Great men?

The “great man theory” of history, often ascribed to the 19th-century philosopher and historian Thomas Carlyle, has a lot at least superficially going for it.

The concept posits that “universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here. They were the leaders of men, these great ones; the modellers, patterns, and in a wide sense creators,” as Carlyle puts it.

Examples are not hard to find. The writer Aldo Matteucci states: “Arguably … Genghis Khan and the Mongols were the dominant force that shaped … the modern world. Not for what they destroyed – though they wrought much destruction all over the continent – but for what they built. They came close to uniting Eurasia into a world empire, and in so doing they spread throughout it technologies like paper, gunpowder, paper money, or the compass – and trousers.”

In the news, we see the huge impact that leading men (and indeed women – think Thatcher, Elizabeth II and Joan of Arc to name but three) can have. Recently, news has been dominated by (among others) the ubiquitous Donald Trump, and the late Pope and his successor.

Some evangelicals seem to have forgotten that humans – whether great men or women – are both fallible and sinful. The seemingly uncritical lauding of the late Pope by some evangelicals showed a disconcerting lack of doctrinal acuity. As Czech reformer Jan Hus rightly stated: “A pope may err, councils may err, but God’s Word stands forever without error.” Some perhaps need to be reminded of this.

In the US, white “evangelical protestants” continue to be among Trump’s strongest supporters, with a 72% approval rating, and a remarkable 57% stating they trust what he says “more than what previous presidents said” (Pew Research, 28.4.25). But as Scripture reminds us, “put not your trust in princes … in whom there is no salvation” (Ps.146:3).

Ultimately, “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away,” Jesus tells us. Pontiffs and politicians will come and go. We fix our eyes on Christ.