Jason's review
Orthodoxy
by G.K. Chesterton
Jason's review
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
Jason's review
rating:
bookshelves:
churchy-stuff
recommended for: anyone interested in Christian apologetics or top notch rhetoric
G.K. Chesterton is a rhetorical master, and nowhere is his virtuosity on better display than in Orthodoxy. This book is saturated with classical rhetorical devices, so it may be a bit heavy-handed for modernists. If you enjoy a clever turn of phrase and a top-notch wit, Chesterton is hard to beat.
Orthodoxy is noteworthy for its substantive content as well. In this book, G.K. defends Christianity against the amoral relativism of his day (the turn of the 20th Century). His primary foil is George Bernard Shaw, but he takes several shots at H.G. Wells, Tolstoi and other contemporaries. Familarity with their ideas is helpful, but not essential. G.K. tracks his own intellectual conversion from secularist to modernist, turning a good deal of conventional wisdom on its head. The finished product is a resounding endorsement of Christianity with all its beatuiful paradoxes.
Among Chesterton's admirers is C.S. Lewis, so any Lewis fans should give Orthodoxy a try.
Orthodoxy is noteworthy for its substantive content as well. In this book, G.K. defends Christianity against the amoral relativism of his day (the turn of the 20th Century). His primary foil is George Bernard Shaw, but he takes several shots at H.G. Wells, Tolstoi and other contemporaries. Familarity with their ideas is helpful, but not essential. G.K. tracks his own intellectual conversion from secularist to modernist, turning a good deal of conventional wisdom on its head. The finished product is a resounding endorsement of Christianity with all its beatuiful paradoxes.
Among Chesterton's admirers is C.S. Lewis, so any Lewis fans should give Orthodoxy a try.
