Religion as Metaphor: Beyond Literal Belief

Author:   David Tacey
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Inc
ISBN:  

9781412856102


Pages:   286
Publication Date:   30 May 2015
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Religion as Metaphor: Beyond Literal Belief


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Overview

"Biblical stories are metaphorical. They may have been accepted as factual hundreds of years ago, but today they cannot be taken literally. Some students in religious schools even recoil from the ""fairy tales"" of religion, believing them to be mockeries of their intelligence. David Tacey argues that biblical language should not be read as history, and it was never intended as literal description. At best it is metaphorical, but he does not deny these stories have spiritual meaning. Religion as Metaphor argues that despite what tradition tells us, if we ""believe"" religious language, we miss religion's spiritual meaning. Tacey argues that religious language was not designed to be historical reporting, but rather to resonate in the soul and direct us toward transcendent realities. Its impact was intended to be closer to poetry than theology. The book uses specific examples to make its case: Jesus, the Virgin Birth, the Kingdom of God, the Apocalypse, Satan, and the Resurrection. Tacey shows that, with the aid of contemporary thought and depth psychology, we can re-read religious stories as metaphors of the spirit and the interior life. Moving beyond literal thinking will save religion from itself."

Full Product Details

Author:   David Tacey
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Inc
Imprint:   Routledge
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.690kg
ISBN:  

9781412856102


ISBN 10:   1412856108
Pages:   286
Publication Date:   30 May 2015
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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Reviews

In an environment where a mindless biblical fundamentalism has been identified with Christianity and where, as a direct result, the culture has become both non-believing and thoroughly secular, David Tacey, a proponent of a modern understanding of Christianity does his work. Rejecting both the hysteria of the biblical literalists and the emptiness of modern secularism, this book dares to engage both a deeply held Christian faith and the thought forms of the 21st century. As a Christian I welcome his contribution to the debate of our generation. --John Shelby Spong VIII, Bishop of Newark and author of The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic In this ground-breaking work David Tacey shows in terms a general audience can follow, and without preconceived theories, how the truth of Christian myth and Gospel shift into metaphor, with its indirectness, and inter-connectedness and meaningfulness; even what might seem to be literal and propositional is basically metaphorical. The effect is to deepen faith consciousness and to call for such a deepening. . . . A must-read for every Christian and atheist. --Matthew Del Nevo, Catholic Institute of Sydney This book is a major achievement. David Tacey has set himself a significant challenge: to refute the obtuse literalism of many believers without at the same time appearing to be destructive of faith and negative towards scripture. To accomplish this he has combined the insights of depth psychology with the best of contemporary scripture scholarship. In reading the gospels as myth--which, as he argues, is how they were written, he has demonstrated the difference between faith and belief, and brilliantly repudiated both Christian and atheistic fundamentalism. In an age when the conventional expressions of the religious message appear increasingly absurd, this is exactly what we need. --Bernie Neville, Swinburne University David Tacey challenges the reader to find a deepened personal and cultural meaning in narratives such as those of the virgin birth and the resurrection, not as historical truths which confound science and reason, but as myths to live by. . . . I found this book compelling and life-affirming. . . . Tacey takes us on a spiritual journey, peeling layer from layer, the full meaning of which is only revealed in his exuberant and spine tingling conclusion. In a world riven with fundamentalist extremism born of literalism, this book has the potential to be profoundly consequential. Read it! --Anne Boyd, University of Sydney Religion as Metaphor is a sustained and provocative attack on religious literalism. Tacey spells out the consequences of reading scripture and its major themes, the figure of Christ, the virgin birth, the resurrection, the demonic and the apocalypse, through a symbolic lens. The parameters of his effort are his rejection of two fundamentalisms, religion on one side and scientism on the other. He makes a compelling case that the restoration of symbolic awareness would enhance religion and the contribution it could make to our wider culture. The work is an attempt to save religion from itself. --John Dourley, Carleton University, Ottawa


In this ground-breaking work David Tacey shows in terms a general audience can follow, and without preconceived theories, how the truth of Christian myth and Gospel shift into metaphor, with its indirectness, and inter-connectedness and meaningfulness; even what might seem to be literal and propositional is basically metaphorical. The effect is to deepen faith consciousness and to call for such a deepening. . . . A must-read for every Christian and atheist. --Matthew Del Nevo, Catholic Institute of Sydney This book is a major achievement. David Tacey has set himself a significant challenge: to refute the obtuse literalism of many believers without at the same time appearing to be destructive of faith and negative towards scripture. To accomplish this he has combined the insights of depth psychology with the best of contemporary scripture scholarship. In reading the gospels as myth - which, as he argues, is how they were written, he has demonstrated the difference between faith and belief, and brilliantly repudiated both Christian and atheistic fundamentalism. In an age when the conventional expressions of the religious message appear increasingly absurd, this is exactly what we need. --Bernie Neville, Professor of Humanities, Swinburne University David Tacey challenges the reader to find a deepened personal and cultural meaning in narratives such as those of the virgin birth and the resurrection, not as historical truths which confound science and reason, but as myths to live by. Actively imagined in these terms Jesus comes vividly to life: not with the literalness of childish imagination but as myth linked to deep human experience: he acquires more not less power. I found this book compelling and life-affirming. It is a book that cannot be read piecemeal, for Tacey takes us on a spiritual journey, peeling layer from layer, the full meaning of which is only revealed in his exuberant and spine tingling conclusion. In a world riven with fundamentalist extremism born of literalism, this book has the potential to be profoundly consequential. Read it! --Anne Boyd, AM, Professor of Music and Dean, University of Sydney Religion as Metaphor is a sustained and provocative attack on religious literalism. Tacey spells out the consequences of reading scripture and its major themes, the figure of Christ, the virgin birth, resurrection, the demonic and the apocalypse, through a symbolic lens. The parameters of his effort are his rejection of two fundamentalisms, religion on one side and scientism on the other. He makes a compelling case that the restoration of symbolic awareness would enhance religion and the contribution it could make to our wider culture. The work is an attempt to save religion from itself. --John Dourley, Emeritus Professor of Religion, Carleton University, Ottawa


Author Information

David Tacey is Emeritus Professor of Literature at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. He has written extensively on spirituality, religion, youth experience, and mental health. His most recent books are Gods and Diseases: Making Sense of Our Physical and Mental Wellbeing and The Darkening Spirit: Jung, Spirituality, Religion.

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