The Shadow Library: Devilotion

 

A New Synthesis of Evolution, by Teilhard de Chardin

“Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ ; 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher and teacher. He was Darwinian in outlook and the author of several influential theological and philosophical books.

“He took part in the discovery of Peking Man. He conceived the vitalist idea of the Omega Point. With Vladimir Vernadsky he developed the concept of the noosphere.

“In 1962, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith condemned several of Teilhard's works based on their percieved ambiguities and doctrinal errors. Some eminent Catholic figures, including Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, have made positive comments on some of his ideas since. The response to his writings by scientists has been divided.” – Wikipedia.

Another volume picked up from Yesterday’s Warehouse during the Searching Times. De Chardin was pretty hot intellectual property during the 50’s and 60’s, with his ‘enthusiastic’ if not perfectly synthesized mixture of science and religion, from which strands of argument have finally been analyzed enough to be cautiously allowed to be held by the Faithful, but not definitely accepted as a matter of dogma. A fictionalized portrait of him appears in the 1968 film, The Shoes of the Fisherman.

Except in specialized niches of knowledge, De Chardin is little spoken of today. The only reason I remembered this book was because he was mentioned recently on Intellectual Catholicism Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evoa4EOpJdA ,

Catholicism and Evolution, with Jimmy Akin.

The Devils of Loudun, by Aldous Huxley

“It is a historical narrative of supposed demonic possession, religious fanaticism, sexual repression, and mass hysteria that occurred in 17th-century France surrounding unexplained events that took place in the small town of Loudun. It centers on Roman Catholic priest Urbain Grandier and an entire convent of Ursuline nuns, who allegedly became possessed by demons after Grandier made a pact with Satan. The events led to several public exorcisms as well as executions by burning.” – Wikipedia. Huxley’s entire premise (and it seems not unlikely) is that the whole incident was sparked by political persecution and mass hysteria.

I seem to remember reading it in my senior year of high school, and that Mike(?) had it first and passed it on to me. As you can see, the cover is illustrated with a still from Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971), an obvious tie-in republication. I also remember the binding was so bad that the entire book cover (front, back, and spine) slipped off in one piece.