Chesterton and the "Paradoxy" of Orthodoxy

Chesterton and the "Paradoxy" of Orthodoxy | Carl E. Olson | Ignatius Insight

Author's note: This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy, widely regarded as one of the most important and unique works of Christian apologetics written in modern times. I first read it in 1993 as an Evangelical Protestant; it played a significant role in my journey to the Catholic Church, which my wife and I entered in 1997. In 1998, writing about that journey, I acknowledge my debt:

Reading G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy was the opening of a door I would not have found on my own. This stunning apologetic for Christianity against the errors of modern philosophies made me realize how central "paradox" is to the Christian faith. True Christianity is a radical balance of "both/and" instead of just "either/or." This understanding later became the key to understanding certain Catholic teachings.

This essay reflects briefly on one chapter in Orthodoxy; it was originally published in a different (shorter) form in the July/August 2002 issue of Gilbert! magazine.

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My favorite passage of Chestertonian brilliance is the sixth chapter of Orthodoxy, titled "Paradoxes of Christianity." It should be required reading for all critics of Christianity, especially those self-anointed, enlightened folk who, gazing back (and down) upon two thousand years of dogmatic darkness, have figured out all that is wrong and insulting about the Church and now eagerly take up sticks with which to beat down the crude absurdities embraced by the followers of Jesus.

Read the entire essay...

Comments

[Jeff Miller]

I just finished rereading Orthodoxy again last night. It is always such a s great ride and is a book that demands rereading over and over again just to draw more drops of nourishment.

By the way I do have the Ignatius version and the footnotes are quite helpful.

[Daniel Fink]

Thanks for the essay, Carl. I can't get enough of reading about others profiting from Chesterton, since I know I have. My first exposure to him was an article in "This Rock", where Chesterton condensed my complicated attempts to defend sacramentality into a single statement, paraphrased as "God-as-Redeemer does not ignore what God-as-Creator has done".
I'm convinced the greatest paradox, if it qualifies as such, exists in the understanding that the God who utterly transcends us simultaneously wills to completely infuse His Trinitarian life in us, the "theosis" which you eloquently spoke to recently on "The Journey Home".

[Gail]

My favorite Chesterton book (hard as it is to choose) remains "The Man Who Was Thursday," which is almost indescribable. But "Orthodoxy" is right up there with "The Everlasting Man," both of which changed the way I look at everything.

However, the first book of Chesterton's I read was "Heresies." I am fortunate to have access to a seminary library, which has quite a Chesterton selection, and I picked that one because it was short. It is, of course, the book that prompted "Orthodoxy" -- in response to complaints that it was all very well for Chesterton to say what he didn't believe, but what good was that unless he said what he did believe?

"Heresies" isn't quite the treasure trove the other books I mentioned remain, at least for multiple readings. But I think it's undeservedly neglected. It's a look at several "modern" (at the time) philosophies and thinkers, and as my first exposure to the great master, I found it a surprising and delightful way of looking at deliberately opaque and vague "sophisticated" ways of thinking still very much in vogue. And again, it's SHORT. Several people I know are off-put by the length of "Orthodoxy," as hard as that may be to imagine for those of us that wish it went on forever.

Chesterton is a breath of beautiful fresh air in a room you don't realize is stuffy, and once you get that fresh air you realize that you can hardly breathe. And of course, that's what the Church is too -- once you get your lungs used to breathing something other than stale dust.

Thanks for the essay and the site --

Gail in Cincinnati

[Paul]

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary, you can get a free eBook copy of Chesterton's Orthodoxy at www.FreeOrthodoxy.com