Reflections On Jung's Answer To Job

I'm reading Carl Jung's book, Answer to Job, again after almost 40 years since I first read it. I liked the book when I read it, then, and I like it even more, now. I have much more life experience and read the book with greater insight and understanding that was possible for me when I was in my early 20s.

I am particularly struck by his discussion of God, and Yahweh, throughout the book. I am also reading Edward Edinger's commentary on Answer To Job, Transformation of the God-image, along with Jung's book. Edinger suggests that Jung is talking about the unconscious and unconsciousness when he discusses Yahweh and God, so that he focuses his discussions on the Psyche, the Unconscious and the process of Jungian Analysis to elucidate the concepts that Jung discusses in Answer To Job. Noticing that difference, I wondered why Jung keeps his discussion focused on God and Yahweh, rather than using the psychological terminology that Edinger favors.

When I read Jung's discussions about God and Yahweh, the effect that conscious interaction has on these images, the relative unconsciousness of God/Yahweh, the non-human qualities, etc., I feel a deep stirring and big energy in the discussion. When Edinger describes what he believes Jung is saying in psychological terminology, it comes across in a more abstract manner and I can think about it somewhat objectively. Edinger makes the concepts he notices in each chapter very clear and describes them well. When I read Jung's chapters, I feel the power and wander in supernatural realms, being moved and swayed by his descriptions and observations about these deep layers of myself. It's like exploring the depths of my being and getting better acquainted with my Soul.

I imagine that Jung purposely kept his discussion focused on Yahweh/God to introduce his readers to the depths and power that God/Yahweh has on them. It certainly makes the power of this archetype transparent to me. Unlike Edinger, Jung does not suggest God/Yahweh is a symbol or archetype, only. He does not discuss the reality of God/Yahweh in the book. He elucidates what we can know about the nature of God/Yahweh as it is revealed through the book of Job in the Bible. He leaves the question of the nature of God/Yahweh's Being to the reader, thereby allowing for a numinous experience of the enlightening discussion. I am impressed.