Pope Francis and the Rocks of Reality

A man of the world, he is recreating the Church in his image

Saint John Paul II, in his letter Fides et Ratio, described faith and reason as two wings lifting the human spirit toward truth. Edward Wilson, one of the fathers of Secular Humanism, stumbled upon the “real problem of humanity,” ignoring how faith and reason combine to reconcile our Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and God-like technology.

Yet, we have evolved. Philosophy initially centered on a biological man, the measure of all things. The medieval Church replaced him with a metaphysical Man. Secular Humanism now idealizes the pretense of a historical man – part homo economicus, part Übermensch: Mr. Hyde emerging from Renaissance man Dr. Jekyll’s shadow.

We understand biology, aspire to metaphysics. Neither can we change. History, we can change. It lets us enshrine particular archetypes of man at the forefront. This historical man’s emotions are not primitive; they are enlightened, answering the call of the void with creative destruction. Eroding the rocks of reality to build back better. The vacuum nature abhors has become the engine of history.

But ‘Palaeolithic’ also means ‘old rock.’ The Book of Genesis speaks of a world in progress, where man is set upon the path toward truth. Moulded from clay, with an extended back exposing all his vital organs—and a brain demanding too much energy and time to develop—he is stacked against the rocks of a hostile reality.

Human civilization still flourished, from Adam and Eve’s struggle through various stages of environmental and social challenges, to Noah’s resilience and ingenuity. To Abraham and the covenant. [Continue]