A Really Random Philosophical Musing

Megan Carriker did a report a while back in history on Carl Jung, a Freud collaborater and pioneer of psychology (she was going to do one on Freud, but I got to him first). Aunt Anne gave me a book by Jung a while back (along with several others of great value to me, which, consequently, I have yet to return to her) and I thought I'd give it to Megan for her to read over. Then it occured to me that I've never read it, so I opened up Modern Man in Search of a Soul tonight and gave it a looksy.
I didn't get into much of the book's stuff (of which there is a great, great deal) but I did enjoy a short passage on the "modern" man. I won't go into the details (maybe because I don't really understand them myself) but I will share an idea that I found interesting, fascinating, terrifying, and exciting all at the same time:
"Now there is the danger that consciousness of the present may lead to an elation based upon illusion: the illusion, namely, that we are the culmination of the history of mankind, the fulfilment and the end-product of countless centuries. If we grant this, we should understand that it is no more than the proud acknowledgement of our destitution: we are also the disappointment of the hopes and expectations of the ages. Think of nearly two thousand years of Christian ideals followed, instead of by the return of the Messiah and the heavenly millenium, by the World War among Christian nations, and its barbed wire and poison gas. What a catastrophe in heaven and earth! In the face of such a picture we may well grow humble again."
I don't know why this struck me so, or whether or not it may be of any use to you whatsoever, but I do know that it has sparked a debate in my head that won't quickly go away. Let me know your thoughts if you'd like to help settle the debate.