"On [Lucas Greco], whose childhood had been marred by the clash between the Catholicism of his father's people and the Orthodoxy of his mother's, the Cathayan belief that there were many ways to God, or else none at all, had fastened powerfully. Only in the last few years, as he approached an age where the meaning of things overshadowed the things themselves, had he wondered - more and more often - what God truly wanted of men. Nowhere had he found a reasonable answer." (p. 49)
"...ways to God..." could mean just ways to oneness with the transcendent or eternal, whatever that is, whereas "what God wants of men" implies a transcendent person in the Biblical/Koranic sense.
Do "things" have a meaning? They are not nouns referring to entities other than themselves. In this context, I prefer "value" to "meaning." Life is its own value.
People live by many ways. Some ways lead to greater understanding. I like the Hindu approach which recognizes that many people personify reality whereas others do not.
How can reality in its primary state be a self-conscious being, a person? Reality has developed and evolved and thus has become conscious of itself through many psychophysical organisms. We are it.
Wanting to understand why people believe differently, I will reread Surprised By Joy, CS Lewis' account of his conversion first to Theism, then to Christianity. I already know first that his approach to Theism involved philosophical reasoning that I disagree with and secondly that his account of his acceptance of Christianity is anything but complete. I have read the Gospels and Gospel commentaries and do not share Lewis' view of them. However, we seek mutual understanding.
(I met an Evangelical who, having read Surprised By Joy, remembered only the account of the moment when Lewis first believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and had forgotten everything else. Let us contemplate the whole story.)
Lucas clearly benefited from his time in Cathay.
