The civilisation of antiquity was the whole world, and men no more dreamed of its ending than of the ending of daylight; yet the civilisation of that world has passed away, but the words of Christ have not passed away, according to G K Chesterton in his book The Everlasting Man. The book, which was first published in 1925, is a polemical response to the critics of Christianity, the Church and Christendom.
In response to those who anticipate the imminent death of Christianity, Chesterton replies that Christianity has died many times and risen again. Christianity had become the emperor’s religion under Constantine, but Julian, the last emperor in the Constantinian dynasty, killed off Christianity and restored paganism. However, the faith rose again. Two centuries later when Christianity was on the wane, missionaries from Ireland reignited the flame across Europe. The arrival of Islam looked certain to end Christianity, but the faith rose again. The paganism of the Renaissance was supposed to end Christianity, as was the humanism of the Enlightenment.
It is interesting to note how little the grounds of argument have changed from those named by Chesterton more than 85 years ago. However, Chesterton’s responses are steeped in the world of classical civilisation, and they assume that the reader has a good understanding of Greek and Roman history, philosophy and literature. Unfortunately this means that the book is heavy going for the typical modern reader.