WHY CHESTERTON MATTERS

“WHY CHESTERTON MATTERS”
Excerpted from a lecture by Professor Dale Ahlquist
G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was a prolific British novelist, satirist, poet, essayist, and speaker, and he was a devoted Catholic.... and a Catholic like you've probably never imagined.
Chesterton took in the world with childlike expansiveness, but also with honesty, creativity, and penetrating intellect. His sprawling coherence and monumental capacity for wonder embodied the spirit of the heart that so matters in the Catholic world.
According to Chesterton, “thinking means connecting things.”
And though this might sound obvious, too often society only gives it lip service. Instead, our culture operates on the assumption that education, especially higher education, requires a hyper-specialized form of 'knowing,' versus thinking and connecting.
Chesterton put the lie to that logic. He was educated, yes. But his interests and intellect ranged across politics, economics, literature, philosophy, and theology, yet he did not compartmentalize reality into check-boxes. Truth, itself, was treated with sheer exuberance.
And thanks to this almost childlike approach, his deepest convictions - and the way he approached understanding – hinged on The Joyful Paradox.
By that I mean that he was able to do what few “learned people” can - he embraced apparent contradictions, yet brought them together in fruitful, meaningful ways. One of his quotes, a favorite of mine, exemplifies this:
“The Catholic Church is like a thick steak, a glass of red wine, and a good cigar.”
― G.K. Chesterton
See what I mean about contradictions? Paradox?
Chesterton compares the Church, a strange religion to most to you, to a sumptuous meal. This seems quite silly on the surface, and it probably leaves you scratching your head.
But Chesterton is right - the Catholic Church is EXACLY that. It is savory with its old recipes, yet new with always changing rich tastes.
It is so filled with complex flavors, variations, and unending nuance that you never get bored eating of it, and so it can only be described as, well, sumptuous.
Why does Chesterton matter? “Because he writes about everything,” Professor Ahlquist maintains, “but he always points to God.” He examines everything, and seeks - in the sprawling riches of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness - their Source.
As we encounter this remarkable and interconnected world, seeking to know and understand it as it really is, let’s embrace the same wonder that Chesterton embodied: a wonder that delights in the deliciousness of paradox, and the challenge of Truth, so that that in all things God may be glorified
Excerpted from a lecture summary by Laura Schaffer
Director of Communications, Office of College Relations
Belmont Abbey College

Professor Dale Ahlquist is President of the Society of G.K. Chesterton and co-founder of Chesterton Academy 

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