Ascending Flame, Descending Dove

Abstract

Why has a curious compound image like "Ascending flame, descending dove" been chosen to convey the thrust of the book's intentions? "The truth", remarks the author, "is that we live more by symbols than by explicit statements of 'what is the case' " (p. 27). The dove, this messenger bird, from ancient times had been the image of the cessation of hostilities between man and God, "the harbinger of God's 'shalom' or reconciling peace." (p. 30) The flame, corresponding to the dove, is the image of the human spirit.