The Everlasting Man

[Gauracandra]

I saw a program on CSPAN with William F. Buckley. He was discussing a new book of his called "Nearer my God: An Autobiography of Faith". I always enjoy listening to Buckley because he is both an intellectual and a firm believer in God (he's Catholic). In the course of his speach he mentioned a book called "The Everlasting Man" as a great book that supports the superiority of Christianity over other traditions. I found it online, and have read a bit from a number of the chapters. Here it is if you want to read:

 

http://www.dur.ac.uk/~dcs6mpw/gkc/books/everlasting_man.html

 

There were a number of interesting points. One that was interesting was that Christianity was able to bring the divine closer to humanity, by making God as man. He makes the point that if your Gods have 3 heads, and 5 arms, it somewhat sets you apart from the divine. You can't relate entirely, and it makes the understanding of the mysteries a bit unnerving perhaps. He also rejects paganism "open-mindedness" which seeks to place all religions on the same platform.

 

I found what I read to be quite interesting. At times this book "The Everlasting Man" gets a bit sidetrack, with the author trying to be a bit too clever and wordy (a problem I think Buckley himself at times suffers from). But for the most part I found it very interesting. I'll have to sit down and read the entire thing top to bottom.

[Gauracandra]

If the Church had not entered the world then, it seems probable that Europe would be now very much what Asia is now. Something may be allowed for a real difference of race and environment, visible in the ancient as in the modern world. But after all we talk about the changeless East very largely because it has not suffered the great change. Paganism in its last phase showed considerable signs of becoming equally changeless. This would not mean that new schools or sects of philosophy would not arise; as new schools did arise in Antiquity and do arise in Asia. It does not mean that there would be no real mystics or visionaries; as there were mystics in Antiquity and are mystics in Asia. It does not mean that there would be no social codes, as there were codes in Antiquity and are codes in Asia. It does not mean that there could not be good men or happy lives, for God has given all men a conscience and conscience can give all men a kind of peace. But it does mean that the tone and proportion of all these things, and especially the proportion of good and evil things, would be in the unchanged West what they are in the changeless East. And nobody who looks at that changeless East honestly, and with a real sympathy, can believe that there is anything there remotely resembling the challenge and revolution of the Faith.

This is an interesting ‘What if?’ What if Christianity never took over Europe, what would Europe have been like? I am of the opinion that the ideas in Christianity are a major reason for the growth of Western Civilization. The ideas focus on the dignity of man, and man’s place in the world. One point made in “The Everlasting Man” is that the Christ figure was able to combine Man and God together, reason and myth. It gave a human sense of our place in the world.

What sort of moral/ethical world view would have resulted if Europe was still engulfed by thousands of little cults. Some worshipping Thor fighting ice giants, others worshipping Zeus throwing thunderbolts. Can man really relate to these gods? And what ideas underlie these gods that would uplift humanity? On the other hand, the story of Christ is a very human story, and the ideas presented in it are about human dignity. Paganism, with thousands of little cults, each with different ethical codes, would not be a very efficient means for developing a civilization.

 

And what did Christianity bring?

 

What that universal yet fighting faith brought into the world was hope. Perhaps the one thing common to mythology and philosophy was that both were really sad; in the sense that they had not this hope even if they had touches of faith or charity.