Book Review: Orthodoxy

What books can Christians read? Some books bolster our faith, others build on our foundation of reason, still others preach and teach about our Savior Christ Jesus. We believe that when our faith in Jesus is strengthened, that is all that matters in any content; be it through knowledge of why we believe or even just some matters in the Christian world. Let Christ be glorified.

Whenever I heard G. K. Chesterton quotes, I was always amazed and intrigued by the wit and clarity of thought in them. One of my favorite was this one:

"Joy, which was the small publicity of the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian." G. K. Chesterton in Orthodoxy

And this quote comes from the book we are reviewing today: Orthodoxy. I only got to know about this book and its legendary writer in the last few years and have been working my way through his works. Chesterton talks almost in riddles which sometimes is hard to follow for the layman, but we thoroughly enjoyed this book as he brought us through his own thought process which culminated in his own inevitable admission to the truth of Christianity.

Interestingly, this is a book that C. S. Lewis referred to in Surprised by Joy (C. S. Lewis' own autobiographical book about his own conversion). Lewis himself also greatly admired the writings and thoughts of Chesterton, even during the former's Atheistic days.

Orthodoxy is structured in terms of one long thought process. Personally, I think that any other writer would have taken three times the length to explain this process. What Chesterton did in less than 200 pages, he did it with much skill and beauty. While he claimed that he was forced to be "egotistical in order to be sincere", we felt that it exuded much grace and conviction in his own beliefs.

On that note, however, it is important to remember that this book is not really an argument for Christianity. It is more of an argument that Chesterton had within himself, which ended in his loss and the victory of the Gospel. While it may seem harsh for him to call all other doctrines false or unreasonable, it would be beneficial to remember that when one reasons within and finds an answer to be acceptable to himself, he has only one way to express it: to describe it as the truth. Hence, while some may call some of his points accusatory or pointed, we would urge readers to take them as one man's inner turmoil and conclusions to his own reasonings. For us, we found his thoughts to be fully rounded and fully reasonable.

For the Christians who like to explore logic and reason, this is an exceptional book which gave clarity to many Christians and non-believers alike since its publication in 1908. It is a timeless masterpiece, still relevant to this day and many of his statements are still being echoed in the realities of our present age today. Very much different from any autobiographical works, it is still an extremely engaging read. I personally love stories, but this book got me hooked with its clever analogies, interesting perspectives and intriguing thoughts. Definitely worth a read!