Christopher Dawson: The Christ Event Is the Center Point of History

        "...the Christian view of history is not a secondary element derived by philosophical reflection from the study of history. It lies at the very heart of Christianity and forms an integral part of the Christian faith. Hence there is no Christian  "philosophy of history" in the strict sense of the word. There is, instead a Christian history and a Christian theology of history, and it is not too much to say that without them there would be no such thing as Christianity. For Christianity, together with the religion of Israel out of which it was born, is an historical religion in a sense to which none of thew other world religions can lay claim - not even Islam, though this comes nearest to it in this respect.

        Hence it is very difficult, perhaps even impossible, to explain the Christian view of history to a non-Christian, since it is necessary to accept the Christian faith in order to understand the Christian view of history, and those who reject the idea of divine revelation are necessarily obliged to reject the Christian view of history as well. And even those who are prepared to accept in theory the principle  of divine revelation- of the manifestation of a religious truth which surpasses human reason - may still find it hard to face the enormous paradoxes of Christianity......

.......For the Christian view of history is not merely a belief in the direction of history by divine providence, it is a belief in the intervention by God in the life of mankind by direct action at certain definite points in time and place. The doctrine of the Incarnation which is the central doctrine of the Christian faith is also the center of history, and thus it is natural and appropriate that our traditional Christian history is framed in a chronological system which takes the year of the Incarnation as its point of reference and reckons its annals backwards and forwards from this fixed centre."

Dynamics of World History  by Christopher Dawson, 

Sheed and Ward, pp.234,5

Part Two: The Power of Prepositions

Prepositions are usually quiet, gentle, and unobtrusive. They slip by our eyes as easily as the breath from our mouths. That is why prepositions are a wonderful image of Grace in its many forms.  True, every once in a while, God’s Grace may illuminate us with the brilliance of a lightning bolt, or stun us like a brick striking our forehead, but in general the stirrings and promptings of grace are such gentle nudges  that we shrug them off as if they were distracting thoughts. Prepositions have that same quality of being able to light up our minds and knocking us off balance. But they do so only rarely.  If they did it all the time, they would no longer be the humble parts of speech that they are. They would morph into energetic verbs. 

 Take, for example, the prepositions “towards”, “away from”, and “against”.  Watch what happens if we emphasize them as verbs:  “I TOWARDS you”.  It is as if my whole being is impelling itself in your direction.  But the purpose is not specified. My motive could be to take you over or to unite with you. “I  AGAINST  you”.  It is as if I am opposing you with everything that is in me. “I AWAY FROM you”. I am absolutely shutting you out of my life. 

If we move on to use “through”, “with” and “in” as verbs, their pervasive power becomes even more penetrating.  “I THROUGH  you” implies that I penetrate and permeate you completely. “I WITH you” connotes a unity (perhaps even a fusion) that is an inseparable bonding. “I IN you” has the same intensity of oneness about it. Think of the force of the prepositions in the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer: “Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, Almighty Father, forever and ever.” A depth of meaning is contained in through, with and in.

Consider two connotations of through in relation to Christ: by way of, and during. By way of means our life here is a journey and Christ is the way through life, really the Thruway. As we get on a thruway at one end, and come out at the other, He is the only Way through to eternal Life. During means that for the entire duration of our lives on earth and in eternity where there is no duration. It is through Christ we are and endure, in Time and Eternity.  

With also carries various implications. Often “with” means nearness. It can be the nearness of associates who form a self-serving group, as the crowds that went with Our Lord because they wanted more food from him.  But it can also be the closeness of opposition, as when Christ struggles with temptation and fights with Satan during his time in the desert. In that context, with means against, and the closeness shows how far apart the antagonists are.

It is not hard to assert that “with” is the most humble of prepositions, and, because of that, the most exalted.  “With” is the preposition of the Incarnation: “Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel, which means ‘God-is-with-us’.” (Matthew 1:23) What could be a more simple way of naming the infinite humility in God than by saying He became one of his own creatures? What author would jump into his book, or artist into his picture? “With” is also the preposition of the Eucharist and the Church, Christ’s way of continuing his humble presence with us until the end of the world.  

Since humility is the way to glory, it is no wonder that with is meant to express our union in God’s divine Life. Our Lord says to the penitent thief, “…today you will be with me in Paradise”. (John 23:43)  The God who suffers with us in our flesh, calls us to be with Him as his new creation in heaven. Speaking of the heavenly Jerusalem, Scripture says, “Behold the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them.”  (Revelations 21:2-3) The triple with in that passage means God holds his people in the closest embrace and fills them with his very self. Those three withs encapsulate what it means for God “to be all in all”. “With” is the preposition of all the happiness, harmony, friendship,  interdependence, and fulfillment that heaven implies.

 t