If there were no God, there would be no Atheists.
G.K. Chesterton
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
G.K. Chesterton
Here we go again…another story in the form of another book has just appeared on the scene…
as if out of the blue, vying for my full attention…enticing me, luring me, practically
begging me to add it to the ever-growing pile of books.
The title is what caught my eye first.
“Knight of the Holy Ghost”
by Dale Ahlquist
I like the sound of that.
As in…I want to join!
I want to be a part of such an Order.
The book is about a familiar figure–well, familiar to me that is…
G. K. Chesterton.
Here is the into by the publisher for the book:
Who was Gilbert Keith Chesterton?
A rotund man in a cape brandishing a walking stick? Certainly.
A twentieth-century writer? Prolifically.
A great champion and defender of the Christian Faith? Gallantly.
He is known too as the “prince of paradox” and an “apostle of common sense.”
Chesterton has lately been enjoying a resurgence in popularity.
His name appears on blog posts and news articles alike.
His name is spoken more often on college campuses,
and schools around the United States are being named after him.
Who was this engaging, witty, prophetic man?
Allow Dale Ahlquist, the president of the American Chesterton Society, to introduce you to him.
In a rollicking adventure quite Chestertonian in flavor,
Ahlquist captains an expedition of discovery into who this GKC fellow is.
He deftly and cleverly explores Chesterton as a man, as a writer, and as a potential saint.
Those curious about Chesterton will have their initial questions answered.
Those who might be dubious about Chesterton’s reputation will be challenged to reconsider.
Those who consider Chesterton an old friend will be delighted.
All will be engaged by amusing anecdotes, plentiful quotations,
and a thoughtful study of the life of G. K. Chesterton.
And for those of you who don’t really know this larger than life individual and would like
a little more background other than an introduction to a new book…
I actually offered a taste of background a couple of months back in a previous post…
https://cookiecrumbstoliveby.wordpress.com/2018/08/18/sanity-remains-despite-insanitys-fight-for-dominance/
“For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mr. Chesterton…Gilbert Keith to be exact,
Mr. Chesterton came into this world in 1874 in London and died in 1936 at his home
in Buckinghamshire, England.
He was a prolific writer, being considered by many, the greatest writer of the 20th century.
He never attended college however but rather opted to attend art school,
earning a degree in illustration.
Yet it was after being asked to contribute an essay on art criticism to a magazine that
his lifelong passion for writing and his career as a writer, would not stop until
his death at age of 62…
and yet it never really has stopped as his words live on most enthusiastically
to this day.
And it is due to his prolific writing that Mr. Chesterton remains as current and
as relevant as he did at the turn of the century…that being the turn of the 19th
to the 20th century.
It was actually from the writings of Chesterton that lead a young atheist by the name
of C.S. Lewis to conversion to Christianity…
but Chesterton first would have to come to conversion himself.
Born of Unitarian parents, as a young man Chesterton and his brother veered toward a
fascination with the occult and that of Qujia Boards…as this was a time of cultural
interest in such…a time when seances were all the rage and much in vogue with most of
cultured society.
Intellectualism and science were both coming into their own as Christianity was
being seen as the stuff of fables and fairy tales as well as too stringent for
those seeking to dabble in all things ‘other than’…
for this was an age of enlightenment.
Chesterton credits his wife Frances, who he married in 1901, with actually leading
him back to the fold of believers.
They became members of the Anglican Church…yet Chesterton would refer to
Anglicanism as a “pale imitation” and eventually joined the Catholic Church in 1922.
It was at this point that Chesterton became what many consider to be one of the
staunchest of all times apologists for the Christian Faith.
Chesterton was equally blessed with the gift of gab and debated the likes of
H.G. Wells, Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, and Clarence Darrow and not only
lived to tell about it but was considered to be the victor of each debate leading
George Bernard Shaw to proclaim that “the world is not thankful enough for Chesterton.”
And so as I read today’s quote, I found it amazingly instep and even quite timely.
In fact, reading the quote and not knowing it was from Chesterton,
I would have thought any ardent
Christian living today might have said such.”
That quote was:
“For at present we all tend to one mistake; we tend to make politics too important.
We tend to forget how huge a part of a man’s life is the same under a Sultan and a Senate,
under Nero or St. Louis.
Daybreak is a never-ending glory,
getting out of bed is a never-ending nuisance;
food and friends will be welcomed;
work and strangers must be accepted and endured;
birds will go bedwards and children won’t,
to the end of the last evening.”
—G.K. Chesterton
from the essay What’s Right with the World
It was when I read the Chesterton quote that I recalled having recently
come across the verse from Lamentations…
My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
Lamentations 3:20-24
I closed out that post with the following words…words that were only written back
in August…yet words still applicable today given the on-going political tit for tat…
So given Mr. Chesterton’s words regarding our tendency to take politics
(and our current state of events) way too seriously,
of which is oh so easy to do with one click of a button, it is a deep comfort
to see those long-standing words still there, still consistent, still constant…
a reminder that despite our dire current state of affairs,
the Lord remains my portion as my hope rests only in Him…
So yes, I think a Knight of the Holy Ghost is truly in order—someone we certainly need
…one who will fight for the Truth of the One True God while
rallying the troops to rise above this worldly madness.
One more book to add to the pile….
cookiecrumbstoliveby 