Setting: The same celestial antechamber, now darker and more intense, as if the weight of the upcoming trial looms heavily. The ANGELS stand silently, their serene faces now more watchful. Freud and Eliade, both visibly restless, continue their debate, the knowledge of God’s existence hanging over them like a challenge they must reconcile.
Freud: (Pacing slightly, his bindings glowing faintly voice filled with doubt) How can, you be sure? How do you know that God exists?
(Suddenly, a deafening lightning strike fills the room, shaking Freud to his core. He staggers back, fear evident in his eyes as the storm rages around him.)
This… this can’t be real. Just an illusion…
(He pauses, glancing at Eliade, who stands unshaken.)
But still… Eliade, what is this God?
(He gestures toward the vast chamber, voice wavering.)
A construct born of humanity’s eternal struggle with guilt and fear. The primal father, slain by his sons, elevated to the heavens in a desperate act of reconciliation (Pals, 2009, p. 73).
Eliade: (Sitting upright, his gaze steady) You cling to your primal father, Freud, as if the divine could be reduced to such base origins. The sacred is not guilt—it is transformation. Through hierophanies, the sacred reveals itself, drawing us beyond time and the mundane, connecting us to the divine order (Pals, 2009, p. 276).
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Freud: (Leaning forward, his voice sharp) And yet your sacred is but a mask, hiding the psychological truth. The Oedipus complex is universal—desire for the mother, rivalry with the father. God is nothing more than an exalted father figure, embodying authority, morality, and the resolution of this ancient conflict (Pals, 2009, pp. 72-74).
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Eliade: (Standing, his voice rising with conviction) You see shadows on the wall, Freud, but I have sought the light. The sacred shapes the cosmos, not the psyche. The axis mundi center us, connecting heaven and earth, giving meaning to existence beyond your cycles of repression and guilt (Pals, 2009, pp. 280-281).
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Freud: (Leaning forward, voice sharp) Meaning, Eliade? Or simply an escape from the terror of history? Your eternal return seems more like a ritual of avoidance—a longing to rewind the clock and escape the relentless march of time. It denies progress, trapping humanity in repetitive cycles instead of freeing it (Pals, 2009, pp. 72-74).
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Eliade: (With fire in his voice) Ritual is not denial, Freud—it is renewal. It does not escape history but sanctifies it, allowing us to transcend the profane and touch the divine. Your theories of guilt may uncover fragments of truth, but they cannot grasp the full depth of humanity’s longing for the sacred—a longing that shapes both time and eternity (Pals, 2009, p. 277).
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(Their argument grows heated, the celestial chamber shimmering with tension. Suddenly, a women strides into the space, her presence commanding. Freud and Eliade stop mid-sentence, staring at her as if her very existence is an interruption.)
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Women: (Coolly) I hope I’m not intruding. It seems the two of you are debating the nature of God—a topic I know quite well.
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Freud: (Blinking, incredulous) A woman? Here? How did you—
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Eliade: (Interrupting, his tone sharp) This is a space of scholars, madam. Who are you?
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Women: (Unfazed, with a small smile) Nancy Jay. Sociologist, scholar of religion. I lectured at Harvard Divinity School.
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Freud and Eliade: (Exchanging a look, incredulous) Harvaaard??
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Jay: (Firmly) Yes. And I’ve read both of your works extensively. Shall we continue this conversation?
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Freud: (With a critical edge) Madam, you may misunderstand our position. This is a scholarly discussion, not one of simple opinions.
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Eliade: (Adding, with a measured tone) Indeed, our debate delves deeply into the complexities of ritual, myth, and psychology. I’m not sure how your perspective fits within these frameworks.
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Jay: (Sharply, but measured) Scholarly work? You both speak of God as though the divine exists only in your narrow, patriarchal frameworks. Freud, your primal father is a construct that erases the contributions of women entirely. Eliade, your hierophanies dismiss the maternal role in favor of male-centered cosmic order (Jay, 1992, p. 147).
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Freud: (Taken aback) Erases women? Religion originates from guilt and authority—the father’s authority.
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Jay: (Cutting him off) Precisely! Sacrificial systems, which you both so eloquently dissect, are tools of domination. God, as depicted in these systems, reflects patriarchal structures that prioritize male lineage and exclude women from power. Sacrifice symbolically bypasses maternal contributions, ensuring male continuity while rendering the divine complicit in this exclusion (Jay, 1992, p. 148).
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Eliade: (Recovering) You misunderstand. The sacred transcends such social constructs.
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Jay: (Furious) Does it? Or does it simply reinforce them? God, as your sacred axis, mediates social order and chaos, yet that order is always male-dominated. Your rituals are not universal—they are patriarchal performances, silencing women under the guise of cosmic harmony (Jay, 1992, p. 149).
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Freud: (Looking uneasy) But the psychological roots—
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Jay: (Looking at him sharply) Your psychological roots are steeped in guilt over patriarchal violence. And you, Eliade, cloak the same systems in mysticism, ignoring how they marginalize half of humanity.
(Freud and Eliade exchange a look, momentarily silenced by her critique. The ANGELS stir in the background, their expressions unreadable.)
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Jay: (Stepping forward) If God exists, then God must account for these systems of exclusion. And if you two are to defend your theories before the divine, you might start by acknowledging your own complicity in perpetuating these frameworks.
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(The room falls silent. Freud looks thoughtful; Eliade appears unsettled. The ANGELS step closer, signaling that the trial is nearing. The scene fades as the three figures stand in tense silence, awaiting the next act.)