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The Bible as Dream: A Jungian Interpretation
In The Bible as Dream , Murray Stein shares important themes and images in the biblical narrative that from a psychological perspective, stand out as essential features of the meaning of the Bible for the modern reader. The Bible presents a world elaborated with reference to a specific God image. As the mythographer Karl Kerenyi puts it in writing about the Greek gods and goddesses, every god and every goddess constitutes a world. So it is too with the biblical God, whose name Stein exceptionally capitalizes throughout out of cultural respect. The biblical world is the visionary product of a particular people, the ancient Hebrews and the early Christians, who delved deeply into their God image and pulled from it the multitude of perspectives, rules for life, spiritual practices, and practical implications that all together created the tapestry that we find depicted in the canonical Bible. Yahweh is the heart and soul of this world, its creator, sustainer, and destroyer. The Bible is a dream that tells the story of how this world was brought into being in space and time and what it means. Don't miss these timeless lectures—a work of respectful and loving interpretation.
Table of
Part I. A Psychological Reading of the Bible
Lecture One – On Reading the Bible Psychologically
Lecture Two – In the Beginning – Creation
Lecture Three – The Shadow
Lecture Four – Faith and Individuation
Lecture Five – Anima Images
Lecture Six – Animus Images
Lecture Seven – Election and Adoption – Envy and the Self
Lecture Eight – From King to Servant – Ego Relativization
Part II. The Gospel According to John
Lecture One – “Word”
Lecture Two – “Light”
Lecture Three – “Way”
Murray Stein, Ph.D. is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the International School of Analytical Psychology Zurich (ISAP-ZURICH). He is a founding member of The Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts (1977) and of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts (1980). He was president of the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP) from 2001 to 2004 and President of ISAP-ZURICH from 2008 to 2012. He has lectured internationally and is the author of Jung’s Treatment of Christianity, In MidLife, Jung’s Map of the Soul, Minding the Self, and most recently Outside Inside and All Around and Jung’s Red Book for Our Time Volume 1 and 2 (co-edited with Thomas Arzt. He lives in Switzerland and has a private practice in Zurich.
Table of
Part I. A Psychological Reading of the Bible
Lecture One – On Reading the Bible Psychologically
Lecture Two – In the Beginning – Creation
Lecture Three – The Shadow
Lecture Four – Faith and Individuation
Lecture Five – Anima Images
Lecture Six – Animus Images
Lecture Seven – Election and Adoption – Envy and the Self
Lecture Eight – From King to Servant – Ego Relativization
Part II. The Gospel According to John
Lecture One – “Word”
Lecture Two – “Light”
Lecture Three – “Way”
Murray Stein, Ph.D. is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the International School of Analytical Psychology Zurich (ISAP-ZURICH). He is a founding member of The Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts (1977) and of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts (1980). He was president of the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP) from 2001 to 2004 and President of ISAP-ZURICH from 2008 to 2012. He has lectured internationally and is the author of Jung’s Treatment of Christianity, In MidLife, Jung’s Map of the Soul, Minding the Self, and most recently Outside Inside and All Around and Jung’s Red Book for Our Time Volume 1 and 2 (co-edited with Thomas Arzt. He lives in Switzerland and has a private practice in Zurich.
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Published May 23, 2019
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About the author
Murray B. Stein
57 books158 followersNot to be confused with other Analytical/Jungian Psychologist Murray Stein
Jungian psychoanalyst, author, lecturer
Murray Stein, Ph.D.is a training analyst at the International School for Analytical Psychology in Zurich, Switzerland. His most recent publications include The Principle of Individuation, Jung’s Map of the Soul, and The Edinburgh International Encyclopaedia of Psychoanalysis (Editor of the Jungian sections, with Ross Skelton as General Editor). He lectures internationally on topics related to Analytical Psychology and its applications in the contemporary world.
Dr. Stein is a graduate of Yale University (B.A. and M.Div.), the University of Chicago (Ph.D., in Religion and Psychological Studies), and the C.G. Jung Institut-Zurich. He is a founding member of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts. He has been the president of the International Association for Analytical Psychology (2001-4), and is presently a member of the Swiss Society for Analytical Psychology and President of the International School of Analytical Psychology, Zurich.
Jungian psychoanalyst, author, lecturer
Murray Stein, Ph.D.is a training analyst at the International School for Analytical Psychology in Zurich, Switzerland. His most recent publications include The Principle of Individuation, Jung’s Map of the Soul, and The Edinburgh International Encyclopaedia of Psychoanalysis (Editor of the Jungian sections, with Ross Skelton as General Editor). He lectures internationally on topics related to Analytical Psychology and its applications in the contemporary world.
Dr. Stein is a graduate of Yale University (B.A. and M.Div.), the University of Chicago (Ph.D., in Religion and Psychological Studies), and the C.G. Jung Institut-Zurich. He is a founding member of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts. He has been the president of the International Association for Analytical Psychology (2001-4), and is presently a member of the Swiss Society for Analytical Psychology and President of the International School of Analytical Psychology, Zurich.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 25, 2024
Jungian psychoanalyst and Rabbi Murray Stein offers this Jungian analysis of biblical texts.
Stein posits that Biblical stories are analogous to dreams in their symbolic and archetypal richness, and further argues the Bible can be interpreted as a collective dream of humanity.
Stein asserts that archetypal Biblical themes represent psychological states and processes.
Stein posts that Biblical stories of transformation mirror stages of spiritual growth, and further posits that encountering and integrating them promotes individuation and self realization.
Stein also suggests that understanding and embracing our darker/repressed (shadow) material is also crucial for and spiritual growth.
Stein argues that the disturbing and violent passages of the Bible can be useful for encountering and integrating the shadow.
I just read the NIV Bible cover to cover. And it was pretty disturbing. Particularly in the context of current events. Reading about the brutal treatment of infidels and apostates makes the prospect of a fundamentalist theocratic coup very concerning (to put it mildly).
It’s (at least somewhat) reassuring that not all followers of the Abrahamic religions relate to the injunctions in the Old Testament as literal.
Other than that.
I didn’t find this text to be particularly useful.
It’s short and interesting.
And definitely worth reading.
But I didn’t find it to be as deeply impactful as some of Steins other books. If you’re curious about Stein. Read his 1998 text Transformation: Emergence of the Self first. It’s fantastic.
4/5 stars ⭐️
Stein posits that Biblical stories are analogous to dreams in their symbolic and archetypal richness, and further argues the Bible can be interpreted as a collective dream of humanity.
Stein asserts that archetypal Biblical themes represent psychological states and processes.
Stein posts that Biblical stories of transformation mirror stages of spiritual growth, and further posits that encountering and integrating them promotes individuation and self realization.
Stein also suggests that understanding and embracing our darker/repressed (shadow) material is also crucial for and spiritual growth.
Stein argues that the disturbing and violent passages of the Bible can be useful for encountering and integrating the shadow.
I just read the NIV Bible cover to cover. And it was pretty disturbing. Particularly in the context of current events. Reading about the brutal treatment of infidels and apostates makes the prospect of a fundamentalist theocratic coup very concerning (to put it mildly).
It’s (at least somewhat) reassuring that not all followers of the Abrahamic religions relate to the injunctions in the Old Testament as literal.
Other than that.
I didn’t find this text to be particularly useful.
It’s short and interesting.
And definitely worth reading.
But I didn’t find it to be as deeply impactful as some of Steins other books. If you’re curious about Stein. Read his 1998 text Transformation: Emergence of the Self first. It’s fantastic.
4/5 stars ⭐️
August 1, 2019
It is perhaps the best way to to read christian scriptures, brings them "home" from where they originated. Unconscious meets unconscious.
February 10, 2024
Interesting read. It traces the archetypal themes of God through the Old and New Testaments. Covers a lot of history of the times as well.
The middle is dense and harder to get through mainly because the goal of the book feels fruitless (interpreting the Bible as a collective dream) but I liked the last lecture in here where we see the archetype of God concretized in Jesus as the balance between the masculine and feminine polarities of God.
Read if interested in depth psychology and Christianity.
The middle is dense and harder to get through mainly because the goal of the book feels fruitless (interpreting the Bible as a collective dream) but I liked the last lecture in here where we see the archetype of God concretized in Jesus as the balance between the masculine and feminine polarities of God.
Read if interested in depth psychology and Christianity.
June 9, 2022
Imagining the biblical ego as a dreamer and attempting to analyse it is a fun thought experiment but largely fruitless.
January 2, 2023
Beautiful interpretation. Has helped me understand the Bible and Jungian thought much better.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews