Orthodoxy G.K. Chesterton the Most Prudent Way

¶ … Orthodoxy G.K. Chesterton

The most prudent way to analyze a work of literature that is as diverse and as complicated (as well as unconventional) as G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy is to do so from a two-fold perspective in which one considers both the form of this narrative and its effect upon the content. Part of the inherent difficulty in undertaking this body of work lies in the incongruities that exist between both of these elements of Orthodoxy. On the one hand, this is a work of non-fiction that is based on the pious and austere subject of religion, and on Christianity in particular. Yet at the same time, the author writes fairly freely in a transformative tone that vacillates between both poetry and prose, and makes a number of salient points while utilizing the former of these. Despite this contradiction between his topic and the way he chooses to address it, Chesterton has written this book primarily in an effort to reaffirm the values of traditional orthodox Christianity -- all the while delineating the place and value of man within the cosmos and his own private journey from doubting skeptic to faithful adherent.

The poetry of Chesterton's prose is what makes this book a fairly formidable one to get through with a substantial level of understanding. What is perhaps most interesting about this fact is the reason for the author's approach to writing his manuscript in this way -- which is largely fueled upon his zeal for God and the religion he believes best represents his will, Christianity. When one considers that the author was rather young (he was 34 when he completed this work) at the time of the book's composition, the verve he displays in many of the passages that become manifest in a litany of poetic devices become highly understandable. Unfortunately, they do not make his points any more lucid, as the following quotation suitably demonstrates.

…the frantic energy of divine things would knock us down like a drunken farce. We can take our own tears more lightly than we could take the tremendous levities of the angels. So we sit perhaps in a starry chamber of silence, while the laughter of the heaves is too loud for us to hear (Chesterton).

Although it is true that in this specific passage the author is describing the ineffable nature of the heavens, it is still highly noteworthy to mention that he does so with both a simile and a metaphor, which are common characteristics of poetry. Furthermore, the description of heaven's laughter as one that is "too loud" four humans to "hear" is certainly poetic in its imagery. By utilizing this prose style that is rooted in poetry, the author is able to describe some of the more indescribable aspects of existence and man's nature in it -- and leave his readers just a tad confused.

Still, the preceding passage is indicative of both Chesterton's form and content because, although it is demonstrative of his poetic prose voice, it also alludes to what amounts to the thesis of Orthodoxy. Quite simply, that thesis is that there are a number of indescribable and incomprehensible aspects of God's creation and man's role in it, and it is due to these mysteries that man is ultimately able to connect with God in a truthful fashion (Weingart). This thesis is most apparent in the sections of Orthodoxy in which the author details man's place within the cosmos and the world, and freely acknowledges that much of what transpires is actually beyond man's capacity to understand. In depicting this subservience of understanding and existence to that of God and his processes, Chesterton is able to display a somewhat cavalier attitude that delights in the journey of this process of faith, which the subsequent quotation alludes to as well. "Man must have just enough faith in himself to have adventures, and just enough doubt in himself to enjoy" (Chesterton). The point of this passage, much like several others in this book, is that faith is rooted in accepting -- not understanding -- the mysteries of life itself. This acceptance is the most orthodox type of faith according to the author.

In arriving at this conclusion, however, the author essentially continues the tradition of Christian apologist literature by chronicling his initial distrust, curiosity about, and eventual acceptance of Christianity. This progression is highly important not only to the writing of this book, but also to the presentation of the author's views regarding the esteem of Christianity. During this portion of the book Chesterton spends a considerable amount of time detailing opinions of others about Christianity -- which was initially all he knew about the religion. In this aspect, there are definitely parallels between Orthodoxy and Heretics, the latter of which is a critique regarding the polemics of conventional interpretations and views of Christianity. The true value in this literature review of sorts is that it allows the reader to actually relive Chesterton's experience which helped him to arrive at his present (at the time of the writing, anyway) regard for Christianity in its purest, most orthodox sense. It is also important to note that while chronicling his autobiographical history with this religion, the author also reasons through other attempts to modernize or otherwise change Christianity -- usually to meet some socio-political objective -- that fail to provide the same sort of truth and revelation of what Chesterton denotes is an orthodox view.

Although he writes about an orthodox perspective of Christianity in a decidedly unorthodox, highly poetical and enthusiastic tone of voice, the author's definition of orthodox Christianity is simply the traditional viewpoint of this religion, liberated from any attempts to modernize or update to keep up with the changing times of the newly wrought 20th century during which the book was written (in 1908). Still, the author has a definite penchant for punctuating his explanation of the value of orthodox Christianity by utilizing examples from his own life. This is a fairly effective rhetorical strategy, and serves as a counterpoint to the miasma of poetry that keeps some of his concepts less lucid than readers may want them to be. A good example of how Chesterton refers to autobiographical aspects of his life to illustrate his views about traditional Christianity revolves about his own faith in the Catholic Church. It is exactly because of these interjections, in which the author laments the occurrence of the Reformation as a definite negative impact upon orthodox Christianity that Orthodoxy makes for a compelling read. By utilizing a highly personal approach to a subject that can actually seem fairly objective at times, the author is able to engage his reader and keep them aligned with his train of thought.