Freud v. The Bible: Who Wins?

I have heard one person after another, who claims Christianity as their own, viciously renounce the research and claims of Sigmund Freud. This eccentric psychoanalyst who revolutionized the field of psychology has created vast controversy as a result of his views that sex is the basis of everything that happens in life and are the basis for our actions as humans. Though this is obviously wrong from the perspective of biblical truth, it is unscientific to completely discount his valuable research on the human psyche and it's influences. As a Christ-follower, it is incredibly difficult and mostly unreasonable to accept any Freudian ideas, but truth is still present to a degree.

Freud, beyond his sexualization of life, is most notably known for his division of the human psyche into the Super-ego, the Ego, and the Id. In a battle of the Super-ego against the Id, the Super-ego represents obligation created by the moral code of the human mind. In essence, Super-ego is the legalism that everyone experiences at one point or another, when guilt overwhelms us and an individual feels obligated to do the morally right action. The opposition to Super-ego is the Id--our most primitive impulses and desires with no restraint. This portion of the psyche is impulsive to no end and is generally pleasure seeking regardless of morality or consequences. Lastly, the Ego is the balance between the two that is most often seen in humans. Most people we encounter daily are ruled by their Freudian Ego, the balance between hedonism and legalism.

Though these ideas seem purely secular in nature, God is omnisciently pervasive throughout creation--even into the human psyche. Paul addresses the conflict of the human mind at the end of his letter to the church in Galatia.

Galatians 6:15 - Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

When Paul talks about circumcision, he is addressing a group of Christians in Galatia, called the Judaizers, who believed that to be saved and acceptable to God, one must accept Christ and also follow the whole Jewish law. This philosophy is more commonly known today as legalism, and it is something we have all been faced with at one point or another. Obligation is one point that the modern church emphasizes subconsciously, as we seem to put too much emphasis at times on the "do nots" of life. Additionally, spiritual prowess is equivalent to being visually active in church activities. Freud's Super-ego is the exact parallel of this influence on human behavior, as the Super-ego is the formal embodiment of legalism in the human mind. By placing obligation over a joy-filled relationship with our loving creator, the legalism of the Super-ego cannot give a person the full satisfaction of life.

Uncircumcision also represents another group of people in Galatia--the Hedonists. Since hedonism has such a negative connotation of being grossly overindulging, it goes to represent our most primitive desires for pleasure and personal satisfaction. The Hedonists followed a form of Deism, where God is like a clockmaker who creates the world as a giant clock, then simply leaves it to function on its own. If God does not permeate every portion of life, there is no need to follow our moral law and we are able to give in to our pure desire for pleasure. Freud named this section of our human psyche the Id--our impulsive journey for personal gratification. A philosophy following the Id has no need for personal responsibility and gives no heed to innate moral law or the consequences of not following this code. This is how the majority of modern men live: for their personal betterment financially, emotionally, physically, and in all other ways. Though we are not meant to live as emotionless machines, there must be some purpose and moderation in all of the pleasurable pursuits that life has to offer.

Lastly, both Freud and Paul search for the middle ground between the two. At one end lies the endless stretch of guilt and oppression within moral obligation, and at the other resides a filthy pit of unrestrained human indulgence. Freud finds his middle ground on a see-saw, a continuous game of tug-of-war between the conflicting portions of the human psyche. The Ego represents our "sense of self", our identity, that we can only have when mediating the struggle between Super-ego and the Id. In theory, this balancing act is feasible, but Paul realizes that humans cannot do this alone. The Freudian Ego in Paul's letter is represented by the "new creation" that we can be in order to have freedom through God's saving love. By relying on God's power to mediate our conflicting Id and Super-ego, we receive incredible intellectual and personal freedom through the power of Christ's death on the cross. In essence, all that is required of us is to simply be dependent on the power of God to create our Ego--our own unique identity. In this, we can experience the incredible freedom of living the Ego that God has for us.

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Distance is Darkness

Distance is darkness. This has been one of the guiding factors in modern relationships--that to have a successful relationship is to be as close physically and emotionally as possible to one another. A distancing of the friends or lovers is never seen as beneficial. How could separation of strong friends bring depth to the friendship they share? John Donne examines how a friendship can endure change in this poem and presents two incredible metaphors to demonstrate the reality of the matter.


Our two souls therefore, which are one,
Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold to airy thinness beat.

If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two;
Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th' other do.

And though it in the center sit,
Yet when the other far doth roam,
It leans and hearkens after it,
And grows erect, as that comes home

Such wilt thou be to me, who must
Like th' other foot, obliquely run;
Thy firmness makes my circle just,
And makes me end where I begun.

(John Donne - A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning)

First, the metaphor of gold. I love the way that Donne portrays the gold, which must endure a distancing of itself by being beaten and flattened in to a different form. In this way the gold is stretched thin, but it is still beautiful and valuable, and, most importantly, it is still intact. This can be a friendship that has changed. Though two individuals are not close in the same way they were when dating; their friendship has been flattened out like the gold, and the relationship has taken a different form, just like the gold. But once again, the important piece is that the different relationship can still be intact and wonderful. I really think that a good friendship is able to withstand metamorphosis as the individuals go through different stages of life. The best friendship can still be intact and even more beautiful when it is beaten into a different form by life's circumstances.

Second, the metaphor of the compass that Donne uses is so indicative of a strong friendship. He says, if "they be two, they are two so", as lovers who become just friends again are separate for all literal purposes, but are still together in friendship like the two independent points of a compass join together in the middle. As one point of the compass moves, the other remains still connected, though both points do not necessarily always stay in the same place. Also, one point is not always the only one making the motion. Both points are capable of being the point of motion at different times. This is parallel to friendship, as, at different points in a relationship, the two individuals are on their own respective journeys and have their own struggles, but the points are still connected. Even though one point or the other may be running in circles, they still end up connected to the other, no matter how close or far the compass, or the relationship, has been stretched. Lastly, as the compass moves, it must compact or extend to fit the situation needed. This is identical to friendships, as the relationship must often evolve to suit the current situations of both individuals. Though the relationship changes, the compass is still connected and the friendship is intact.

This is the question we must pose to our culture:

Is Distance Really Darkness?

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