Unitarians (a sect never to be mentioned without a special respect for
their distinguished intellectual dignity and high intellectual honour) are often reformers by the accident that throws so many small sects into such
an attitude. But there is nothing in the least liberal or akin to reform in the substitution of pure monotheism for the Trinity. The complex God of
the Athanasian Creed may be an enigma for the intellect; but He is far less likely to gather the mystery and cruelty of a Sultan than the lonely
god of Omar or Mahomet. The god who is a mere awful unity is not only a king but an Eastern King. The heart of humanity, especially of European
humanity, is certainly much more satisfied by the strange hints and symbols that gather round the Trinitarian idea, the image of a council at
which mercy pleads as well as justice, the conception of a sort of liberty and variety existing even in the inmost chamber of the world. For Western
religion has always felt keenly the idea “it is not well for man to be alone.” The social instinct asserted itself everywhere as when the Eastern
idea of hermits was practically expelled by the Western idea of monks. So even asceticism became brotherly; and the Trappists were sociable even
when they were silent. If this love of a living complexity be our test, it is certainly healthier to have the Trinitarian religion than the
Unitarian. For to us Trinitarians (if I may say it with reverence)—to us God Himself is a society. It is indeed a
fathomless mystery of theology, and even if I were theologian enough to deal with it directly, it would not be relevant to do so here. Suffice it
to say here that this triple enigma is as comforting as wine and open as an English fireside; that this thing that bewilders the intellect utterly
quiets the heart: but out of the desert, from the dry places and the dreadful suns, come the cruel children of the lonely God; the Unitarians
who with scimitar in hand have laid waste the world. For it is not well for God to be alone.
Orthodoxy, first published in 1908, by G. K. Chesterton, is in the public domain, and available from Project Gutenberg. The previous post in this series is here. Thanks for reading! Read Chesterton.
Musings on science, the Bible, and fantastic literature (and sometimes basketball and other stuff).
God speaks to us through the Bible and the findings of science, and we should listen to both types of revelation.
The title is from Psalm 84:11.
The Wikipedia is usually a pretty good reference. I mostly use the World English Bible (WEB), because it is public domain. I am grateful.
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The posts in this blog are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You can copy and use this material, as long as you aren't making money from it. If you give me credit, thanks. If not, OK.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Excerpts from Orthodoxy, by G. K. Chesterton, 56
Labels:
Chesterton,
G. K. Chesterton,
Orthodoxy,
The Trinity,
theology
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