Do Christians Dream About Jesus?

[Southern Buddhist 1]

Like the title says, do believers ever dream about Jesus? If so, what's he doing or saying?I've dreamt about him a couple of times. Once was when I was reading the bible, and he embraced me and said everything was fine.Then recently, there was this long involved dream where a group of people I was in was being chased by vampires. I was more or less the leader. Jesus was also in the group and he asked us to sacrifice him so we could get away. This involved jamming a stake through his heart, a la Buffy. The idea was that the vampires would feast on his blood and give the rest of us a chance to run. Nobody could quite bring themselves to kill Jesus, though, so I wound up going over to the lead vampire and offering my own neck instead.The whole theory of dreaming says that if you think about something frequently during the day, you'll dream about it at night. If Christians think about Jesus much at all, it would only stand to reason that they would dream about him pretty often. Yet I've never heard any Christians talk about Jesus popping up in their dreams. Why not? No dreams about Jesus, ever, or not willing to talk about the Lord of Hosts and Prince of Peace and all that hanging around doing wacky dream things?

[Loismustdie 0]

Sometimes. He likes Heads up Limit Hold Em. He also thinks Daniel is a fish in the big game. Hey, don't look at me. I never said a word, he brought it up.

[Southern Buddhist 1]

Sometimes. He likes Heads up Limit Hold Em. He also thinks Daniel is a fish in the big game. Hey, don't look at me. I never said a word, he brought it up.

Good answer. I see the glimmerings of potential for this thread.

[Zealous Donkey 0]

Recurrent dreams sometimes represent the subconscious trying to resolve fragmentation of the personality. So someone who kept dreaming about Jesus would probably be stuggling with some sort of god complex.

[theresa113 0]

No, instead they dream of homosexual sex. (sorry... I could not resist.)

[solderz 0]

Recurrent dreams sometimes represent the subconscious trying to resolve fragmentation of the personality. So someone who kept dreaming about Jesus would probably be stuggling with some sort of god complex.

I hate Freud

[Southern Buddhist 1]

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar -- or so he claimed.

[hblask 1]

No, instead they dream of homosexual sex.

There is no reason the two are mutally exclusive.

[vbnautilus 48]

I hate Freud

so do most psychologists... it's funny how pop psychology got stuck on freud when the actual field moved past him ages ago. (sorry for the tangent, just a pet peeve of mine)

[Southern Buddhist 1]

so do most psychologists... it's funny how pop psychology got stuck on freud when the actual field moved past him ages ago. (sorry for the tangent, just a pet peeve of mine)

It is a tangent, but this thread kind of goes to show that there is a strange silence from Christians on this subject.I was just reading a book written by a Freudian recently. It's striking how totally wrong Freud is, and yet how totally right. Sometimes simultaneously on the same issue.

[vbnautilus 48]

It's striking how totally wrong Freud is, and yet how totally right. Sometimes simultaneously on the same issue.

This is very insightful. I think my main view of him is that he did have some really interesting insights into the way the mind works, but that none of it is really particularly useful for effective psychotherapy.

[speedz99 145]

It is a tangent, but this thread kind of goes to show that there is a strange silence from Christians on this subject.

They know a trap when they see one.

[Balloon guy 158]

No, instead they dream of homosexual sex. (sorry... I could not resist.)

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar -- or so he claimed.

Hey...wait a minutes.I have never dreamed of Jesus, BUT the Bible clearly says that the young men will see visions, and the old men will dream dreams. So I guess I got a few years before I catch up to you SB.And Frued was a quack lying pedophile. Or it might have been a metaphore for his desire of young boys who loved their mother's plans to rule their husband through denial of childish fears.

[solderz 0]

so do most psychologists... it's funny how pop psychology got stuck on freud when the actual field moved past him ages ago. (sorry for the tangent, just a pet peeve of mine)

I agree, for the most part. But classes on Rorshach tests (interpretation of ink blot tests) are still a requirement of the APA (American Psychology Association) for any doctorate program to become accredited. Their justification for the requirement is that all the good psychology schools have the classes, which is blatantly circular logic, but go figure.I received an undergraduate degree in Psychology (which I never used, except as a stepping stone to a different masters degree) and the major was filled with Freudians. A lot of psychologists and psychiatrists out there still buy into the bs. Including the crap about Oedipal complexes (everyone wants to have sex with their mother and fear violence from their father as a result).Freud was a cocaine and opium addict and based his theories on 4 case studies. The only thing he deserves credit for is spurring on the field of psychology as a whole, even though his contribution to it was nothing but mistakes.

[Gallo 1]

So what's the difference between a Christian and a Catholic?

[Loismustdie 0]

No, instead they dream of homosexual sex. (sorry... I could not resist.)

Been there. I think you guys are going to be surprised when I unveil in the near future what I have been working on recently. It's fairly gay. Somebody said that this thread could be a potential trap- I can see how some could see it as that, being that most christians think they are supposed to play some type of role, and thus cannot have dreams that consist of certain things, but dreams are just a conglomeration of everything and anything. Some could have meaning and some make no sense and are just gibberish. I happen to have vivid dreams about lots of things, sinful and not, and enjoy the idea that it's probably because, unlike the angry conservative role I play on this site I am actually rather vibrant, made up of all kinds of sides, desires, etc. We are all sinners at the core. My first answer was of course a joke, my dreams when I do dream of God are usually not good, because I dream of what I fear, like the end times and not being prepared. I can't tell you how many times I have dreamt that the sky opened, a trumpet sounded, the moon turned to blood, and all I can think about it "Shit, I should not be seeing this" and then I wake up. My dreams often involve people from church, when I was a 13 my mom was sent from Oregon to Arizona to help a Church of Christ that was in trouble spiritually and so we moved, and I hated it, as much as any kid could. I loved my friends, especially one, and I would have dreams where I was flying above her while she was at a playground and I would call to her and try to land so I could play with her, she would not look up, those were the worst dreaming years of my life. I was a fairly depressed 13 to 15 year old. To this day I harbor the feeling that life took a wrong turn at 13. I love where I am at now but that was pivotal, everything changed. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

[vbnautilus 48]

I agree, for the most part. But classes on Rorshach tests (interpretation of ink blot tests) are still a requirement of the APA (American Psychology Association) for any doctorate program to become accredited. Their justification for the requirement is that all the good psychology schools have the classes, which is blatantly circular logic, but go figure.

That test is not Freudian though.

I received an undergraduate degree in Psychology (which I never used, except as a stepping stone to a different masters degree) and the major was filled with Freudians. A lot of psychologists and psychiatrists out there still buy into the bs. Including the crap about Oedipal complexes (everyone wants to have sex with their mother and fear violence from their father as a result).Freud was a cocaine and opium addict and based his theories on 4 case studies. The only thing he deserves credit for is spurring on the field of psychology as a whole, even though his contribution to it was nothing but mistakes.

It's becoming increasingly rare... most Ph.D. programs in psychology teach empirically supported methods. I think we have about 50 faculty in my department and I don't think one of them is a psychoanalyst.

[Loismustdie 0]

They know a trap when they see one.

Could also be that you heathens have chased most of them off. Ever think about that, hot shot? I think you in particular will enjoy the gayness of the project I have been working on.

[Southern Buddhist 1]

I received an undergraduate degree in Psychology (which I never used, except as a stepping stone to a different masters degree) and the major was filled with Freudians. A lot of psychologists and psychiatrists out there still buy into the bs. Including the crap about Oedipal complexes (everyone wants to have sex with their mother and fear violence from their father as a result).Freud was a cocaine and opium addict and based his theories on 4 case studies. The only thing he deserves credit for is spurring on the field of psychology as a whole, even though his contribution to it was nothing but mistakes.

The Oedipal complex is one of the places where he's exactly wrong. However, his contribution was more than just mistakes. He, more than anyone, gave us the idea of the subconscious, and the id/ego/superego, whether "correct" in any sense or not, is still a useful construct.Consider Stephen Spielberg's Animaniacs from that standpoint: Yakko = superego; Wakko = id; Dot = ego. You can even throw in Hello Nurse and Dr. Scratchensniff as parental figures (Hello Nurse even as an Oedipal mother figure), and Katie Kaboom as a hysterical virgin. It works -- not that underpinning a cartoon universe was what Freud had in mind.But, as VB said, not actually any good for therapy.I've dreamt about the end of the world too, but it was meteor strikes coming west to east across the US, getting closer and closer to my house until the one that finally hit and turned our house into a white flash of light. I had my back toward the approaching strikes, hugging my husband, and the last thing I remember in the dream was the feeling of the skin on my back burning and crackling and curling, then I woke up. I think it's pretty rare to dream up to and including one's own death. Maybe I just needed the A/C on.

[BigDMcGee 3,352]

Do robots dream of electric sheep?

[BigDMcGee 3,352]

This is very insightful. I think my main view of him is that he did have some really interesting insights into the way the mind works, but that none of it is really particularly useful for effective psychotherapy.

The psychotherapy legacy is the one part of freud's work that I have the most issue with. His stuff about dreams and the id and shit like that is recognized as non-scientific these days, and while may have cultural impact, particularly in arts and literature but little other impact beyond that. However, it's fruedian style psycho therapy ( IE meeting with a psychologist 3 times a week, every week, for years, to gain some sort of child hood insight and become healthy) is one of the most ineffective ( and expensive) forms of therapy there is. And it has all the scientific validity of religion. Hey, if it makes people feel better and trick themselves into being happy, fine, but I have the same issues with many forms of psychological therapy that I do with religion, only religion doesn't drape itself in a veneer of pseudo science.

[Southern Buddhist 1]

Do robots dream of electric sheep?

Isn't it androids?

[vbnautilus 48]

The psychotherapy legacy is the one part of freud's work that I have the most issue with. His stuff about dreams and the id and shit like that is recognized as non-scientific these days, and while may have cultural impact, particularly in arts and literature but little other impact beyond that. However, it's fruedian style psycho therapy ( IE meeting with a psychologist 3 times a week, every week, for years, to gain some sort of child hood insight and become healthy) is one of the most ineffective ( and expensive) forms of therapy there is. And it has all the scientific validity of religion. Hey, if it makes people feel better and trick themselves into being happy, fine, but I have the same issues with many forms of psychological therapy that I do with religion, only religion doesn't drape itself in a veneer of pseudo science.

I agree, but the fact is that we now have very effective methods of pychotherapy for many of the common things people experience. For example, my wife does cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders, and its very very effective. People actually get better in a reasonable amount of time. The problem is that the public is not educated about this; they still think therapy means sitting on a couch talking about your mother for the rest of your life, and they often seek out therapists who do this rather than going to people who practice empirically supported treatments.

[BigDMcGee 3,352]

I agree, but the fact is that we now have very effective methods of pychotherapy for many of the common things people experience. For example, my wife does cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders, and its very very effective. People actually get better in a reasonable amount of time. The problem is that the public is not educated about this; they still think therapy means sitting on a couch talking about your mother for the rest of your life, and they often seek out therapists who do this rather than going to people who practice empirically supported treatments.

Okay, well, I was of course talking about was Freudian style psycho-analysis, which still exists and is pretty much how the public expects. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most useful form of psychological therapy, and has the highest success rates, particularly with some specific issues, like anxiety and phobias. The most severe the mental illness, the less effective any form of therapy is, of course.

[Zealous Donkey 0]

The psychotherapy legacy is the one part of freud's work that I have the most issue with. His stuff about dreams and the id and shit like that is recognized as non-scientific these days, and while may have cultural impact, particularly in arts and literature but little other impact beyond that. However, it's fruedian style psycho therapy ( IE meeting with a psychologist 3 times a week, every week, for years, to gain some sort of child hood insight and become healthy) is one of the most ineffective ( and expensive) forms of therapy there is. And it has all the scientific validity of religion. Hey, if it makes people feel better and trick themselves into being happy, fine, but I have the same issues with many forms of psychological therapy that I do with religion, only religion doesn't drape itself in a veneer of pseudo science.

True, I often wonder how much influence Freud had on L. Ron Hubbard.