The Everlasting Man - Hardcover

Chesterton, G K

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1849025630 ISBN 13: 9781849025638

Publisher: Oxford City Press, 2011

Synopsis

Chesterton's concise classic history of humanity and Christ -- complete with appendices.

About this title

Review:

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. "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. --Doug Thorpe

About the Author:

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was an English writer whose prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford City Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1849025630
• ISBN 13: 9781849025638
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 228