Orthodoxy

This is an extraordinary book, a definite `must read' before you die. I was expecting a sort of early version of C.S. Lewis, a robust defence of traditional Christianity. It is much more than that. Whereas Lewis gently takes you along with a persuasive argument, Chesterton pulls you into a room full of mirrors and out of the box thinking, not just in the paragraphs, but almost in every sentence there's an irony, a contradiction, a reflection saying something you don't quite expect. Take the opening sentence of Chapter Two, entitled, `The Maniac' - `Thoroughly worldly people never understand even the world; they rely all together on a few cynical maxims that are not true.' As he gets into the argument, the crackling irony continues. A worldly maxim is that the man who believes himself will go far, the truth: `The men who really believe in themselves are all in lunatic asylums'. Of course he's right, all the way through, and even if you don't agree with him, the polemic is superb. In this chapter he establishes that materialism, the void, makes men mad, and what keeps people sane is mysticism, the irony that `man can understand everything by the help of what he does not understand'. Every chapter is like a glass of cold water in a desert, but probably the best was `The Ethics of Elfland' Again we start with mirrors - `The vision is always a fact. It is the reality that is often a fraud.' And so soon he is turning our clichéd way of thinking on its head by passionately arguing for fairy tales, superior both to religion and rationalism, `the sunny country of commonsense'. This is not just to do with the morals you get from the tales, but that they are more accurate in their observations than science. The answer to both why eggs turn to birds, and Cinderella's mice to horses is the same: magic. There is no inevitable law involved, and to pretend that there is makes you `strictly a sentimentalist'. No let up with the irony. At the end he helpfully sums up his fairy story creed. The world does not explain itself; but it must have a meaning which implies someone `to mean it'; that meaning, purpose, is beautiful; we owe obedience to whatever this is. There's a lot more, but if you are bored of reading self righteous politically correct twaddle about stakeholders and recycling, get hold of some Chesterton. One last comment: there is a very silly myth that people who believe traditional Christianity don't use their brains: I wouldn't like to be with these people if they meet Chesterton in heaven.

Orthodoxy is a work wit and exuberance. I wouldn't have discovered it if it hadn't been for Phillip Yancey's excellent chapter on him in his book `Soul Survivor.' So I was pleased to learn that Mr Yancey has written an introduction to a new edition (although not the one I read). Yancey praises Chesterton's childlike wonder and love of life, and indeed this does shine through the pages of `Orthodoxy.' But there is also an intellectual toughness and rigour that holds the hand of the child's wonder.The opening chapters show Chesterton dismantling what he saw as the heresies of the time: materialism, nihilism, and existentialism. He's done this before in his work `Heresies,' and he explains in his first chapter that `Orthodoxy' is a response to a criticism that in `Heresies' he attacks other systems of thought but does not state his own.But first, he lays into the heresies with gusto, and his deconstruction of them is charged by the passion of his abhorrence with what he sees as the harm and potential harm of them - nothing less that the "suicide of thought" and a route to individual and corporate madness. There a relevance to this too when one reviews the resurgent scientific fundamentalism of our own day. It would be great to read a Chestertonian response to "The God Delusion!"Chesterton goes on to trace the roots of his own faith in his intuitions of the world as a child, and how the truths in fairy stories point to wider spiritual truths. He then develops his arguments to describe how his Orthodox Catholic faith is the best rebuttal to the heresies of his day, and why the Christian faith alone gives universal satisfaction to the problems of existence.Sometimes the breathless pace of his prose and the rapid fire deployment of argument, logic and wit cause his ideas to pile up to the point where they sometimes exhausted this reader. But staying with it will communicate the zest for intellectual combat, the sheer gift of living and its rootedness in God that Chesterton burns to tell us.

If you have read the more famous C.S.Lewis' books on philosophy and theology then you may be in the market for some more from the period and genre. Perhaps GKC is little earlier, but the idea is the same - a well educated chap appeals to our sense of common sense and sets out a simple explanation of deep and complex matter. The surprise comes early. GKC can't resist a good line, whether it builds the argument or not. Some of his comical moments would be worthy of P.G.Wodehouse.With these classics, there are two levels at which you can read. The content is fine at face value. Enjoy! At another level, it's great to see how the arguments have dated along with the language. In the case of C.S.Lewis, he explains to us that a man is the boss in a marriage and a woman must obey, and justifies this asymmetrical model with the brush-off, "Someone has to be right all the time, otherwise, how would they finish a disagreement?"*. I can't imagine anyone printing that in the 21st Century!The book is printed nicely in an authentic vintage typeface, giving you an enhanced peek in the archives vibe. And it's recommended by Phillip Yancey, so you can leave it out in full view without fear of criticism!*paraphrased, not quoted

A book that gave us C.S Lewis Narnia series. If you read this book with an open mind it will change your world. The first couple of chapters are difficult but stick with it. A brilliant mind from such a humble man. As stated earlier, it changed the course of CS Lewis who also had a brilliant mind. The book cuts through the smoke and mirrors of religion. It is a book I will constantly refer back to, reread and then read again. I would urge people to read it but start it with an open mind and good intentions. A STAR of a book.

Ótimo.

Chesterton spends the first 1/3 of the book dismantling the arguments against religion. Then spends the rest of the book building a case for religion in a logical step by step manner that can only be described as brilliant.Very impressed by the book, there are also a lot of really great quoteable lines.“Men did not love Rome because she was great, Rome was great because men loved her.”

Como Chesterton no hay dos -y como este libro, tampoco. Es fascinante cómo el autor logra guiar al lector por planteamientos e ideas que nadie más ha narrado de una manera tan sublime y artística como él. Cada dos o tres párrafos Chesterton tiene el don de decir una frase inolvidable o una cita extremadamente persuasiva. Uno de los libros más estimulantes que he leído, sin duda.La apologética de Chesterton -si se le puede llamar así- es única, nadie aborda los temas como él. Este libro no demuestra el cristianismo como tal, sino que defiende el sentido común y termina por llevarte por una travesía aventuresca que te deja con ganas de empezar a aprender sobre la religión tan fascinante desde la que el autor miraba el mundo. Inolvidable libro, inolvidable estilo.

An amazing book and definitely one of the best of Chesterton' works

I read this book the first time when I was 14 and understood nothing. Was that the reason why I’ve kept a distance all these years? Orthodoxy is very much Chesterton‘ own story. He doesn’t purport to write a systematic treatise on apologetics. He does want to have his questions answered. He asks real questions. He gives real answers. What makes this a delightful read: it’s rooted in experience, not in abstractions. Of course. He writes in a particular historical context. But rather than a weakness this appears to be strength, as it shows the perennial value of the principles expounded. Highly recommendable.