Chesterton And The Romance Of Orthodoxy

On the publication of Orthodoxy in 1908, Wilfrid Ward hailed G. K. Chesterton as a prophetic figure whose thought was to be classed with that Burke, Butler, Coleridge, and John Henry Newman. When Chesterton died in 1936, T. S. Eliot pronounced that 'Chesterton's social and economic ideas were the ideas for his time that were fundamentally Christian and Catholic'. But how did he come by these ideas? Eliot noted that he attached 'significance also to his development, to his beginnings as well as to his ends, and to the movement from one to the other'. It is on that development that this book is focused. Chesterton and the Romance of Orthodoxy is an exploration of G.K. Chesterton's imaginative and spiritual development, from his early childhood in the 1870s to his intellectual maturity in the first decade of the twentieth century. William Oddie draws extensively on Chesterton's unpublished letters and notebooks, his journalism, and his early classic writings, to reveal the writer in his own words. In the first major study of Chesterton to draw on this source material, Oddie charts the progression of Chesterton's ideas from his first story (composed at the age of three and dictated to his aunt Rose) to his apologetic masterpiece Orthodoxy, in which he openly established the intellectual foundations on which the prolific writing of his last three decades would build. Part One explores the years of Chesterton's obscurity; his childhood, his adolescence, his years as a student and a young adult. Part Two examines Chesterton's emergence on to the public stage, his success as one of the leading journalists of his day, and his growing renown as a man of letters. Written to engage all with an interest in Chesterton's life and times, Oddie's accessible style ably conveys the warmth and subtlety of thought that delighted the first readership of the enigmatic GKC.

The masterpiece of G. K. Chesterton's distinguished literary career, this treatise mounts a defense of Christianity. The author employs the term "orthodoxy" as a synonym for "right opinion," and he applies the concept of correct reasoning to his formal and scholarly arguments, which are expressed in down-to-earth language. Chesterton's thought-provoking analogies, personal anecdotes, and engaging humor make this polemic a work of enduring charm and persuasion.

Chesterton was a self-confessed Christian. While this volume was initially intended to be a reply to an earlier book, 'Heretics', it consists, in large part, of an explanation as to how Chesterton came to accept the Christian faith.

"Popular thought-leader and blogger explores a biblical spirituality that makes our mind and body relevant"--Provided by publisher.

A Winsome Defence of the Christian Faith Our modern world — wide awake to its own progress and virtues — disdains the antiquated notions of Christianity. Wouldn't humankind be much improved by the extinction of this unsightly ideology? This book is a winsome response that is delightfully sharp-witted and disarmingly sincere. In Orthodoxy, masterful thinker, literary critic, and lay theologian, G. K. Chesterton (1874-1935), pairs whimsey and wisdom to offer a robust defense of the Christian faith. Addressing the noisy contentions of secular humanism, Chesterton lays forth a defense of the Biblical worldview, asserting not only its truth, but also its necessity for a healthy society. Originally published in 1908, this unique work feels remarkably current. Orthodoxy offers a sound apologetic without being pompous or abstract. In it, readers will discover... True orthodoxy as a kind of "romance" through which the believer is wooed into authentic, spiritual connection with God An exploration of why the Biblical teachings of the Fall and Original Sin are, in fact, hopeful The vital truth hidden within the Christian doctrine of Hell How a thriving relationship with a personal God produces individuals who are truly alive Why the virtues of Christianity cannot be divorced from the fullness of the Christian faith Chesterton’s engaging defense of Orthodoxy finds its ultimate delight in the person of Jesus Himself, concluding with an invitation into His deep and mysterious joy! “If we wish to pull down the prosperous oppressor we cannot do it with the new doctrine of human perfectibility; we can do it with the old doctrine of Original Sin. If we want to uproot inherent cruelties or lift up lost populations we cannot do it with the scientific theory that matter precedes mind; we can do it with the supernatural theory that mind precedes matter. ... And if we wish to exalt the outcast and the crucified, we shall rather wish to think that a veritable God was crucified, rather than a mere sage or hero.”

"Oser examines the twentieth-century literary clash between a dogmatically relativist modernism and a robust revival of Christian humanism. Reviewing English literature from Chaucer to Beckett, and the thoughts of philosophers, theologians, and modern literary critics, Oser challenges the assumption that Christian orthodoxy is incompatible with humanism, freedom, and democracy"--Provided by publisher.

This early work by G. K. Chesterton was originally published in 1903. Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born in London in 1874. 'All is Grist' is a collection of essays. He studied at the Slade School of Art, and upon graduating began to work as a freelance journalist. Over the course of his life, his literary output was incredibly diverse and highly prolific, ranging from philosophy and ontology to art criticism and detective fiction. However, he is probably best-remembered for his Christian apologetics, most notably in Orthodoxy (1908) and The Everlasting Man (1925). We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.