Two as One

Norman O. Brown’s discussion, in Life Against Death: The Psychoanalytical Meaning of History, of Martin Luther’s belief in associating anality with the devil was thought provoking. I have studied Martin Luther before but merely the basics of his split from Catholicism and the practices like the accepting of indulgences. The idea that Brown brings up, “Protestantism was born in the temple of the Devil,” made me think about the importance of binary oppositions for our society (209).

Everything must have its opposite and people are reluctant to see that opposites can sometimes have such a strong connection that they in fact exist as one thing. Brown points out that this focus on the devil allowed Luther to become to closer to God through the alienation of God. However, Brown did not attempt to discuss why there is a need for a difference between God and the Devil. This may seem like a strange phrase as I am speaking about a religious group that had a firm belief in the superiority of God and the evil of the Devil. However, it seems odd that one could notice how far one must go from God to become close to him and not see the connection between the two beings.

Freud addresses this point when he makes the claim that both the Devil and God are father-substitutes. One represents the good aspects of the father and the other the negative. In this, he is suggesting that the Devil and God are the same person. Brown even mentions that everything that is of the world is of the Devil, but still the connection is not made between this statement and the Christian belief that God created the world and everything in it (211).

            While I find the exploration of anality and the Devil to be extremely interesting, I think I would like to see Brown address the issue of God and the Devil as one being. What would that mean for Protestants and for other Christian sects?