This is a startling meditation by an Episcopalian minister and Jungian analyst based on Grunewald's controversial Ishenheim altarpiece from the 16th century. On the crucifixion panel, Jesus appears as blemished and sickly. This image compels Monick to revision Christ as a shaman who takes evil, sexuality, and disease into himself. Or as the author puts it, "Evil's presence is as ubiquitous in life as is blessing." He also discusses the sexual and spiritual energy in Grunewald's depiction of the relationship between Jesus and others in the altarpiece — John, Mary Magdalene, and John the Baptist.