The unpopular parts of Christianity turn out when
examined to be the very props of the people. The outer ring of Christianity is a rigid guard of ethical abnegations and professional
priests; but inside that inhuman guard you will find the old human life dancing like children, and drinking wine like men; for Christianity is the
only frame for pagan freedom. But in the modern philosophy the case is opposite; it is its outer ring that is obviously artistic and emancipated;
its despair is within. And its despair is this, that it does not really believe that there is any meaning in the universe; therefore it cannot hope to find any romance; its
romances will have no plots. A man cannot expect any adventures in the land of anarchy. But a man can expect any number of adventures if he goes
traveling in the land of authority. One can find no meanings in a jungle of skepticism; but the man will find more and more meanings who walks
through a forest of doctrine and design. Here everything has a story tied to its tail, like the tools or pictures in my father’s house; for it is my
father’s house. I end where I began—at the right end. I have entered at least the gate of all good philosophy. I have come into my second
childhood.
Orthodoxy, 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.
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, May 29, 2016
Excerpts from Orthodoxy, by G. K. Chesterton, 72
Labels:
apologetics,
Chesterton,
Christianity,
despair,
G. K. Chesterton,
meaning,
philosophy
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