a dominican metaphysical stand-off with a jesuit

“Father Teilhard’s vision [of order and beauty in the cosmos] seems to have all the qualities of the old myth of the eternal return, in which history is really incidental and novelty is, at bottom, only apparent. In his cosmic order, even Christ the Lord of history finds His “place” at the center, and the contradiction of the Cross is quite logical and expected. In that world, there is no terror, no trickery, no trouble…. The God of the strange world of Father Teilhard is not the one I have come to believe in. His is the God of the neat; mine is the God of the messy. His God governs with unerring efficiency; mine provides with inexcusable waste. His God is impeccably regular; mine is irresponsible. His God is the Lord of order; my God is the Lord of the Absurd.”








                                                     Raymond Nogar  OP     + 1967












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