G.K. Chesterton on the Church in the World
CHRISTIANITY is always out of fashion because it is always sane; and all fashions are mild insanities. When Italy is mad on art the Church seems too Puritanical when England is mad on Puritanism the Church seems too artistic. When you quarrel with us now you class us with kingship and despotism; but when you quarrelled with us first it was because we would not accept the divine despotism of Henry VIII. The Church always seems to be behind the times, when it is really beyond the times; it is waiting till the last fad shall have seen its last summer. It keeps the key of a permanent virtue.
- G. K. Chesterton, The Ball and the Cross
- G. K. Chesterton, The Ball and the Cross
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I came across this the other day. & when I read it, I couldn't help but think of all those people who try & remake the Catholic Church according to the values of society. In particular I am thinking of all those who criticize the Church's teachings on birth control, homosexual behavior & abortion, saying they are out of date, out of step with the culture, etc. He paints a clear picture of why the Church never will be in step. See why I support making him a saint? I'd rather stand with the Church & not with the insanity that the world, the flesh & the devil are promoting.
posted by Al @ 2:21 AM
2 Comments:
At 1/8/09 3:10 AM ,
OperationCounterstrike said...
The particular quotation you selected shows exactly what's wrong with GKC's writing. He begs his questions. He ASSUMES, rather than attempting to show, that "Christianity is always sane". He always does this. He gloats about how glad he is to be Roman Catholic rather than a member of some other religion, and pretends his gloating constitutes an argument.
Besides being overrated, he was way too fat. A very bad example to his generation. A REALLY good English writer once described a loud crash as "a sound like Chesterton falling on a sheet of tin". (PG Wodehouse)
At 1/8/09 5:37 AM ,
Al said...
Actually, I think this quote proves his claim because he uses concrete examples of how it was throughout history. & your reaction confirms it.
As for being fat, so what, he won't be the 1st or last or the fattest saint either.
As for calling what he did gloating. I don't think so. he is showing the facts as they really are, just the facts. People who call things like this gloating are usually trying to deny that the person is right, so they make it sound like gloating rather than an assured confidence in the truth that he had, & I have.
As for Woodhouse's opinion, that's his problem. I'll stick to enjoying his stories of Jeeves.
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