Facing an existential threat

Houellebecq's description of an aspect of Western post-Christian humanity is not promising. It raises the question of whether we can exist in this state. It seems that many of us can, but it is difficult to pin down the connection between faith and wellbeing. There is no quid pro quo to faith. What we can trace is the history, particularly of the West, of the positive contributions that Christianity has made to the modern world. The rise of natural science could not have come about without the Judeo/Christian tradition; neither could social movements that increased the freedom and equality of the individual. It seems likely that these positives will remain even if the tradition that enabled them to exist dies. There is little possibility that we will revert to a time of superstition and to a non-egalitarian societal structure.

However, will we suffer more from the diseases of existential dread? Are the drug culture, our materialism and the rise of anxiety and depression symptoms of unmanageable freedom and lack of orientation? Do we need a transforming figure who will set us free from the false freedom that we have embraced?

The writer of John's gospel was a master of irony.

Pilate went out again and said to them, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" (John 19:4-5)