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Obres de André Lacocque

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The Lacocques, a father-son team of a biblical scholar and a psychologist, have written a splendid book. Using the lens of historically-informed psychological criticism, they examine the book of Jonah. Using this book, they segue into some broader psychological issues, such as the "Jonah Complex" and the need to listen to the Outer Voice.

They start by positing that Jonah is a Hellenistic satire, akin to the satires of the Cynics. Hellenistic Judaism was forced to encounter a broader, universalistic culture, and Jonah was written to make fun of those who would only see God at work in the people of Israel. They point to elements of the story, such as the setting on a ship, that resemble a typical Greek romance. Most importantly, they see all in the story as deep symbol.

Then, in four chapters, they comment on the four-chapter book. Jonah 1, which the Lacocques title "Anonymity and Vocation," defines the "Jonah Syndrome," [[Abraham Maslow]]'s term for those who are afraid of their own greatness and do not wish to stand out from the crowd. In being called to his greatness on his divine mission, Jonah is also being called to contemplate his life work, and hence his mortality. Instead, Jonah wants to be coddled, to retreat to the symbolic womb, the bottom of a ship where he can ignore his calling.

But of course, he cannot ignore his calling. So in chapter two, "From Nothingness to Being," Jonah hits rock bottom, finding that in fact his whole purpose in life is God. He must move from narcissism to self-oblation, from a running to death to an embracing life, embracing God. The fish's belly is a womb in which Jonah is reborn into God, who brings order even out of the chaos of a drowning prophet in the stinking, acidic, dark innards of a fish.

But when Jonah actualizes his call in chapter three, "Faith and Doubt: the Ambiguity of Commitment," he finds that he objects to God Himself. Jonah is mad that God wishes to forgive the Ninevites. He wants God to wreak vengeance on them. Typically this inability on Jonah's part to accept God's forgiveness is seen as a weakness, but in fact his is a normal human response. He simply thinks God's honor is too great, His mercy too special, to be cheaply given out. His logic is: that which is special must be protected and scarce. God's logic is: what I am, my mercy and love, are for everyone. Jonah's inability to accept this mirrors those in our own world who value orthodoxy over human life. Jonah's desire to cling to particularism when all the non-Israelite characters in the story are devout to the gods - the sailors and the Ninevites- makes Jonah look even sillier.

In chapter four, "A Matter of Justice," this conflict comes to a head. Is there any meaning to life, Jonah asks himself, once his righteous anger at Ninevah's sin and excitement about its destruction have been thwarted? This upsets Jonah so much that he leaves the city, leaves all human contact, a sign of either prophetic solitude (a la Elijah and Jesus) or psychotic disconnect with reality. Not only is he unable to deal with this new reality, not only is he suicidal, but he doesn't even get the last word. God does, leaving us unsure what happens to Jonah. Does he repent and realize God's mercy, His "compassion beyond justice and anger" (Heschel)? Or does he continue to curse God and wish for his own death?

Lacocque see Jonah as a story of the call to human authenticity. And in the Hebrew tradition, that call is always a call in tandem with God:

"The Hebrew Scripture posits that human vocation involves a certain quality of life, a becoming that brings humans to be themselves by means of an ongoing dialogue with the source of life, namely God." (74)

Jonah's story is a warning that we need to be careful, careful not to let the internal dialogue between the self and God devolve into a narcissistic monologue that prevents us from understanding the true God. Yes, we should be critical of our spiritual insights and blunders, but trusting as well. This includes the "Jonah complex" that "fear of greatness" that might say more about Maslow's humanistic psychology than about Jonah. For Jonah's ultimate pitfall was not fearing his own greatness, but God's. His true need was not to follow his internal voice, but the external voice.

Psychological biblical criticism is still a small subfield, and Lacocque and his son have written a neat volume in the area. Although their methodology was somewhat undefined - they never made it clear which psychologists or paradigms they were working with - their results are so insightful that it is worth the effort.
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JDHomrighausen | Aug 5, 2013 |

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Obres
20
Membres
327
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ISBN
38
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