Apologetics; Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith), 1874-1936; Christianity -- Essence, genius, nature
Lastly, there is a fourth class of people who take whatever it is that
they happen to want, and say that that is the ultimate aim of evolution.
And these are the only sensible people. This is the only really healthy
way with the word evolution, to work for what you want, and to call
_that_ evolution. The only intelligible sense that progress or advance
can have among men, is that we have a definite vision, and that we wish
to make the whole world like that vision. If you like to put it so, the
essence of the doctrine is that what we have around us is the mere
method and preparation for something that we have to create. This is not
a world, but rather the materials for a world. God has given us not so
much the colours of a picture as the colours of a palette. But He has
also given us a subject, a model, a fixed vision. We must be clear about
what we want to paint. This adds a further principle to our previous
list of principles. We have said we must be fond of this world, even in
order to change it. We now add that we must be fond of another world
(real or imaginary) in order to have something to change it to.
We need not debate about the mere words evolution or progress:
personally I prefer to call it reform. For reform implies form. It
implies that we are trying to shape the world in a particular image; to
make it something that we see already in our minds. Evolution is a
metaphor from mere automatic unrolling. Progress is a metaphor from
merely walking along a road--very likely the wrong road. But reform is a
metaphor for reasonable and determined men: it means that we see a
certain thing out of shape and we mean to put it into shape. And we
know what shape.
Now here comes in the whole collapse and huge blunder of our age. We
have mixed up two different things, two opposite things. Progress should
mean that we are always changing the world to suit the vision. Progress
does mean (just now) that we are always changing the vision. It should
mean that we are slow but sure in bringing justice and mercy among men:
it does mean that we are very swift in doubting the desirability of
justice and mercy: a wild page from any Prussian sophist makes men doubt
it. Progress should mean that we are always walking towards the New
Jerusalem. It does mean that the New Jerusalem is always walking away
from us. We are not altering the real to suit the ideal. We are altering
the ideal: it is easier.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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