The Problem of Evil with James P. Driscoll

James P. Driscoll, PhD, is one of the foremost critics of Renaissance literature from a Jungian perspective. He is author of Identity in Shakespearean Drama and The Unfolding God of Jung and Milton.

Here he explains that the “problem of evil” evolved within the context of Christian theology. How is it possible for evil to exist in a world in which god is perfectly just, good, omniscient, and omnipotent? Milton’s great epic poem, Paradise Lost, is among the foremost works of English literature that endeavor to justify the Christian theological position. Driscoll notes, however, that literary critics and philosophers have not found the Christian theological position to be satisfactory. In particular, Carl Gustav Jung, the great Swiss psychiatrist, has been critical of the conventional Christian image of the deity. Great tragic literature suggests, on the other hand, that the human encounter with evil can catalyze a greater consciousness.

New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in "parapsychology" ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is also past-president of the non-profit Intuition Network, an organization dedicated to creating a world in which all people are encouraged to cultivate and apply their inner, intuitive abilities.

(Recorded on May 30, 2016)

[harris]

There's the two opposites of everything in this world, and good, and evil are two of them. The two must become ONE!

[MoyaMorrisEnneagram]

Great discussion, I enjoyed it very much. Thank you both.

[PATTHECATMCD]

My take on it - we have choices. We can grow and develop in a sustainable way, or we can shrivel and burn out. Evil is a choice. And it is up to humanity to decide where humanity wants to go.

[RSEFX]

I feel that Jeffery Mishlove, on his own, might've been able to elucidate Driscoll's ideas in a clearer, more organized way (ie by digesting Driscoll's themes and theory and re-stating them in better narrative form----no offense to Driscoll: It just seems like he has too many ideas and clusters of background information bouncing around in his head to express them as a continuous, fluid stream.)
"Evil" is such a loaded word, sprawling, broad and so subject to wrongful attachments to far too many events and behaviors to be useful in a scientific way. But, always worth a shot!
Thanks again New Thinking for more, uh, new thinking!

[toomanydonuts]

"You will not certainly die, ' the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'



"Then the LORD God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'

The quest for power over men is what leads to evil amongst men. It's hard to be evil if there is nobody else around to be evil to.

[Paddyllfixit]

One cannot see the Light without the Darkness

[somerandomvertebrate]

Never could figure evil out. On the one hand it's related to destruction, on the other, there would be no lust or pleasure without evil. Are there two kinds of evil, one of violence and one of perversion?

[TehKhronicler]

Any time Jim's on would be a pleasure to watch and listen, whatever it is he wants to talk about.

[DorothyGTyas]

The binary/duality is a function of EM polarity ↔ physics....

[billwilliams]

The Bible explains where Evil originated, not from the Devil, but from God. He says so: Isaiah 45: 6-7

[mikewick]

existence within this animal kingdom is an investment of personal time.

[angelaluciam]

The English word `God` does not come from `good`, but from Hebrew written GD and
vocalized as "GaD", being the name of one of those 12 Jewish tribes. Just alike this
German God-name, written Gott ...                  A. L.M.

[THE-VVATCHER]

No such thing as good or evil. Positive and negative, but these are subjective to the interpreter. What is chaos to the fly is order for the spider. No other living organism we know senses the world as good or evil. All this thinking wasted on meaningless human interpretation that is far outnumbered in the universe. Not quite sold on his time and feeling connection, but I'm pretty certain that the universe does not operate according to how humans feel.

[jayfoo]

I would like to offer some suggestions,
If one has no living experience of Evil then an honest admission of that would be the most recommended step forward.
The whole spectrum of names have been thrown around. Some poor attempts have been made to describe some visible effects of that force. The fact of the matter is that the Evil is invisible. Therefore the whole discussion should focus on the living, invisible manifestation of that force, starting with the origin.
The time factor in this discussion is also misunderstood.
Overall, a very childish discussion.

[jayfoo]

Mr.Mishlove, Satan is not an absolute manifestation of evil(even in the Catholic church). That is a serious misconception of that force. Here's a hint of what I mean; the good not necessarily can be good. New thinking allows oneself to separate concepts towards the archetypes instead of making a Mish mash soup of everything. Regards

[chips]

A dude likes this, , , watch your mic man....