"While He nurtures us, He also desires to penetrate us"

from "People of the Lie: the hope for healing human evil" by M. Scott Peck pg 11-12

So I ask you to be careful in this respect also. Great evil has been committed throughout the centuries-----and is still being committed-----by nominal Christians, often in the name of Christ. The visible Christian Church is necessary , even saving, but obviously faulty, and I do apologize for its sins as well as my own.

Crusades and inquisitions had nothing to do with Christ. War, torture, and persecution have nothing to do with Christ. Arrogance and revenge have nothing to do with Christ. When he gave his one recorded sermon, the first words out of Jesus’ mouth were, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Not the arrogant. And as he was dying he asked that his murderers be forgiven.

In a letter to her sister, Saint Theresa of Lysieux wrote, “If you are willing to serenely bear the trial of being displeasing to yourself, then you will be for Jesus a pleasant place of shelter.” To define a “true Christian” is a risky business. But if I had to,.my definition would be that a true Christian is anyone who is “for Jesus a pleasant place of shelter.” There are hundreds of thousands who go to Christian churches every Sunday who are not the least bit willing to be displeasing to themselves, serenely or otherwise, and who are not, therefore, for Jesus a pleasant place of shelter. Conversely, there are millions of Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, atheists, and agnostics who are willing to bear that trial. There is nothing in this work that should offend the latter. Much may offend the former.

I feel compelled to make another “nonapology.” Many readers are likely to be concerned my use of masculine pronouns in relationship to God. I think I both understand and appreciate their concern. It is a matter to which I have given much thought. I have generally been a strong supporter of the women’s movement and action that is reasonable to combat sexist language.

But first of all, God is not neuter. He is exploding with life and love----even sexuality of a sort.

So “It” is not appropriate. Certainly I consider God androgynous. He is a gentle and tender and nurturing and maternal as any woman could ever be. Nonetheless, culturally determined though it may be, I subjectively experience His reality as more masculine than feminine. While He nurtures us, He also desires to penetrate us, and while he more often than not flee from His love like a reluctant virgin, He chases after us with a vigor in the hunt that we typically associate with males. As C.S. Lewis put it, in relation to God we are all female. Moreover, whatever our gender or conscious theology, it is our duty----our obligation—in response to His love to attempt to give birth, like Mary, to Christ in ourselves and in others.

I shall, however, break with tradition and use the neuter for Satan. While I know Satan to be lustful to penetrate us, I have not in the least experienced this desire as sexual or creative— only hateful and destructive. It is hard to determine the sex of a snake.

I have made multiple alterations of detail in every one of the many case histories given in this book. The cornerstone of both psychotherapy and science are honesty and accuracy. Nonetheless, Values often compete, and the preservation of confidentiality takes precedence in this book over the full or accurate disclosure of irrelevant detail. The purist, therefore, may destruct my “data.” On the other hand, if you think you recognize one of my specific patients in this book, you will be wrong. You will, however, probably recognize many people who conform to the personality patterns I will describe. That will be because the many alterations of case-history details have not, in my judgement, significantly distorted the reality of the human dynamics involved. As this book has been written because of the commonality of such dynamics, as well as their need to be more clearly perceived and understood by us humans.