THIS WEEK'S BOOKS .
WE offer a cordial welcome to Mr. G. K. Chesterton's new book, The Everlasting Man (Hodder and Stoughton). It is at once a critique of the doctrine of Evolution, and
a renewal of our wonder at this miracle of the universe, man. It is also a brave attempt to explain the realm of religion, and to reinduce, after the materialist outlook of most modern histories of mankind, a realization of the spiritual depths hidden from the physical scientist. The braveness fails in one respect—Mr. Chesterton's wit is prolific, and when he is dealing with profound subjects it often seems incongruous. None the less we owe him a debt of gratitude, both for the
thoroughness with which he carries out his main theme and for such occasional remarks as the following :-
" We have all heard people say a hundred times over, for they seem never to tire of saying it, that the Jesus of the New Testament is indeed a most merciful and humane lover of humanity, but that the Church has hidden this human character in repellent dogmas and stiffened it with ecclesiastical terrors till it has taken on an inhuman character. This is, I venture to repeat, very nearly the reverse of the truth. The truth is that it is the image of Christ in the churches that is almost entirely mild and merciful. The figure in the Gospels does indeed utter in words of almost heart- breaking beauty His pity for our broken hearts. But they are very far from being the only sort of words that He utters."
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