Mircea Eliade, Paradise and Utopia:

Mythical Geography and Eschatology

Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed
to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the
end of the world or the World to Come. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "concerned
with the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell"! "Source of definition Wikipedia#!
$t one point in the text, a su%chapter is names The quest for Earthly aradise! "pa#e $%&. &ere
the author is referring to the 'arden of Eden! $nd with different occasions he tells us that the
immigrants went to (ew England hoping for )&eaven on Earth*! Europe was for them at that
time some sort of hell, so they wanted a land where they can start fresh, a new 'arden of Eden,
so they can prove they are worthy of all they have %een offered up to that moment!
The colonization of the two Americas began under an eschatological sign: people
belieed that the time had come to renew the !hristian world" and the true renewal was
the return to the Earthly Paradise or" at the ery least" the beginning again of sacred
history" the reiteration of the prodigious eents spo#en of in the $ible%& 'page ()*
+ircea Eliade presents later on some interpretations of the (ew ,orld and how they were %orn!
&e gathers in one place some famous declarations a%out (ew England from important
personalities li-e .ohn /mith "&eaven on earth#, Edward .ohnson "+assachusetts was the place
where the 0ord would create a new &eaven and Earth# , 1otton +ather, .onathan Edwards
"2aradise on Earth#, .ohn ,inthrop and many more! They rediscover this new 'arden of Eden in
different parts of $merica, in different states sometimes!
The author also presents the fact that Europe was an old continent, a continent that suffered, that
was corrupted, that decayed over the years and a continent that lost the path to 'od, the path to
2aradise, and also as a continent on the path to self destruction! Catholic Europe was presented
as a fallen world, a 'ell, in contrast with the aradise of the (ew World!"pa#e $)&.
/o some pilgrims, not %eing a%le to stand this, ta-e matter into their own hands and go to search
for this new 2aradise! Even if some of them %elieve that this is something li-e the %eginning of
the end, they are still proud to %e the ones that were a%le to discover it! 3ecause people thought
that this new land was a sign that the apocalypse was on its way! $merica appeared having this
%ac-ground of a messianic and apocalyptic atmosphere, of fear and of hope for a new start!
,e can clearly see from +ircea Eliades point of view that religion was a very important factor
in $mericas coloni4ation! $nd we are presented with this theory in the chapter called )The
5eturn to 2rimitive 1hristianity*! The struggle %etween 2rotestantism and 1atholicism turned
into a conflict %etween 'ood and Evil in the end! The colonist were hoping to %e li-e )re%orn*,
and later on we see 1otton +athers opinion, %ecause he was expecting $merica to return to
the early days of Christianity.!"page67#
$nd for the puritans, the %est and most important 1hristian virtue was simplicity! 8or them
intelligent people were dangerous, %ecause they were more ready to work for Satan!.
This return to the past was not as simple as they had hoped! 9t was hard to escape that past :
Shall we never, never #et rid of this ast* +t lies upon the present like a #iant,s dead body!
page ;<< =, and to accept the fact that smart people are not necessarily dangerous, and that their
main goal is not to destroy this new found 2aradise, %ut to help its %eing prosperous! They were
under the impression that the -merican aradise has been infested with demonic forces comin#
from urban Europe!.
9n his ;6>6, The Sacred and rofane, +ircea Eliade decried the seculari4ation of the modern
mind:
)9t is only in the modern societies of the ,est that nonreligious man has developed fully! +odern
nonreligious man assumes a new existential situation? he regards himself solely as the su%ject and agent
of history, and he refuses all appeal to transcendence! 9n other words, he accepts no model for humanity
outside the human condition as it can %e seen in the various historical situations! +an ma-es himself, and
he only ma-es himself completely in proportion as he desacrali4es himself and the world! The sacred is
the prime o%stacle to his freedom! &e will %ecome himself only when he is totally demystici4ed! &e will
not %e truly free until he has -illed the last god!*
&e is telling us that the human is surpassing his own condition just %ecause he is a%le to thin- @ an
attri%ute that is so important for our existence! The fact that we thin- situates us higher than other forms
of life! This is the secret of life, %ecause through thin-ing you can map your own road in life! ,e are the
only life form a%le to thin- and a%le to change our destiny, a%le to change the world, the others just exist
and are happy in this state of %eing! This is an evolution engine for us, %ecause trough philosophy and
psychology we evolve, and isnt this the meaning of lifeA To evolve and to changeA 9snt this what the
first pilgrims wantedA They needed to escape from the &ell in Europe, so they could %e a%le to grow and
evolve in a different manner!
Eliade also underlines the fact that the people who traveled to the (ew ,orld, saw themselves as
people who can change the world, people that will %e a%le to %uild the city upon a hill! to %e a
%eacon for every%ody else! They saw $merica as El Dorado, as $rcadia and they considered
themselves as chosen %y 2rovidence to do this tas- that would serve as an e.ample of the true
/eformation for all Europe.! "2age 6B#! $nd the first pioneers saw a si#n of divine rovidence
in the fact that -merica had been hidden to the Europeans until the time of /eformation!"pa#e
$0&. They thought they hold the -ey to salvation! (ew En#land, (ew 1ork, (ew 'aven 2 all
these names e.press the hope that in these lands and these new cities life will know new
dimensions!"pa#e $3&. $nd this land %ecame the perfect place for the puritans to start fresh, for
the immigrants to have a %etter life and %etter conditions, and to have the possi%ility to
rediscover the original )nature*!
(ot only 1hristianity, %ut also the 9ndian tri%es would loo- at the (ew ,orld as a /alvation: in
order to reach the 2aradise for "an eternal felicity":;<B=, in 0atin $merica the 'uarani 9ndians
would practice different rituals that could induce them a state of ecstasy, for esta%lishing a
connection with the divinity! They %elieved that the divinity would reveal them the chosen land
through the ritual of dance or through the dreams of the shamans!
9t is the o%session of 2aradise that made them fearful of "not understanding the divine messages
in time and conseCuently facing the ris- of perishing in the imminent cosmic catastrophe"!:;<D=