Orthodoxy

by G. K. Chesterton

Paperback, 2007

Barcode

3888

Call number

101 CHE

Status

Available

Call number

101 CHE

Pages

155

Description

Religion & Spirituality. Nonfiction. HTML: In Orthodoxy, a classic work of Christian apologetics, G. K. Chesterton writes with the purpose of attempting "an explanation, not of whether the Christian Faith can be believed, but of how he personally has come to believe it." Christianity, in Chesterton's original view, is the "answer to a riddle" and the natural solution to our needs, and in this way it is deeply personal rather than an arbitrary truth from outside one's experience. Orthodoxy is the culmination of Chesterton's free-thinking and well-reasoned inquiry as he seeks an explanation to the mystery of being human..

Local notes

Written in 1908 while he was an Anglican

Publication

Barnes & Noble (2007), 155 pages

Original publication date

1908

ISBN

1537338943 / 9781537338941

Rating

(689 ratings; 4.2)

User reviews

LibraryThing member nesum
What a wonderful exploration of one man's faith. Well thought-out, and yet passionate and personal, Orthodoxy shows how Chesterton explored the issues of faith, came to a mighty conclusion, only then to realize that his conclusion was what Christianity had been preaching for centuries.

The book is a
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heavy one, despite its short length, but should be studied carefully by anyone who might be looking seriously at the issue of religion.
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LibraryThing member MrsLee
This was a great book. I love the way the author expresses his thoughts and reasoning. His examples are apt, and humorous as well. I wish I could remember all of his points, but that's why I intend to buy the book, so I can refer back to it. It is fascinating to see his progression from agnostic to
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orthodox believer in Christianity. Very encouraging.
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LibraryThing member ari.joki
The old polemicist is flinging witticisms and barbs of the pen right and left in his eagerness to prove that understanding things is an inferior state to ignorance about everything.
LibraryThing member BottomOfThePile
I'm in the peculiar (and rather frustrating) situation of being a book lover living in a foreign country with no access to an English library and (temporarily, I hope) in a financial situation that prevents me from buying books. Therefore, I've had to fall back on the collection of books that I
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already own.

I've just recently finished reading G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy for the 3rd time. If you're familiar with Chesterton then you well know his penchant for paradox and mirth. This writer had a knack for showing familiar things in a startling new light.

Orthodoxy doesn't disappoint. It constantly amazes and stimulates from the first page to the last. It's as good as a book on religion and philosophy can get.

I won't write about this book what's already been written in other reviews below. I'll only add that in my 3rd reading of this book I came across a passage that somehow I had forgotten after my first 2 readings. This passage is a prime example of how Chesterton can astonish:

"All the towering materialism which dominates the modern mind rests ultimately upon one assumption; a false assumption. It is supposed that if a thing goes on repeating itself is it probably dead; a piece of clockwork. People feel that if the universe was personal it would vary . . . The sun rises every morning. I do not rise every morning; but the variation is due not to my activity; but to my inactivity . . . it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising . . . The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they especially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore."

That's from a chapter titled 'The Ethics of Elfland' and I think that's a good example of the flavor of the entire book.
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LibraryThing member MrsLee
The first time I listened to this, it was with a computer generated voice reading it. Not very satisfactory, but enough good to make me buy the paper version. Then I saw that there was an Audible version read by Simon Vance, one of my favorite narrators, that's the one I just listened to.

I am still
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left feeling that this is a book I need to read in paper format. It is so full of meaty thoughts that I need to digest them slowly. I may have a bone or two to pick with him. Honestly, I may agree with Chesterton about everything, or I may not, but to hear his persuasive words in the lovely voice of Simon Vance, well, it was a pleasure and I kept getting lost in the pleasure of it but not being exactly sure I understood what was being said.

This is a book I think every "modern thinker," agnostic and atheist should read, along with those who call themselves Christians, if only because it clarifies the thought processes and causes one to dig a little deeper into why they believe what they believe, whether they agree with Chesterton or not. If they don't agree of course, they are going to be a bit miffed at his treatment of them, in that case, probably you should read the paper version so you can write angry notes in the margin. Otherwise, if you are walking and listening to the audio and making angry remarks, people will think you are mental.
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LibraryThing member ashdwyer
This book is simply amazing. I've already written a lengthy review of it, and i'll post that here soon.
LibraryThing member mr_rhumba
A great work by a great writer. I wish I could have his faith!
LibraryThing member neverstopreading
Chesterton's "Orthodoxy" and Lewis' "Mere Christianity" are classics of contemporary Christian apologetics. Both write to a similar audience, namely, secular academics. Lewis' appeal was broader, however, for he was reaching out to those people influenced or educated by these academics.
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Consequently, these books are full of reason and logic but are devoid of Bible quotes. This might dismay some fundamentalists, but this type of apologetic is absolutely necessary. Just as a Muslim will not convince a Christian regarding Islam by quoting the Qu'ran, so, in most cases, a Christian will not convert a secular academic by quoting the Bible. The appeal must be made on common ground, in this case, reason and logic. In this regard, Chesterton succeeds.

That being said, I give him only 3 1/2 stars because of his rambling, time-sensitive style. It is easy for an American reading in the 21st century to become completely lost in Chesterton's quips and references to late-modernity intellectuals.

Lewis' broader appeal makes him more accessible to Chesterton, so I recommend "Mere Christianity" over "Orthodoxy" to the average 21st century American, whereas I recommend "Orthodoxy" to those who are educated in late 19th and early 20th-century intellectualism.

Both books are useful for Christians in developing apologetic skills and for non-Christians, especially seculars, in understanding a traditional, intellectual, and non-fundamentalist brand of Christianity.
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LibraryThing member antiquary
A friend and I once discovered she had read all GKC's serious religious writing and I had read all his light fiction and poetry. This is in the first category and much less attractive to me than the second.
LibraryThing member john257hopper
Couldn't get into this. The author makes various assertions and sweeping generalities but I confess I was unable to pin down the flow of his argument. No rating as only 18% read.
LibraryThing member chriszodrow
Brilliant. One to read again and again.
LibraryThing member nmele
Although Chesterton included many references to his contemporaries and to the issues of his day, most of them now obscure, the clarity of his writing and the force of his argument made this an interesting and surprising read for me.
LibraryThing member SueinCyprus
A thoughtful and fascinating account of the author's move from agnosticism, in his teens, through to a profound faith in God, and subsequent adoption of the Christian faith.

GK Chesterton uses analogies to good effect, and describes his gradual search for meaning in life, looking at objections to
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God posed by atheists, and - one at a time - realising that they were all based on fallacy.

It took me several weeks to read this book; some of it was a bit long-winded, and there was much to ponder. I found his thought processes a bit convoluted in places, yet reassuring and often refreshing.

He wrote the book, apparently, to answer his critics... and in doing so produced an excellent apologetic for his beliefs. Recommended to anyone who is happy with a somewhat lengthy - and, inevitably, dated - discussion of faith from a fully rational and logical standpoint .
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LibraryThing member bness2
Chesterton at his philosophical best. He presents his personal arguments for the existence of God and skewers all the puffed up, empty-headed modern philosophers and worthless aristocrats and oligarchs. His wit is as fresh and sharp as Mark Twain's.
LibraryThing member ivinela
brilliant!
LibraryThing member mykl-s
Chesterton mostly uses aphorisms instead of arguments much of the time. His short, witty sayings are catchy, but not necessarily backed by logic. So it's hard to say he ever proves anything in his writing. Of course many people write that way, even philosophers sometimes. But this style does mean
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his statements may be suspect.
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