Like Jacob and the Angel: Jung’s Evolving Position on Christian Thought: The Intellectual and Religious Context and Growing Convictions Concerning Archetypal Symbols

In relation to Christianity, Jung’s position evolved during his lifetime, the evolution being affected by both his own developing inner experience and by historical events in the west, especially the two world wars and all that surrounded them. He had immense respect for the psychic depth of historic Christian symbolism; he had little respect for effort by the churches to turn the symbolic power into literal and rigid dogma; he had indeed little respect for literalism of any kind, nor for efforts to set aside the great symbols in search of acceptable liberal thought or modernity. He had, further, some profound misgivings about some areas of Christian thought and belief, especially those dealing with evil, and with the feminine.