring to bear perspectives from literary studies, film studies, critical theory, cultural studies, history, and the history of medicine and psychiatry. Thus, this collection is historical in the most expansive sense, for it debates not only what historical accounts bring to our understanding of this topic. It encompasses too investigation of life-writing, documentary, and theory and literary works to bring to light elusive, paradoxical, underexplored – yet vital – issues in history and culture.
Music as Image
Author: Benjamin Nagari
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131752635X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 254
Book Description
Through a theoretical and practical exploration of Jungian and post-Jungian concepts surrounding image, this book moves beyond the visual scope of imagery to consider the presence and expression of music and sound, as well as how the psyche encounters expanded images – archetypal, personal or cultural – on both conscious and unconscious levels. By closely examining music in film, Nagari considers music’s complementary, enhancing, meaningful, and sometimes disruptive, contribution to expressive images. Chapters present a Jungian approach to music in film, highlighting how ‘music-image’ functions both independently and in conjunction with the visual image, and suggesting further directions in areas of research including music therapy and autism. Divided into three cumulative parts, Part I explores the Jungian psychological account of the music-image; Part II combines theory with practice in analysing how the auditory image works with the visual to create the ‘film as a whole’ experience; and Part III implements a specific understanding of three individual film cases of different genres, eras and styles as psychologically scrutinised ‘case histories’. Music as Image will be of interest to academics and students in the fields of applied psychoanalysis and Jungian psychology, music, film and cultural studies. With implications for music therapy and other art-based therapies, it will also be relevant for practising psychotherapists.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131752635X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 254
Book Description
Through a theoretical and practical exploration of Jungian and post-Jungian concepts surrounding image, this book moves beyond the visual scope of imagery to consider the presence and expression of music and sound, as well as how the psyche encounters expanded images – archetypal, personal or cultural – on both conscious and unconscious levels. By closely examining music in film, Nagari considers music’s complementary, enhancing, meaningful, and sometimes disruptive, contribution to expressive images. Chapters present a Jungian approach to music in film, highlighting how ‘music-image’ functions both independently and in conjunction with the visual image, and suggesting further directions in areas of research including music therapy and autism. Divided into three cumulative parts, Part I explores the Jungian psychological account of the music-image; Part II combines theory with practice in analysing how the auditory image works with the visual to create the ‘film as a whole’ experience; and Part III implements a specific understanding of three individual film cases of different genres, eras and styles as psychologically scrutinised ‘case histories’. Music as Image will be of interest to academics and students in the fields of applied psychoanalysis and Jungian psychology, music, film and cultural studies. With implications for music therapy and other art-based therapies, it will also be relevant for practising psychotherapists.
Towards a Jungian Theory of the Ego
Author: Karen Evers-Fahey
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317219570
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 335
Book Description
Despite their prevalence and weight in many of his collected works and letters, Jung did not articulate a general theory of the ego and consciousness. Towards a Jungian Theory of the Ego examines the development of Jung’s concept of the ego as he expanded and revised this concept, from his earliest formulations about consciousness while a student, to his mature thoughts at the end of his life. Drawing on Ego Psychology as a theoretical framework, Evers-Fahey proposes that Jung uses the concept of ego in four distinct ways and that he developed and used his ego concept based on two discrete paradigms. These distinctions explain the confusion and ambiguity found when examining the development of Jung’s analytical psychology over his lifetime. This book provides an examination of ego development and ego defenses based on a unique Jungian standpoint, as well as discussion of the relationship between the ego and the Self and the ego and ‘the individuum’. Furthermore, the inclusion of a historical framework helps to place the development of these concepts in context. This book proposes a theory of ego psychology based on Jungian theory rather than traditional psychoanalytic theory, thereby filling a gap in the knowledge of Jungian theory. The book will be essential reading for academics and postgraduate students engaged in the study of Jungian psychology and psychoanalytic theory and will also be valued by those interested in Jung and ego psychology more generally.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317219570
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 335
Book Description
Despite their prevalence and weight in many of his collected works and letters, Jung did not articulate a general theory of the ego and consciousness. Towards a Jungian Theory of the Ego examines the development of Jung’s concept of the ego as he expanded and revised this concept, from his earliest formulations about consciousness while a student, to his mature thoughts at the end of his life. Drawing on Ego Psychology as a theoretical framework, Evers-Fahey proposes that Jung uses the concept of ego in four distinct ways and that he developed and used his ego concept based on two discrete paradigms. These distinctions explain the confusion and ambiguity found when examining the development of Jung’s analytical psychology over his lifetime. This book provides an examination of ego development and ego defenses based on a unique Jungian standpoint, as well as discussion of the relationship between the ego and the Self and the ego and ‘the individuum’. Furthermore, the inclusion of a historical framework helps to place the development of these concepts in context. This book proposes a theory of ego psychology based on Jungian theory rather than traditional psychoanalytic theory, thereby filling a gap in the knowledge of Jungian theory. The book will be essential reading for academics and postgraduate students engaged in the study of Jungian psychology and psychoanalytic theory and will also be valued by those interested in Jung and ego psychology more generally.
Psychological, Archetypal and Phenomenological Perspectives on Soccer
Author: David Huw Burston
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317660609
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 259
Book Description
Soccer, or football, attracts vast numbers of passionate fans from all over the world; yet clinical psychology is yet to study it in depth. In this book, David Huw Burston, a consultant football psychology and performance coach, uses a phenomenological research method inspired by Amedeo Giorgi to consider what we can learn from the spirit of the game, and how this can be used positively in the consulting room and on the field of play. By examining detailed qualitative research with professional soccer players of both sexes, Burston identifies and considers nine particular themes, including the family, god, heroes and dreams, and discusses how what we can learn from the game of football and team culture can be applied to Jungian analysis today. This book bridges the gap between clinical psychology and sport, outlining potential shortfalls in current youth development in sport, as well as discussing how traditional Jungian archetypes can be identified in everyday settings. It will be of key interest to researchers from both the fields of analytical psychology and sports studies.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317660609
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 259
Book Description
Soccer, or football, attracts vast numbers of passionate fans from all over the world; yet clinical psychology is yet to study it in depth. In this book, David Huw Burston, a consultant football psychology and performance coach, uses a phenomenological research method inspired by Amedeo Giorgi to consider what we can learn from the spirit of the game, and how this can be used positively in the consulting room and on the field of play. By examining detailed qualitative research with professional soccer players of both sexes, Burston identifies and considers nine particular themes, including the family, god, heroes and dreams, and discusses how what we can learn from the game of football and team culture can be applied to Jungian analysis today. This book bridges the gap between clinical psychology and sport, outlining potential shortfalls in current youth development in sport, as well as discussing how traditional Jungian archetypes can be identified in everyday settings. It will be of key interest to researchers from both the fields of analytical psychology and sports studies.
Bridges to Consciousness
Author: Nancy M. Krieger
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134089678
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
This book investigates consciousness as an emergent state arising from the global functioning of the brain and the body. In this research Krieger applies these concepts to analytical psychology, particularly to the constellation of the complex and of the archetype. Global brain functioning is considered as a complex system whose macroscopic, emergent patterns such as thoughts and behaviours are determined by physical parameters including emotion, memory, and perception. The concept of the feeling-toned complex was among the first of the theories to be developed by Jung, and the theories of complexity and dynamical systems which subsequently developed in the physical sciences did not exist at the time. This book takes a new look at the feeling-toned complex as a basin of attraction which competes for consciousness against other complexes to determine behaviour. By drawing parallels between current ideas in neuroscience and Jung’s more traditional theories, Krieger discusses the relevance for both psychotherapy and everyday life. Bridges to Consciousness considers the importance of the link between emotion and the complex in both the establishment of consciousness and the determination of self-esteem, making the work relevant to therapists and analysts. This book will also awaken interest in complexes in both the Jungian and wider neuroscientific research communities and will therefore interest researchers and academics in the field of psychology who want an insight into how the ideas of Jung can be applied beyond the traditional analytic field.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134089678
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
This book investigates consciousness as an emergent state arising from the global functioning of the brain and the body. In this research Krieger applies these concepts to analytical psychology, particularly to the constellation of the complex and of the archetype. Global brain functioning is considered as a complex system whose macroscopic, emergent patterns such as thoughts and behaviours are determined by physical parameters including emotion, memory, and perception. The concept of the feeling-toned complex was among the first of the theories to be developed by Jung, and the theories of complexity and dynamical systems which subsequently developed in the physical sciences did not exist at the time. This book takes a new look at the feeling-toned complex as a basin of attraction which competes for consciousness against other complexes to determine behaviour. By drawing parallels between current ideas in neuroscience and Jung’s more traditional theories, Krieger discusses the relevance for both psychotherapy and everyday life. Bridges to Consciousness considers the importance of the link between emotion and the complex in both the establishment of consciousness and the determination of self-esteem, making the work relevant to therapists and analysts. This book will also awaken interest in complexes in both the Jungian and wider neuroscientific research communities and will therefore interest researchers and academics in the field of psychology who want an insight into how the ideas of Jung can be applied beyond the traditional analytic field.
Archetypal Psychotherapy
Author: Jason A. Butler
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317931815
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 201
Book Description
Archetypal psychology is a post-Jungian mode of theory and practice initiated primarily through the prolific work of James Hillman. Hillman’s writing carries a far-reaching collection of evocative ideas with a wealth of vital implications for the field of clinical psychology. With the focus on replacing the dominant fantasy of a scientific psychology with psychology as logos of soul, archetypal psychology has shifted the focus of therapy away from cure of the symptom toward vivification and expression of the mythopoetic imagination. This book provides the reader with an overview of the primary themes taken up by archetypal psychology, as differentiated from both classical Jungian analysis and Freudian derivatives of psychoanalysis. Throughout the text, Jason Butler gathers the disparate pieces of archetypal method and weaves them together with examples of dreams, fantasy images and clinical vignettes in order to depict the particular style taken up by archetypal psychotherapy—a therapeutic approach that fosters an expansion of psychological practice beyond mere ego-adaptation and coping, providing a royal road to a life and livelihood of archetypal significance. Archetypal Psychotherapy: The clinical legacy of James Hillman will be of interest to researchers and academics in the fields of Jungian and archetypal psychology looking for a new perspective, as well as practising psychotherapists.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317931815
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 201
Book Description
Archetypal psychology is a post-Jungian mode of theory and practice initiated primarily through the prolific work of James Hillman. Hillman’s writing carries a far-reaching collection of evocative ideas with a wealth of vital implications for the field of clinical psychology. With the focus on replacing the dominant fantasy of a scientific psychology with psychology as logos of soul, archetypal psychology has shifted the focus of therapy away from cure of the symptom toward vivification and expression of the mythopoetic imagination. This book provides the reader with an overview of the primary themes taken up by archetypal psychology, as differentiated from both classical Jungian analysis and Freudian derivatives of psychoanalysis. Throughout the text, Jason Butler gathers the disparate pieces of archetypal method and weaves them together with examples of dreams, fantasy images and clinical vignettes in order to depict the particular style taken up by archetypal psychotherapy—a therapeutic approach that fosters an expansion of psychological practice beyond mere ego-adaptation and coping, providing a royal road to a life and livelihood of archetypal significance. Archetypal Psychotherapy: The clinical legacy of James Hillman will be of interest to researchers and academics in the fields of Jungian and archetypal psychology looking for a new perspective, as well as practising psychotherapists.
Theo-Drama: Theological Dramatic Theory, Vol. 1
Author: Hans Urs von Balthasar
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 0898701856
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 793
Book Description
This is the introduction to the second part of the trilogy which is von BalthasarÕs major work. The Glory of the Lord approaches revelation from the standpoint of the beautiful. The final part of the trilogy, the Theo-Logic, will treat Christian revelation from the standpoint of the true. In this first volume von Balthasar shows how many of the trends of modern theology (e.g. ÒeventÓ, ÒhistoryÓ, ÒorthopraxyÓ, ÒdialogueÓ, Òpolitical theologyÓ) point to an understanding of human and cosmic reality as a divine drama. He will then consider objections to such a theological dramatic theory and also the relationship between the Church and the theatre. This volume assembles the materials and the themes that will make it possible in subsequent volumes to develop this theological dramatic theory. "Émeeting Balthasar was for me the beginning of a lifelong friendship I can only be thankful for. Never again have I found anyone with such a comprehensive theological and humanistic education as Balthasar and de Lubac, and I cannot even begin to say how much I owe to my encounter with them." ÑJoseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) Ê
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 0898701856
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 793
Book Description
This is the introduction to the second part of the trilogy which is von BalthasarÕs major work. The Glory of the Lord approaches revelation from the standpoint of the beautiful. The final part of the trilogy, the Theo-Logic, will treat Christian revelation from the standpoint of the true. In this first volume von Balthasar shows how many of the trends of modern theology (e.g. ÒeventÓ, ÒhistoryÓ, ÒorthopraxyÓ, ÒdialogueÓ, Òpolitical theologyÓ) point to an understanding of human and cosmic reality as a divine drama. He will then consider objections to such a theological dramatic theory and also the relationship between the Church and the theatre. This volume assembles the materials and the themes that will make it possible in subsequent volumes to develop this theological dramatic theory. "Émeeting Balthasar was for me the beginning of a lifelong friendship I can only be thankful for. Never again have I found anyone with such a comprehensive theological and humanistic education as Balthasar and de Lubac, and I cannot even begin to say how much I owe to my encounter with them." ÑJoseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) Ê
Post-Jungian Psychology and the Short Stories of Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut
Author: Steve Gronert Ellerhoff
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131738492X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
In this book, Steve Gronert Ellerhoff explores short stories by Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut, written between 1943 and 1968, with a post-Jungian approach. Drawing upon archetypal theories of myth from Joseph Campbell, James Hillman and their forbearer C. G. Jung, Ellerhoff demonstrates how short fiction follows archetypal patterns that can illuminate our understanding of the authors, their times, and their culture. In practice, a post-Jungian ‘mythodology’ is shown to yield great insights for the literary criticism of short fiction. Chapters in this volume carefully contextualise and historicize each story, including Bradbury and Vonnegut’s earliest and most imaginatively fantastic works. The archetypal constellations shaping Vonnegut’s early works are shown to be war and fragmentation, while those in Bradbury’s are family and the wholeness of the sun. Analysis is complemented by the explored significance of illustrations that featured alongside the stories in their first publications. By uncovering the ways these popular writers redressed old myths in new tropes—and coined new narrative elements for hopes and fears born of their era—the book reveals a fresh method which can be applied to all imaginative short stories, increasing understanding and critical engagement. Post-Jungian Psychology and the Short Stories of Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut is an important text for a number of fields, from Jungian and Post-Jungian studies to short story theoriesand American studies to Bradbury and Vonnegut studies. Scholars and students of literature will come away with a renewed appreciation for an archetypal approach to criticism, while the book will also be of great interest to practising depth psychologists seeking to incorporate short stories into therapy.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131738492X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 236
Book Description
In this book, Steve Gronert Ellerhoff explores short stories by Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut, written between 1943 and 1968, with a post-Jungian approach. Drawing upon archetypal theories of myth from Joseph Campbell, James Hillman and their forbearer C. G. Jung, Ellerhoff demonstrates how short fiction follows archetypal patterns that can illuminate our understanding of the authors, their times, and their culture. In practice, a post-Jungian ‘mythodology’ is shown to yield great insights for the literary criticism of short fiction. Chapters in this volume carefully contextualise and historicize each story, including Bradbury and Vonnegut’s earliest and most imaginatively fantastic works. The archetypal constellations shaping Vonnegut’s early works are shown to be war and fragmentation, while those in Bradbury’s are family and the wholeness of the sun. Analysis is complemented by the explored significance of illustrations that featured alongside the stories in their first publications. By uncovering the ways these popular writers redressed old myths in new tropes—and coined new narrative elements for hopes and fears born of their era—the book reveals a fresh method which can be applied to all imaginative short stories, increasing understanding and critical engagement. Post-Jungian Psychology and the Short Stories of Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut is an important text for a number of fields, from Jungian and Post-Jungian studies to short story theoriesand American studies to Bradbury and Vonnegut studies. Scholars and students of literature will come away with a renewed appreciation for an archetypal approach to criticism, while the book will also be of great interest to practising depth psychologists seeking to incorporate short stories into therapy.
The Possibility of Satan
Author: Alan McGill
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725266652
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 261
Book Description
Can we know that Satan exists as a particular, disembodied spirit? Current Catholic teaching insists that Satan exists as a person, a fallen angel who has instigated the Fall of humanity, continues to influence humans today, and constitutes a singular nemesis to God. How, one might ask, could human beings know such a thing with certainty? In response, this book seeks to rescue the mythical language in which the doctrine of Satan is rooted so that it is freed from the unreasonable expectation that it affirms the existence of a particular creature, and can instead express theological truth that is of relevance to all free-willed creatures. In doing so, it addresses thorny questions concerning the interpretation of Scripture, the relationship between God and evil, between doctrine and truth, between the Church and modernity, and between the condemnatory impulses apparent in Christian thought and the doctrine of an omnipresent God of infinite mercy. The book detects in the doctrine of Satan the expression of fundamental truths concerning the Creator-creature relationship—truths that are too easily obfuscated in current formulations that invite either fundamentalism or incredulity.
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725266652
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 261
Book Description
Can we know that Satan exists as a particular, disembodied spirit? Current Catholic teaching insists that Satan exists as a person, a fallen angel who has instigated the Fall of humanity, continues to influence humans today, and constitutes a singular nemesis to God. How, one might ask, could human beings know such a thing with certainty? In response, this book seeks to rescue the mythical language in which the doctrine of Satan is rooted so that it is freed from the unreasonable expectation that it affirms the existence of a particular creature, and can instead express theological truth that is of relevance to all free-willed creatures. In doing so, it addresses thorny questions concerning the interpretation of Scripture, the relationship between God and evil, between doctrine and truth, between the Church and modernity, and between the condemnatory impulses apparent in Christian thought and the doctrine of an omnipresent God of infinite mercy. The book detects in the doctrine of Satan the expression of fundamental truths concerning the Creator-creature relationship—truths that are too easily obfuscated in current formulations that invite either fundamentalism or incredulity.