By: Elliot Milco

Elliot Milco — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 19:48:42 +0000

Obviously most people don’t discover GKC and Lewis “after advanced degrees in philosophy and theology and several years of daily mass attendance”. There’s not necessarily anything in this sort of stuff that makes people stop there (Lewis even laments at one point that people don’t read old books.) but they frequently do. I wasn’t commenting on Chesterton, Lewis, West, etc. in themselves, just on the way they’re lingered over by many people, who are either unaware that the riches of the tradition aren’t exhausted by popular theology, or are told that the greater works of the past are all, like St. Thomas’s Summa, too dry and inaccessible for the average reader (who doesn’t have advanced degrees and hasn’t studied theology).

Of course, this is false. Anyone who bothered to look at the works of of Bernard of Clairvaux, Gregory of Nazianzus, John Chrysostom, Athanasius, Jerome, etc. would find them not only accessible and beautifully written, but also Relevant and spiritually rich. There’s so much to gain from reading deeper into the tradition, I think it’s worthwhile to remind people that it’s waiting there for them.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:45:02 +0000

While Milco’s overall point is well-taken, I find his choice of Chesterton as an example curious. Obviously, there is always the temptation to make the gateways of our faith the endpoints, but nothing about Chesterton makes him particularly dangerous in that way.

For me, an appreciation of GKC came after advanced degrees in philosophy and theology and several years of daily mass attendance. Still, I found in Chesterton an excitement for daily living, a wonder at existence – and a theology/philosophy that made sense of it – that was sorely needed and can be of use to those who have known and loved the faith for years.

Comments on: Lingering at the Fringes

By: Elliot Milco

By: Chris