subjected thus
Here as later there is reason to suspect that no conclusions were ever drawn from Omniscience: Yahweh did not consult his total knowledge and was accordingly surprised by the result. One can observe the same phenomenon in human beings, wherever in fact people cannot deny themselves the pleasure of their emotions. It must be admitted that a fit of rage or a sulk has its secret attractions. Were that not so, most people would long since have acquired a little wisdom.
Jung is at his best when he is not wearing the mask of the intellectual. I think it’s because he is less concerned in more informal writing with making an argument, brick by brick, than by following intuitive threads. His essay on ‘Syncronicity’, for example, loses steam almost immediately after the initial anecdotal presentation of the concept, with the charming recursion of fish and fish imagery (the tables on astrological signs and probability are impressive if you like tables, but unpersuasive if you actually read them, not least because it seems like even Jung, as author, doesn’t care about the material he is presenting). William James’s writings on psychical research are an interesting contrast; he clearly does not ‘believe’ in the validity of the phenomena he is discussing, but he as equally clearly thinks such phenomena are worth investigating, if only to lay the ghosts to rest, as it were.
Answer to Job shows Jung in his best light; thoughtful, emotionally open, and curious to the point of playfulness without succumbing to silliness. He provides a close reading of the story of Job (and, incidentally, Revelation), in which Job comes across as the grown-up in the room (to use a phrase which I dislike, but seems to fit the situation). The irrationalities of Yahweh’s character are treated with an empathy that many would find hard to muster. It is perhaps essential reading for anyone interested in religion, (in)justice, tricksters, and being human in the world.