Holding Tension: Jung, Jesus, and Spiritual Sight

In Episode #4199 of Day1 Classics, Rev. Dr. Tom Long sits down with host Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime to unpack what it means to live as Christians with “double vision.” Together they reflect on the enduring relevance of Rev. Dr. Theodore Gill’s 1963 sermon Our Lover’s Quarrel with the World.

From Carl Jung’s idea of the “crucifixion between opposites” to real-life encounters in a Maryland homeless shelter, Dr. Long reminds us that faith calls us to hold tension, seeing both the brokenness and the beauty in the world. Addiction, despair, and systemic sin are real, but so is God’s unwavering grace.

Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime
Tom, I've, in another context, heard you sharing just some ways of being Christian right now and the dual vision that we're called to have. Can you say more about that?

Rev. Dr. Tom Long
Yeah, there is a theme in the New Testament, especially of apocalyptic understanding of the world, and, to be brief about it, an apocalyptic vision sees things in sharp contrasts. It's either of God or not; it's either of the world of evil or of the world of good.

And I think it's important for Christians to have that kind of vision, but to hold it a little loosely.

For example, if you walk into the local branch bank and squint, you can see that it is the agency of a worldwide economic oppression. This is the bank, and it's a part of the capitalist system that destroys—

Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime
And dehumanizes.

Rev. Dr. Tom Long
—dehumanizes, and then you open your eyes and there's Mrs. Birdsong, the teller, and she's giving lollipops to the children. And both of those visions are important, so that we don't villainize Mrs. Birdsong because she works at the bank.

But we don't keep our eyes closed to the evil that permeates all of our life—even the good things, even schools or the church. If you squint and look at them, they can become agents of oppression. We see them for what they are, and then you open your eyes and you look at them another way.

Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime
You know, I love Carl Jung. He would call for the "crucifixion between opposites." That's where we live—that we're held—to live in that tension. When we can manage to live in that tension, that's when we can experience life most fully, have the most truthful sight.

To see the both... Oh, but it's hard!

Rev. Dr. Tom Long
It is... I'm involved in a little town in Maryland with the homeless shelter, and most of the guests at the homeless shelter are mentally ill, and many of them are addicts.

And it's very easy to villainize them because they present with their addiction, and when they present with their addiction, what you'll see is an evil person. But if you look with another angle of vision, you begin to see a creature of God who's been made captive to something they cannot fully control.

And I think the gospel that Ted Gill was preaching here in the sermon today is we are all addicts. We are all enthralled by that which keeps us captive and makes life smaller, and God loves the world so much, He will not abandon—will not abandon—us. That's the message of the sermon.

This clip challenges us to practice what Dr. Long calls a “double vision” of faith. In a world filled with addiction, injustice, and suffering, we are invited not to close our eyes to brokenness, but to also recognize beauty, dignity, and God’s presence within it.

Jung’s “crucifixion between opposites” is not only a psychological insight, but also a deeply biblical call to discipleship. Living in tension—between sin and grace, despair and hope, condemnation and redemption—is where authentic Christian faith takes root.

For preachers and teachers, this vision is essential. It calls us to preach with honesty about the realities of life, while always pointing toward God’s promise of restoration. For congregations, it means learning to see people not as problems to fix, but as beloved children of God.

Explore Rev. Dr. Theodore Gill’s full sermon from episode 4199 >>>