Applying the Story of Robert Falcon Scott to Human Need
The story of Robert Falcon Scott, the British explorer who led an ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1912, may seem unrelated to human need at first glance. However, upon closer examination, it reveals several themes that resonate with Christian theology and the human condition.
One of the primary themes present in Scott's story is the concept of human suffering and the response to it. Scott's expedition was marked by immense hardship, and ultimately, tragedy. In the face of such adversity, the question arises: how should humans respond to suffering? According to Augustine, human institutions and arrangements are not always sufficient to alleviate suffering, and it is faith that ultimately provides the means to cope with it [3]. This perspective is echoed in the commentary on 1 Chronicles 21:13, where David's plea to fall into the hand of the Lord rather than man is seen as a recognition of God's merciful and wise chastisement [6].
The story of Scott's expedition also highlights the importance of perseverance and determination in the face of adversity. Scott's team pressed on towards the South Pole despite the overwhelming odds against them, driven by a sense of purpose and duty. This echoes the Patristic emphasis on the role of human effort and divine aid in achieving spiritual goals. Augustine notes that humans need divine aid in using their powers, and that this aid is necessary for achieving a good outcome [7].
Furthermore, Scott's story raises questions about the nature of human existence and the purpose of human life. According to Aquinas, the Incarnation was necessary for the restoration of human nature, and this restoration is closely tied to the concept of human need [4]. The story of Scott's expedition can be seen as a microcosm of the human condition, with its struggles, failures, and ultimate surrender.
The use of historical narratives, such as Scott's story, can also serve as a means of understanding and interpreting Scripture. Augustine notes that history can be a valuable aid in understanding the context and meaning of biblical events [8]. By examining the story of Scott's expedition through the lens of Christian theology, we can gain a deeper understanding of the human condition and the role of faith in responding to suffering and adversity.
Moreover, the concept of human need is closely tied to the idea of human nature and its corruption. Calvin notes that human nature was corrupted by Adam's fall, leading to the numerous miseries that humanity suffers [5]. The story of Scott's expedition can be seen as a manifestation of this corrupted human nature, with its attendant struggles and failures.
The early Church Fathers also grappled with the concept of human need and the role of divine providence. Theophilus, for example, argued that humans were created for a purpose, and that this purpose is closely tied to their relationship with God [1]. This perspective is echoed in the writings of Tertullian, who emphasized the importance of understanding the nature of the world and humanity's place within it [2].
Sources
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 2: Hermas, Tatian, Theophilus, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria — CHAP. XII.--ARGUMENT FOR THE RESURRECTION. FROM THE PURPOSE CONTEMPLATED IN MAN'S CREATION. (part 1): The argument from the cause will appear, if we consider whether man was made at random and in vain, or for some purpose; and if for some purpose, whether simply that he might live and continue in the natural condition in which he was created, or for the use of another; and if with a view to use, whether for that of the 155 Creator Himself, or of some one of the beings who belong to Him, and are by Him deemed worthy Of ”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 4: Tertullian IV, Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen — FROM THE GREEK.: descending even to (the assumption of) human flesh, and of complete humanity; and what, also, is the operation of this (Son), and upon whom and when exercised. And it was necessary also that the subject of kindred beings, and other rational creatures, both those who are divine and those who have fallen from blessedness, together with the reasons of their fall, should be contained in the divine teaching; and also that of the diversities of souls, and of the origin of these diversities, and of the nature of the world,”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 2: Augustine — City of God, Christian Doctrine — CHAP. 25.--IN HUMAN INSTITUTIONS WHICH ARE NOT SUPERSTITIOUS, THERE ARE SOME THINGS SUPERFLUOUS AND SOME CONVENIENT AND NECESSARY. (part 1): 38. But when all these have been cut away and rooted out of the mind of the Christian we must then look at human institutions which are not superstitious, that is, such as are not set up in association with devils, but by men in association with one another. For all arrangements that aye in force among men, because they have agreed among themselves that they should be in force, are human instituti”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Third Part (Tertia Pars), Of the Fitness of the Incarnation, Art. 2: Article: Whether it was necessary for the restoration of the human race that the Word of God should become incarnate? I answer that, A thing is said to be necessary for a certain end in two ways. First, when the end cannot be without it; as food is necessary for the preservation of human life. Secondly, when the end is attained better and more conveniently, as a horse is necessary for a journey. In the first way it was not necessary that God should become incarnate for the restoration of human natur”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 7.7: corruption of human nature; to teach us that Adam was not created to those multiplied miseries under which all his posterity suffer, but that he fell into them by his own fault. In reflecting on the number and nature of those evils to which they are obnoxious, men will often be unable to restrain themselves from raging and murmuring against God, whom they rashly censure for the just punishment of their sin. These are their well-known complaints that God has acted more mercifully to swine and dogs than to them. Whence is this, but t”
- 1 Chronicles (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Chronicles 21:13: let me fall now into the hand of the Lord . . . let me not fall into the hand of man--Experience had taught him that human passion and vengeance had no bounds, whereas our wise and gracious Father in heaven knows the kind, and regulates the extent, of chastisement which every one needs.”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 16 [XV.]--WE NEED DIVINE AID IN THE USE OF OUR POWERS. ILLUSTRATION FROM SIGHT.: Now what is the use of his examples, if they do not really accomplish his own promise of making his meaning clearer to us;[7] not, indeed, that we are bound to admit their sense, but that we may discover more plainly add openly what is his drift and purpose in using them? "That we are able," says he, "to see with our eyes is not of us; but it is of us that we make a good or a bad use of our sight." Well, there is an answer for him in the psalm, in which the psalmist s”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 2: Augustine — City of God, Christian Doctrine — CHAP. 28.--TO WHAT EXTENT HISTORY IS AN AID. (part 2): date prior to the books of that Hebrew race, among whom the worship of one God sprang up, and of whom as concerning the flesh our Lord came. And thus, when we reflect upon the dates, it becomes much more probable that those philosophers learnt Whatever they said that was good and true from our literature, than that the Lord Jesus Christ learnt from the writings of Plato,--a thing which it is the height of folly to believe. 44. And even when in the course of an historical narrative ”