Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Dubious Pierre Teilhard De Chardin


Frederick R Smith has moved to Frederick R. Smith Speaks (substack.com)
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuit) order in 1899 at the age of 18. Just as he started his geology studies in Paris, World War I broke out. He enlisted as a stretcher-bearer and served during the entire war.

Ordained a Catholic priest in 1911, Teilhard thereafter received a doctorate in paleontology in 1922. He lectured at the Institut Catholique in Paris from 1920-23. He visited China in 1923-24 and returned to France to teach, but in 1926 his superiors forced him to abandon the academic field. He returned to China because of his controversial attempts to reconcile the traditional view of original sin with his concept of evolution. His superiors also decided to limit his publications to purely scientific material, a limitation that continued throughout his lifetime.

Shortly after his return to China, Teilhard became an adviser to the National Geological Survey. It was in this capacity that he collaborated on research that resulted in the 1929 discovery of “Peking man” (Homo erectus). He remained in China until 1946 and it was during this period that he completed the manuscript of The Phenomenon of Man. This work outlined his concept of “cosmic evolution.” He believed that evolution was a process involving all matter (the cosmos) undergoing more complex changes that would lead to the “Omega Point.”

Trapped in China due to World War II, Teilhard returned to France after the war ended. However, from 1951 until his death in 1955, he lived in New York.

Teilhard’s evolutionism earned him the distrust of his religious superiors. Even the scientific community was suspicious of his religious mysticism, but there was a large contingent of people who cherished Teilhard’s work. Sir Julian Huxley posthumously published Teilhard’s works including Letters from a Traveler, The Divine Milieu, The Future of Man, Human Energy, Activation of Energy, and Hymn of the Universe. The overarching philosophy (or theology) of Teilhard was his mantra that claimed humanity followed a path to unification up to perfection, the “Omega Point.” This is just another utopian mind scheme.

Teilhard lives on today in the writings of many new age thinkers. For example, Marilyn Ferguson in her best-selling 1980 new age book The Aquarian Conspiracy (I actually have a copy of this weird book) points to the spiritual evolution taught by Teilhard who “prophesied the phenomenon central to this book: a conspiracy of men and women whose new perspective would trigger a critical contagion of change.” [1]  Former Vice President Albert Gore also points to a vision of Teilhard in his 1992 book, Earth in the Balance: “The religious ethic of stewardship is indeed harder to accept if one believes the world is in danger of being destroyed -- by either God or humankind. Teilhard previously wrote a similar screed: ‘The fate of mankind, as well as of religion, depends upon the emergence of a new faith in the future.’ Armed with such a faith, we might find it possible to re-sanctify the earth.” [2]

Some people believe that Teilhard foresaw the Internet based on this quote from his 1947 book The Formation of the Noosphere:

“No one can deny that a network (a world network) of economic and psychic affiliations is being woven at ever-increasing speed which envelops and constantly penetrates more deeply within each of us. With every day that passes it becomes a little more impossible for us to act or think otherwise than collectively.”

In addition to the above dubious axioms, Teilhard was a champion of “Liberation Theology,” which embraces the egalitarian precepts of Marxism. More specifically, he believed that economics evolve like creatures, and in time society will change to supply the necessities for all people in an equal manner. Sounds nice but as discerning readers know the reality is a lot different. After World War II, both the Jesuit and Dominican orders allowed some of their members to become “priest-workers” in the manner preached by Teilhard. The church leaders encouraged these “priests” to mingle with the workers of the world, even to riot or take up arms in conflicts such as the Nicaraguan civil war. Nevertheless, we do not hear from those enamored with the non-existent “wall of separation” ever complain about clergy who get involved with egalitarian politics. A priest who is fighting with communist rebels is just dandy; after all, the result is “all that matters.” 

Teilhard and his fellow travelers despised the hierarchy of the Church. Some will think that this concept is grand, as “communist societies assure that everybody is equal.” Again, it is important to say not so: never has, and never will be. The leaders of communist regimes were anything but equal to the rest of society, but sadly this fact still eludes those with egalitarian worldviews. This was the same trait that Teilhard exhibited. Unfortunately, people like Teilhard and like-minded individuals to this day think and believe that such notions are the only way to fix all the ills of society.

I am inclined to say that most who subscribe to this thinking believe that they are doing a good deed for society. Along these lines, our friends with this worldview will point out the fantasy of universal health because they do not know about the virtual lack of it in Canada and other nations with socialized medicine.

To be perfectly honest, this author does not completely fault most people enamored with collectivism because the media and education system are virtually silent about the horrors of Communism. It is too bad that the masses are not as educated about Communism as they are about the horrors of Nazism. We all know of the copious movies about the horrors of the Nazi regime. However, Hollywood produced virtually no movies about the horrors of Communism. The Back Book of Communism is a profound reality check.

All of the above notwithstanding, what is so sad is the fact even to mention that Communism was (is) as bad as Nazism brings on the clarion call of “Holocaust Denier” or McCarthyism.

After digressing a bit, it’s prudent to note that the Teilhard story is one small glimpse of just one chapter in a long story about the Jesuits, some of which can be a source of much discussion and controversy. Nevertheless, there are indeed many good things that the Jesuits have performed for humanity.

Fast forward to recent history. It is obvious that Teilhard’s philosophy has a special place in the influencing spirit used by the preachers and leaders of today. Nowadays the Supreme Pontiff is a shining example. The “wall of separation” only apples to orthodox teachings but the Teilhard-like new age mind mush gets a pass.

Notes:

  1. The Aquarian Conspiracy by Maryland Ferguson, 1980 (page 25)
  2. Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit by Al Gore, Albert, Jr. Gore, 1993 (page 63)

Major printed source for this Publius Paper, The Jesuits: The Society of Jesus and the Betrayal of the Roman Catholic Church by Malachi Martin, 1987.

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Author and Publisher, Frederick R. Smith
Editor, Sean Tinney 

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