Journal: Southeastern Theological Review
Volume: STR 15:2 (Fall 2024)
Article: Wonder Has Left The World: The Difficulties Of Post-Enlightenment Cosmology And Anthropology
Author: Dustin Atchley

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Wonder Has Left The World: The Difficulties Of Post-Enlightenment Cosmology And Anthropology

Dustin Atchley

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Abstract: Ideas have consequences. Suicide rates, depression, and anxiety are at an all-time high in the Western world. The Western mind is malnourished. This essay will consider the relationship between the cosmology and anthropology of the post-enlightened West and its consequences on the social imagination. By evaluating conceptions of reality and self outside of our modern, socio-cultural milieu, our deficits may be grasped more clearly. Medieval cosmology produced a particular social imagination that is wholly foreign to contemporary sensibilities; however, one is unable to distinguish what constitutes their imagination and its outworkings until they have been given a point of reference. In this way, the medieval perspective is valuable to the post-enlightened West. First, the relationship between cosmology and anthropology of the medieval mind will be considered. Second, the relationship between post-Enlightenment cosmology and anthropology will be considered and compared to the older conception. Finally, certain axioms of medieval anthropology will be drawn out and shown to be superior to the post-Enlightenment conception in their coherence with a biblical cosmology and in the aspects of social imagination which they produced. Specifically, place and role in the cosmic hierarchy, anthropological constitution, and origins of meaning will be evaluated and proposed as integral to reclaiming a fuller anthropological perspective among modern Christians.

Key Words: anthropology, being, cosmology, C. S. Lewis, Enlightenment, humanity, medieval, wonder

“And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed on into the West…” so concludes J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Return of the King.1 This ship carried Frodo, the protagonist, to the undying lands where he may enjoy peace and rest after his labors. This same ship carries Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf, three of the most influential and magical individuals of the

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Third Age. With the destruction of the ring and the advent of the king, the time of the elves has passed, and the time of men has come. And as the new age dawns, magic and myth leave the world.

If one considers Tolkien’s broader legendarium, this departure of the mythical and magical elements of the cosmos as time passes becomes an apparent theme.2 Magic trickles down and disseminates until ultimately it disappears entirely. While this is a work of ficti...