“I think that individuation should be in service to the community. It should lead to one’s living within the larger. It’s about me bringing my individuality, not my individualism, but the uniqueness of myself into the community. And in some ways, the community helps me to individuate.”

Episode description:

In this episode, I speak to the pastor, theologian, and Jungian analyst in-training Kenneth Kovacs. The conversation circles around the correspondence between C.G Jung and Protestant theologian and Pastoral psychologist Adolf Keller (1872-1963). 

This exchange of letters, researched by Kenneth, leads us into a conversation about the relationship between individuation and community, the dialectical theology of Karl Barth, the dark side of the numinous, the possible dangers of imitating Christ, and what the fields of psychology and theology can learn from each other. Interspersed throughout the conversation are read excerpts from Jung and Keller’s letters.

Recommended reading: C. G. Jung – Adolf Keller:  On Theology and Psychology, edited by Marianne Jehle-Wildberger and published by the Philemon Foundation.

Biography:

Kenneth Kovacs, Ph.D., is pastor of Catonsville Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, MD (USA) and a Diploma candidate at the C.G. Jung Institut-Zurich. He is a graduate of Rutgers University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the University of St. Andrews, Scotland (UK). Ken is the author of The Relational Theology of James E. Loder: Encounter and Conviction (New York/Bern: Peter Lang Press, 2009) and Out of the Depths: Sermons and Essays (Parson’s Porch, 2016). He also serves on the board of directors of the Jung Society of Washington.

Music played in this episode is licensed under creativecommons.org: Ketsa – Between each, Essence & Blue violets.