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We Agnostics on the Tight Rope to Eternity
Agnosticism. Philosophy. Religion. 139 pp + bibliography.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 26, 2016
I like Basset. His wit and humour are the reasons for it.
But when Basset tries something very lofty, I think he fails. 'Fails' may not be the right word. May be, that he misses something. That was obvious in this book. He had a lofty aim unlike his other funny book Priest in the Piazza: Touchline Tribute to a Council where some tidbits during the Vatican II were shared in a humorous journalistic pieces.
The lofty aim in this work is relating to narrating the journey of a person who because of existential question finds his faith slowly dying and how through various stages he comes back very strong in his faith purified of all his doubts. This he has attempted in a way of a novel-memoir.
The problem is common for any man past thirty years of his/her age to question the meaning of his/her existence. This leads to doubting one's own faith inculcated in the childhood. How does man grapple with such problems? Either he might turn into an atheist or a permanent agnostic or come back strong as a believer. The protagonist of this book belongs to the third category. And his journey from faith to agnosticism to slight taste of atheism to strong belief in God is narrated here. In this journey the hero is helped by few writers/psychologists/philosophers. For example the two books that play an important role in his life are: The Varieties of Religious Experience and The Perennial Philosophy. The analysis of these two books really piqued my interest. But it did nothing to understand the protagonist's struggle with the existential question.
Still, it is readable and filled with wit and sprayed with some wonderful quotations. Only that Basset should have restricted himself to the genre of non-fiction instead of foraying into the field of fiction.
But when Basset tries something very lofty, I think he fails. 'Fails' may not be the right word. May be, that he misses something. That was obvious in this book. He had a lofty aim unlike his other funny book Priest in the Piazza: Touchline Tribute to a Council where some tidbits during the Vatican II were shared in a humorous journalistic pieces.
The lofty aim in this work is relating to narrating the journey of a person who because of existential question finds his faith slowly dying and how through various stages he comes back very strong in his faith purified of all his doubts. This he has attempted in a way of a novel-memoir.
The problem is common for any man past thirty years of his/her age to question the meaning of his/her existence. This leads to doubting one's own faith inculcated in the childhood. How does man grapple with such problems? Either he might turn into an atheist or a permanent agnostic or come back strong as a believer. The protagonist of this book belongs to the third category. And his journey from faith to agnosticism to slight taste of atheism to strong belief in God is narrated here. In this journey the hero is helped by few writers/psychologists/philosophers. For example the two books that play an important role in his life are: The Varieties of Religious Experience and The Perennial Philosophy. The analysis of these two books really piqued my interest. But it did nothing to understand the protagonist's struggle with the existential question.
Still, it is readable and filled with wit and sprayed with some wonderful quotations. Only that Basset should have restricted himself to the genre of non-fiction instead of foraying into the field of fiction.
July 17, 2024
THE FICTIONAL JOURNEY OF A MAN WHO LOST, THEN RECOVERS, FAITH
Fr. Bernard Basset is a Jesuit, and the author of many other books such as 'We Neurotics,' 'Born for Friendship: The Spirit of Sir Thomas More,' 'Priest in paradise: With God to Illinois,' etc.
This 1968 book is the story of Harry Dawes, a modern Catholic layman who has lost his faith, and struggles with the questions of existence and belief. In the book, he eventually experiences a self-awakening and returns to the faith. Other characters include his wife Margery (who is "more papal than the Pope"), Father Allsop (a forward-looking, poster-hanging priest), and others.
He wrote, "both Margery and dear Father Allsop are intolerant... he is always preaching about love. 'You'll damned well love each other or hear about it' is his interpretation of the new theology." (Pg. 19-20)
Recalling an earlier visit to the Holy Land, Harry muses about his "grave disappointment when I visited the Holy Places... my faith was troubled that the great God of the Old Law should appear so small... The valley of Jehoshaphat was my great disappointment, turning the God of heaven into a tribal deity... I found nothing big enough for infinity." (Pg. 50-51)
Harry later admits, "I need a God of whom I was afraid. It seemed to me then... that total submission is essential for a creature; during my nocturnal visitation I had for the very first time sensed my own powerlessness." (Pg. 60) A nun advises him, "Some start their lives with the word Father and may later find it difficult to grasp that this Father is God. Others attack the summit first with greater fear and hardship and these later discover God's condescension with bewildering delight." (Pg. 67)
This is an interesting fictional treatment of some probing issues by a popular Catholic author.
Fr. Bernard Basset is a Jesuit, and the author of many other books such as 'We Neurotics,' 'Born for Friendship: The Spirit of Sir Thomas More,' 'Priest in paradise: With God to Illinois,' etc.
This 1968 book is the story of Harry Dawes, a modern Catholic layman who has lost his faith, and struggles with the questions of existence and belief. In the book, he eventually experiences a self-awakening and returns to the faith. Other characters include his wife Margery (who is "more papal than the Pope"), Father Allsop (a forward-looking, poster-hanging priest), and others.
He wrote, "both Margery and dear Father Allsop are intolerant... he is always preaching about love. 'You'll damned well love each other or hear about it' is his interpretation of the new theology." (Pg. 19-20)
Recalling an earlier visit to the Holy Land, Harry muses about his "grave disappointment when I visited the Holy Places... my faith was troubled that the great God of the Old Law should appear so small... The valley of Jehoshaphat was my great disappointment, turning the God of heaven into a tribal deity... I found nothing big enough for infinity." (Pg. 50-51)
Harry later admits, "I need a God of whom I was afraid. It seemed to me then... that total submission is essential for a creature; during my nocturnal visitation I had for the very first time sensed my own powerlessness." (Pg. 60) A nun advises him, "Some start their lives with the word Father and may later find it difficult to grasp that this Father is God. Others attack the summit first with greater fear and hardship and these later discover God's condescension with bewildering delight." (Pg. 67)
This is an interesting fictional treatment of some probing issues by a popular Catholic author.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews