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Pithy and persuasive
G.K. Chesterton's writing still inspires

By Mary Jacobs

Who said, "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly"? Or, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried"?

Those are the words of Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936), an extraordinarily prolific writer and journalist, a defender of the Christian faith and-some would argue-one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century.

"Chesterton was a genius," said Robert Moore-Jumonville, associate professor of religion at Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor, Michigan. "But he was a loving genius with a terrific sense of humor."

Chesterton penned over one hundred books, four thousand newspaper essays, five novels, five plays, and two hundred short stories-including a popular series featuring the fictional priest-detective Father Brown. He edited his own newspaper, G.K's Weekly, and wrote a weekly column for more than 30 years for the Daily News.

Even if you've never heard of G.K. Chesterton, you'll probably recognize some of his pithy quotes. Modern writers still cite him, as his common-sense wisdom remains relevant to current issues. Quotes such as "If there were no God, there would be no atheists" and "The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man" still sparkle with wit and insight more than 70 years after his death.

Chesterton's gifts seem paradoxical-he was intellectually brilliant, but like the angels, he took himself lightly. Fans loved his generosity and lack of pretension.

"His style is unmistakable, always marked by humility, consistency, paradox, wit, and wonder," said Dale Ahlquist, president of The American Chesterton Society in Minneapolis and author of a 2003 biography, G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense.

Chesterton's vast body of work includes literary and social criticism that covers history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology. He also wrote poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, and fantasy. And his far-reaching influence continues to this day.

One of his books, The Everlasting Man, helped lead a young atheist named C.S. Lewis to become a Christian. A Chesterton newspaper essay inspired Gandhi to lead a movement to end British rule in India. And Dawn Eden, a popular Christian blogger and author of The Thrill of the Chaste, cites Chesterton's work as a key influence in her conversion from agnosticism to Christianity.

Why was Chesterton so convincing for nonbelievers?

"He was able to address both the head and the heart," said Mr. Ahlquist. "He comes from such a different angle. It's not classic apologetics at all."

While Chesterton's reasoning was impeccable, Mr. Ahlquist said he also argued that "you can't rely on reason alone, that you need faith, but instead of the word 'faith' he used the words 'creative imagination.' People who have put up their natural defenses against religion can listen to Chesterton. Wherever the person's receptive place is, he manages to find it."

Born in London, Chesterton never went to college, but he attended art school. His generous spirit was matched by his generous physical presence: he stood 6'4" and weighed about 300 pounds. He dressed in a cape, wore tiny spectacles at the end of his nose and usually had a cigar in his mouth.

Fans love to recount stories of Chesterton's genius and quirkiness. He would dictate an article to his secretary while writing another at the same time in longhand. He did much of his writing in train stations, since he usually missed the train he was supposed to catch. In one famous anecdote, he wired his wife, saying, "Am at Market Harborough. Where ought I to be?"

Politically and theologically, he's almost impossible to categorize. Chesterton took issue with teetotalers, fundamentalists, and Calvinistic predestination, but still heralded conservative morals and orthodox theology, arguing for the sanctity of life and the traditional role of the family in society.

"Chesterton argued eloquently against all the trends that eventually took over the 20th century: materialism, scientific determinism, moral relativism, and spineless agnosticism," said Mr. Ahlquist. "He argued against both socialism and capitalism and showed why they have both been the enemies of freedom and justice in modern society."

Today, Chesterton is one of the few Christian thinkers who is admired and quoted equally by liberal and conservative Christians as well as non-Christians. "He was never a 'party thinker,'" said Mr. Moore-Jumonville. "He thought for himself; and 99 times out of a hundred, he was right."

And that ability to think paradoxically, Mr. Moore-Jumonville believes, may offer special insight to Methodists today.

"One of the great lessons we need so desperately to learn from Chesterton today in United Methodist circles is that being moderate is not being milquetoast," he said. "The center is not bland, according to Chesterton; rather, it is a whirling adventure of missing dangers on both sides."

One-sided extremism is destructive, but "Chesterton would argue that the Church has been able to take both extremes at the same time-say feasting and fasting, or contemplation and social justice-and weld them together into a creative tension that moves us forward toward a goal."

"Among Christians there's always the division between the people who want to get things theologically correct and people who want to get social action correct," said Mr. Ahlquist. "Chesterton has a way of appealing to both camps. He's a clear thinker and he defends an orthodox perspective, so he appeals to conservatives. But he's truly passionate about social justice and the poor."

Mr. Ahlquist sees in Chesterton an example of the kind of thinking that could offer hope for an increasingly divided church and nation.

"He saw this increased divisiveness in modern society and attributed that to very fragmented thinking," he said. "But Chesterton represents complete thinking. His philosophy informs his art, which informs his social criticism. That makes him a model for the right way to think."

 

Mary Jacobs is associate editor of The United Methodist Reporter. Reprinted with permission of The United Methodist Reporter (www.umportal.org).



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