Missive #646

What, if anything, is it that makes the human uniquely human? This, in part, is the question that G.K. Chesterton starts with in this classic exploration of human history. Responding to the evolutionary materialism of his contemporary (and antagonist) H.G. Wells, Chesterton in this work affirms human uniqueness and the unique message of the Christian faith. Writing in a time when social Darwinism was rampant, Chesterton instead argued that the idea that society has been steadily progressing from a state of primitivism and barbarity towards civilization is simply and flatly inaccurate.I have read all of H. G. Wells fiction as well as that of Aldous Huxley; enjoyed them both. Well’s nonfiction was a struggle, Huxley nonfiction was worse and this book by G.K. Chesterton was worse yet. It is me, other readers gush over their nonfiction books, but I will not read any more of his nonfiction. “Barbarism and civilization were not successive stages in the progress of the world,” he affirms, with arguments drawn from the histories of both Egypt and Babylon.
As always with Chesterton, there is in this analysis something (as he said of Blake) “very plain and emphatic.” He sees in Christianity a rare blending of philosophy and mythology, or reason and story, which satisfies both the mind and the heart. On both levels it rings true. As he puts it, “in answer to the historical query of why it was accepted, and is accepted, I answer for millions of others in my reply; because it fits the lock; because it is like life.” Here, as so often in Chesterton, we sense a lived, awakened faith. All that he writes derives from a keen intellect guided by the heart’s own knowledge. — Book promo @ goodreads.com

“H. G. Wells was a materialist, evolutionary thinker and atheist who believed human progress was a linear, scientific process driven by reason and eugenics.  His Outline of History (1920) portrayed humanity as evolving from primitive origins through science and social engineering toward a utopian future.
G. K. Chesterton, a devout Roman Catholic, rejected this view.  In The Everlasting Man (1925), he argued that humanity is uniquely spiritual, defined not by biological evolution but by its capacity for art, symbolism, and religious meaning. He saw Christ as the pivotal moment in history—not a mere man, but the divine incarnation. “

There is more rain showers in the forecast for today. I may go walk then again I may not depending on how it looks when I want to get out there. The Ibuprofen that I took yesterday has brought my sleeping heart rate back down to what I consider the range where inflammation is also in a normal range – maybe.

Nothing else happening today with nothing planned.