G.K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was a man of many talents - short story writer, novelist, poet, essayist, biographer, philosopher, art critic, literary critic, Christian apologist, journalist, and editor. He is best known now for his 53 detective stories featuring Father Brown, a Catholic priest who uses Church-trained logic and a keen understanding of human behavior to solve mysteries. Chesterton had famous friendships, rivalries, and feuds with fellow writers in a Golden Age of English literature. The names alone summon a time and place: Kipling, Shaw, Wilde, Doyle, Belloc, and many others - Chesterton was in the thick of it all.
The Father Brown stories are the best place to begin with Chesterton, but the casual essays are witty and sly and fun, graced with paradox and a conversational style. Enjoy!
The Everlasting Man
The Everlasting Man
This classic exploration of human history vis-à-vis its link to Christianity ponders the question: What makes human beings uniquely human? In this thoughtful response to the rampant social Darwinism of the early twentieth century, G. K. Chesterton explains how religion — a blend of philosophy and mythology — satisfies both the human intellect and the spirit, and sets man starkly apart from any other living creature.
Written in 1925, this enduring polemic still strikes a modern chord. Addressing evolution, feminism, and cultural relativism within the context of religion, the book also examines religious skepticism. How does one sustain belief in Jesus Christ — and the Church — when, throughout history, the key to religious truth has been constantly reshaped? According to Chesterton, the shape of the key is not important. What matters is that it fits the lock and opens the door. An emphatic affirmation of Christian faith, The Everlasting Man is leavened with the author's characteristic wit and wisdom, and appeals to the mind as well as the heart.
Reprint of the Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd., London, 1925 edition.