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In Benson’s prophetic vision, the Church persists amid a godless world obsessed with progress, pleasure and power.
In 2015, on a flight back to the Vatican from the Philippines, Pope Francis told journalists: “There is a book … it is called Lord of the World. The author is Benson … I suggest you read it. Reading it, you’ll understand well what I mean by ideological colonization.” He went on to describe the novel as prophetic, especially in regard to modern developments such as secularism, relativism and the notion of “progress” detached from any spiritual or moral anchor.
The book in question — Lord of the World(1907) — is a dystopian, apocalyptic novel by English convert Father Robert Hugh Benson. It foresees a 21st-century world in which Christianity has largely declined while secular humanism — or “Humanitarianism” — has seized power, with political and cultural elites uniting around a charismatic global leader. The Church — and the papacy — survive, if only barely, and that is the crux of the clash at the heart of the plot.
To say the least, it was an unusual choice for any pope to recommend. But Pope Francis reiterated his suggestion in a 2023 talk in Budapest, warning his audience from the academic and cultural world about a future dominated by technology — and the threat that poses to culture and, ultimately, to what it means to be human.
Continued below.
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In 2015, on a flight back to the Vatican from the Philippines, Pope Francis told journalists: “There is a book … it is called Lord of the World. The author is Benson … I suggest you read it. Reading it, you’ll understand well what I mean by ideological colonization.” He went on to describe the novel as prophetic, especially in regard to modern developments such as secularism, relativism and the notion of “progress” detached from any spiritual or moral anchor.
The book in question — Lord of the World(1907) — is a dystopian, apocalyptic novel by English convert Father Robert Hugh Benson. It foresees a 21st-century world in which Christianity has largely declined while secular humanism — or “Humanitarianism” — has seized power, with political and cultural elites uniting around a charismatic global leader. The Church — and the papacy — survive, if only barely, and that is the crux of the clash at the heart of the plot.
To say the least, it was an unusual choice for any pope to recommend. But Pope Francis reiterated his suggestion in a 2023 talk in Budapest, warning his audience from the academic and cultural world about a future dominated by technology — and the threat that poses to culture and, ultimately, to what it means to be human.
Continued below.
Why 3 Popes Say the Antichrist Novel ‘Lord of the World’ Predicted Our Times
In Benson’s prophetic vision, the Church persists amid a godless world obsessed with progress, pleasure and power.
