Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a Jesuit whereas Axor, in Poul Anderson's The Game of Empire, is a Galilean. Despite their common Catholicism, they have little in common.
In The Phenomenon of Man, Teilhard thought that mankind would remain on Earth although he may have changed his mind later. He also thought that Terrestrial mankind would evolve toward a transcendent state that could be identified with Christ, the latter somehow regarded as "cosmic" in significance, whereas Axor seeks evidence for a second, extra-terrestrial, divine incarnation, which would be taken for granted in Hindu theology.
Teilhard theistically thought that evolution was directed toward an end point whereas secularist scientists assume that natural selection is merely a process that will continue as long as organisms exist. This secularist perspective is assumed in Anderson's works although his characters subscribe to diverse beliefs, e.g., the two Wodenite converts to Terrestrial religions, Adzel and Axor.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Many, many years ago I went thru a phase where I read works of Pere Teilhard such as THE DIVINE MILIEU, THE PHENOMENON OF MAN, THE FUTURE OF MAN, and a collection of his essays. I read him with interest but I was never a "Teilhardian," because some of what he wrote went too far in the direction of pantheism. Also, I thought some of de Chardin's comments about Christ to be questionable or ambiguous.
I might have argued with Fr. Axor that there was no need to seek for evidence of the Incarnation of Christ on other worlds. Because the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ on Terra during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius are infinitely sufficient. So, once FTL was invented and the Church decided non-humans could convert and be baptized, it became the Church's duty to proclaim the Gospel to all races.
Ad astra! Sean
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