Lately I have become interested in the work of the (in)famous psychologist Karl Jung, especially his studies on the “shadow self.” Here are a few amazing quotes from this brilliant man that I think resonate deeply with what St. Paul says in Romans Chapter 7.
Unfortunately there can be no doubt that man is, on the whole, less good than he imagines himself or wants to be. Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. If an inferiority is conscious, one always has a chance to correct it. Furthermore, it is constantly in contact with other interests, so that it is continually subjected to modifications. But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets corrected.
“Psychology and Religion” (1938). In CW 11: Psychology and Religion: West and East. P.131
It is a frightening thought that man also has a shadow side to him, consisting not just of little weaknesses- and foibles, but of a positively demonic dynamism. The individual seldom knows anything of this; to him, as an individual, it is incredible that he should ever in any circumstances go beyond himself. But let these harmless creatures form a mass, and there emerges a raging monster; and each individual is only one tiny cell in the monster’s body, so that for better or worse he must accompany it on its bloody rampages and even assist it to the utmost. Having a dark suspicion of these grim possibilities, man turns a blind eye to the shadow-side of human nature. Blindly he strives against the salutary dogma of original sin, which is yet so prodigiously true. Yes, he even hesitates to admit the conflict of which he is so painfully aware.
“On the Psychology of the Unconscious” (1912). In CW 7: Two Essays on Analytical Psychology. P.35
We know that the wildest and most moving dramas are played not in the theatre but in the hearts of ordinary men and women who pass by without exciting attention, and who betray to the world nothing of the conflicts that rage within them except possibly by a nervous breakdown. What is so difficult for the layman to grasp is the fact that in most cases the patients themselves have no suspicion whatever of the internecine war raging in their unconscious. If we remember that there are many people who understand nothing at all about themselves, we shall be less surprised at the realization that there are also people who are utterly unaware of their actual conflicts.
“New Paths in Psychology” (1912). In CW 7: Two Essays on Analytical Psychology. P.425
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2 responses to “Karl Jung, The Shadow Side and Romans 7”
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Amazing post Jake!
Isn’t it so true that we “turn a blind eye to the shadow-side of human nature” and “hesitate to admit the conflict of which we are so painfully aware”?
It is a scary thing to consider the drama that plays out inside each one of us. In fact it is unbearable without the knowledge that it is known, forgiven, and dealt with by a completely loving and gracious Lord.
It is so true, “ignorance is bliss!”