Rating: 
Summary: Must read for an understanding of Christian perspective
Review: The Everlasting Man should be read by anyone who would like an understanding of the Christian worldview. The central point here is that the Incarnation is the central event of human history; it allows us to joyously celebrate the good of creation and nature, as God has blessed matter with His very being. For Chesterton, true, vigorous Christianity is simultaneously incarnational (embodied) and spiritual, historical and eternal. This book also displays Chesterton as a clever stylist with a penchant for aphorism and the unexpected turn of phrase. His wit and clarity are a model for English prose.
Rating:
Summary: The Everlasting Chesterton!
Review: This book opens up with a very strange discussion concerning our conventional assumptions regarding the "cave man", primitive man, and Neanderthals in general. Chesterton seems to believe that these people were much more intelligent and sophisticated than we give them credit for being. I interpreted this to be a sort of refutation or denial of Darwinism, although Darwinism is rarely if ever mentioned specifically. By assuming the cave man to be a more sophisticated spiritual being than previously assumed, Chesterton seems to be implying that these people had a direct relationship with God. From this we must assume that the cave man does not represent the "missing link" or evolutionary transitory species that would be critical to upholding Darwinism. In other words, Chesterton is trying to refute Darwinism by uplifting the cave man closer to our current level of intelligence, rather than degrade him into a neo-primate type creature representing a transitional phase between archaic primates and man. I will leave it to the reader to decide if this denial of Darwinism is convincing. But all the objective scientific purists out there will probably not be convinced by much of what Chesterton has to say, because he does not provide much in the way of scientific proof or examples. For some this might be an unpardonable sin, but in my opinion, this book is enhanced by the fact that it doesn't get bogged down with boring empirical details. Chesterton's non-scientific approach is refreshing in that it it readable, free-flowing, speculative, and somewhat instinctual. Although Chesterton relies heavily on his gut-feelings, and is highly speculative in his conclusions, the witty and down-to-earth writing style more than makes up for any lack of boring, scientific methodology in supporting these conclusions. This book is ideal for people who want to find the right balance between a book that is informative and thought-provoking on the one hand, but readable and enjoyable on the other. Sometimes it is important to forgoe enjoyment in the name of uncovering unbiased, objective truth, and granted, Chesterton does not establish anything close to such an objective, empirical truth in this book. However, there is a need for a style of free-flowing speculation, uninhibited and unencumbered by scientific rigour. It makes for a more enjoyable philosophy, which can cover more ground by being more generalized and all-encompassing, and less narrowly focused and specialized. In the end, much of what Chesterton has to say is sensible, plausible, and believable. We should take this book seriously; just not TOO seriously. I highly recommend this book to someone who wants a down-to-earth philosophical chat with one of the most skilled English authors of the twentieth century.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly Stoking the Halo of Hatred
Review: Very few books are worth reading with a pencil in hand. Most fit Stephen Donaldson's description of a novel as "throwing words at a short story." The Everlasting Man demands to be annotated. Chesterton's prose is masterful, his wit and sarcasm are triumphant, but most fundamentally, his arguments are pointed and illuminating. Chesterton provides a method and a practical goal. His method is to examine preconceptions by going out of context; to picture our reality as if we were strangers. The goal is to compare the secularist, religious, and dogmatic views of man with this external picture. His conclusion is in the recognition of Christ as The Distinguishing Event which bears no contrast or comparison with history before or since. Along the way, he dices up comparitive religion, takes a poke or two at Spencer & Darwin, relegates Islam to a heresy (albeit a "respectable heresy") and thoroughly demolishes the concept of secularist rationality. Among the more profound of Chesterton's recognitions is in the strange continuity of the Church. A little apologetics is involved, but I get the impression that his discussions are intended more for comfort to the faithful than butressing his already-established arguments. Overall, a thoroughly engaging read. My only negative criticism of the book is the dexterity of Chesterton's references and citations. I probably missed more of his allusions than I caught. In some ways, it reminds me of Swift's Gulliver's Travels - we all get the "Big end/Little end" allusion to Protestant/Catholicism conflict, and the ancillary references to France/England, etc. But only by reading thorough criticism do we find that Swift was referring not only to massive social events, but also to specific individuals and practices. Without a key from contemporary society, there is no way for us to "get" Gulliver's Travels. And I fear that this is true of "The Everlasting Man" as well. Which only goes to prove some of the points of the book itself. I wonder if Chesterton planned it that way? Finally, I cannot help but cite the end of Part I as an example of the brilliance of the writing and the theme. Referring to the first Christians in Rome, and the Roman persecution, Chesterton writes: "And there shone on them in that dark hour a light that has never been darkened,; a white fire clinging to that group like an unearthly phosporescence, blazing its track through the twilights of history and confounding every effort to confound it with the mists of mythology and theory; that shaft of light or lightning by which the world itself has struck and isolated and crowned it; by which its own enemies have made it more illustrious and its own critics have made it more inexplicable: the halo of hatred around the Church of God." Grand!
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