The Absolute at Large · Chapter
Doctor Blahous explained
Dr.
What happens
Dr. Blahous, a fifty-five-year-old lecturer in comparative religion, writes a lengthy scholarly article dismissing the recent religious epidemic as primitive atavism and charlatanry. After finishing over three hundred pages, he steps to the window, feels an overwhelming sense of loneliness and then a mystical presence, leading him to add a conclusion that urges surrender to the Absolute and predicts an era of religious wars. The article is published in part, but overshadowed by other events.
Themes in this chapter
Skepticism and Faith
Dr. Blahous begins as a skeptical academic dismissing religious phenomena as atavism, but ends with a personal mystical experience and a call to faith in the Absolute.
Religious Conflict and War
Blahous predicts an era of religious struggles surpassing the Crusades and World Wars, highlighting the theme of conflict arising from religious division.
Characters to notice
- Dr. Blahous
The youthful savant and lecturer who writes a massive article on the religious epidemic, experiences a mystical moment at the window, and adds a fervent conclusion.
Key passages
“It is not for us to decide to what extent this is due to quackery and imposture on the part of individuals bent on exploiting human credulity; a scientific inquiry would doubtless show that the alleged 'miracles' of the thaumaturgists of today are only old and well-known devices of trickery and suggestion.”
Blahous argues that science would reveal modern miracles as mere tricks, implying that religious leaders are exploiting gullible followers.
Reflects Blahous's initial skeptical, reductionist view of the religious epidemic.
“On the other hand, however, it is impossible to doubt that God cannot now reveal Himself otherwise than in primitive forms of worship. With the decay of faith in modern times our connection with the old religious life has been broken. To bring us back to Him, God must begin again from the beginning and do as He did with the savages in olden times.”
Blahous now asserts that God must start anew with primitive worship because modern faith has decayed, reversing his earlier dismissal.
Marks the turning point after his mystical experience, blending academic analysis with personal revelation.