Heretics (Audible Audio Edition) GK Chesterton Ulf Bjorklund christianaudiocom Books
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"Nothing more strangely indicates an enormous and silent evil of modern society than the extraordinary use which is made nowadays of the word orthodox. In former days the heretic was proud of not being a heretic. It was the kingdoms of the world and the police and the judges who were heretics. He was orthodox. He had no pride in having rebelled against them; they had rebelled against him. The armies with their cruel security, the kings with their cold faces, the decorous processes of State, the reasonable processes of law - all these like sheep had gone astray. The man was proud of being orthodox, was proud of being right. If he stood alone in a howling wilderness he was more than a man; he was a church. He was the centre of the universe; it was round him that the stars swung. All the tortures torn out of forgotten hells could not make him admit that he was heretical. But a few modern phrases have made him boast of it. He says, with a conscious laugh, "I suppose I am very heretical," and looks round for applause. The word heresy not only means no longer being wrong; it practically means being clear-headed and courageous. The word orthodoxy not only no longer means being right; it practically means being wrong. All this can mean one thing, and one thing only. It means that people care less for whether they are philosophically right. For obviously a man ought to confess himself crazy before he confesses himself heretical. The Bohemian, with a red tie, ought to pique himself on his orthodoxy. The dynamiter, laying a bomb, ought to feel that, whatever else he is, at least he is orthodox." - Gilbert K. Chesterson
Heretics (Audible Audio Edition) GK Chesterton Ulf Bjorklund christianaudiocom Books
Yes, it helps to know the contemporaries of Chesterton. And one must have a love of language and the ability to slow down and turn a phrase in your mind more than once before racing on to the bottom of the page. Given that...I love Chesterton's gentle skewering of the ideas of friends. But it is not the cynical crassness of today's late night comics. It is the reasoned critique of the unreasonable modern notions of 1905, notions that have flowered and rotted 100 years later. No one can turn a phrase like GKC. Hold a yellow highlighter as you read...you will find a gem on every page.
Example: "The curse that came before history has laid on us all a tendency to be weary of wonders. If we saw the fun for the first time it would be the most fearful and beautiful of meteors....We are inclined to increase our claims. We are inclined to demand six suns, to demand a blue sun, to demand a green sun. Humility is perpetually putting us back in the primal darkness."
And you can see GKC laughing as he writes: "...if an editor can only make people angry enough, they will write half his newspaper for him for nothing."
Take your time. And be ready to come back and read again.
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Heretics (Audible Audio Edition) GK Chesterton Ulf Bjorklund christianaudiocom Books Reviews
As he himself affirmed, Chesterton was criticized on numerous occasions for maintaining a seemingly irreverent or flippant tone and attitude while writing about subjects that inherently demand the utmost sincerity. To superficially read Heretics might be to understand the apparent validity of such criticism. On the surface it seems as if Chesterton could not have cared much less about the philosophies of the prominent individuals that he attacks as heretical throughout this work, let alone the vague conception of orthodoxy that he utilizes as a basis of comparison. However, these claims against Chesterton only appear valid until the reader ascertains that the author's wit, jocularity, and jovial nature are not to be confused with insincerity. The light touch that Chesterton applies to heavy though is not an indication of indifference, but rather a testament to the acuity of his mind and subtle genius. It might not, it seems, have been possible for Chesterton, or anyone, to have been more serious and sincere. Chesterton cared very much, and that is what sheds light on Heretics' almost impossibly simple truth.
In Heretics, Chesterton outlines the popular philosophies of his day which stood in opposition to not only logic but also that which the author maintained as truth. Amazingly, more than a century later, the same truth is still available and apparent to those who seek it while the same philosophies, although perhaps slightly altered, still stand in direct contradiction to what Chesterton understood to be unmistakable truth. What might be the greatest truth so easily recovered from the pages of Heretics, yet which remains so hidden from the view of the masses, is the incomplete substance, as opposed to the mere falsity, of many philosophies. Chesterton's work, however, was, as he admitted, left unfinished with regard to Heretics and later fulfilled with the publication of Orthodoxy. If Heretics presented a problem, Orthodoxy presented the solution. Both are timeless classics, and both should be read if an understanding of Christianity in relation to apparent philosophical and ideological truths is sought.
It's Chesteron, for heaven's sake. It is, therefore, excellent. But it's a good thing he didn't live in these times. He couldn't have handled the almost daily heresies that come out of Rome now.
Heretics is basically a collection of essays written in response to the worldview, socio-political philosophies, and/or religious stances of G.K. Chesterton's contemporaries (like George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells). Chesterton enjoyed an ongoing and lively public debate with many of these fellows throughout his writing life. To that end, if you're a Chesterton-fan, you'll enjoy this as much as anything else you've probably read by the undefeated heavyweight champion of linguistic pugilism. If you're not a Chesterton fan (usually because you've yet to hear of the man), this is probably as good a place as any to start. Heretics is the book that sort of necessitated Orthodoxy; a more famous, much-beloved piece.
I would recommend this book for those interested in exploring the arena of worldview debate. It isn't a long book, at only about 150 pages. The essay are broken up into nice little chunks that you can read in a half-hour or so, spend some time mulling, and maybe read through again, if you'd like. I could attempt to describe the content of the essay's, but it would take way too long, and I'd fail to do it anywhere near as well the Big Man himself.
There are plenty of wonderful things to think about in this book, and it's full of Chesterton's usual paradoxical style (something he debates with another writer at one point), but it feels a little bitzy, as though it's a bundle of pieces that he's brought together from elsewhere. Nevertheless, it's almost impossible to criticise Chesterton (and who would dare?)
Some of the names have been forgotten almost entirely; a few, like G B Shaw, Kipling, and so on, are still read. Many of the openings of the chapters are the best and most concise things in the chapters, but as always there are gems scattered around, and a bundle of wit.
Yes, it helps to know the contemporaries of Chesterton. And one must have a love of language and the ability to slow down and turn a phrase in your mind more than once before racing on to the bottom of the page. Given that...
I love Chesterton's gentle skewering of the ideas of friends. But it is not the cynical crassness of today's late night comics. It is the reasoned critique of the unreasonable modern notions of 1905, notions that have flowered and rotted 100 years later. No one can turn a phrase like GKC. Hold a yellow highlighter as you read...you will find a gem on every page.
Example "The curse that came before history has laid on us all a tendency to be weary of wonders. If we saw the fun for the first time it would be the most fearful and beautiful of meteors....We are inclined to increase our claims. We are inclined to demand six suns, to demand a blue sun, to demand a green sun. Humility is perpetually putting us back in the primal darkness."
And you can see GKC laughing as he writes "...if an editor can only make people angry enough, they will write half his newspaper for him for nothing."
Take your time. And be ready to come back and read again.
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