In Defense Of Sanity
G.K. Chesterton was a master essayist. But reading his essays is not just an exercise in studying a literary form at its finest, it is an encounter with timeless truths that jump off the page as fresh and powerful as the day they were written.
The only problem with Chesterton’s essays is that there are too many of them. Over five thousand! For most GKC readers it is not even possible to know where to start or how to begin to approach them.
So three of the world’s leading authorities on Chesterton – Dale Ahlquist, Joseph Pearce, Aidan Mackey – have joined together to select the “best” Chesterton essays, a collection that will be appreciated by both the newcomer and the seasoned student of this great 20th century man of letters.
The variety of topics are astounding: barbarians, architects, mystics, ghosts, fireworks, rain, juries, gargoyles and much more. Plus a look at Shakespeare, Dickens, Jane Austen, George MacDonald, T.S. Eliot, and the Bible. All in that inimitable, formidable but always quotable style of GKC. Even more astounding than the variety is the continuity of Chesterton’s thought that ties everything together. A veritable feast for the mind and heart.
While some of the essays in this volume may be familiar, many of them are collected here for the first time, making their first appearance in over a century.
SKU (ISBN): 9781586174897
ISBN10: 1586174894
Dale Ahlquist | Editor: Joseph Pearce | Editor: Aidan Mackey
Binding: Trade Paper
Published: October 2011
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Related products
-
Great Divorce
Read moreC.S. Lewis takes us on a profound journey through both heaven and hell in this engaging allegorical tale. Using his extraordinary descriptive powers, Lewis introduces us to supernatural beings who will change the way we think about good and evil. In The Great Divorce C.S. Lewis again employs his formidable talent for fable and allegory. The writer, in a dream, finds himself in a bus which travels between Hell and Heaven. This is the starting point for an extraordinary meditation upon good and evil which takes issue with William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.
-
Courage Of Faith
Read moreLiving a courageous life is not easy. It requires a person to find the balance between fearlessness and cowardice. In The Courage of Faith Steven Ostovich encourages readers to wrestle with their questions of belief in order to find a way to choose faith. He shows that belief, promise, hope, love, responsibility, and thinking demand courage. Ostovich helps readers to reflect on their understandings of these topics by using the writings of philosophers from Plato to Hannah Arendt, Rene Descartes to Simone de Beauvoir. By engaging philosophy, theology, and the Bible, he challenges readers to courageously think from and through faith. The result of such thinking is a commitment to belief.
-
Return Of The Prodigal Son
Read moreA chance encounter with a reproduction of Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son catapulted Henri Nouwen on a long spiritual adventure. Here he shares the deeply personal and resonant meditation that led him to discover the place within where God has chosen to dwell.
In seizing the inspiration that came to him through Rembrandt’s depiction of the powerful Gospel story, Henri Nouwen probes the several movements of the parable: the younger son’s return, the father’s restoration of sonship, the elder son’s vengefulness, and the father’s compassion. In his reflection on Rembrandt in light of his own life journey, the author evokes a powerful drama of the parable in a rich, capativating way that is sure to reverberate in the hearts of readers. The themes of homecoming, affirmation, and reconciliation will be newly discovered by all who have known loneliness, dejection, jealousy, or anger. The challenge to love as the father and be loved as the son will be seen as the ultimate revelation of the parable known to Christians throughout time, and here represented with a vigor and power fresh for our times.
For all who ask, “Where has my struggle led me?” or for those “on the road” who have had the courage to embark on the journey but seek the illumination of a known way and safe passage, this work will inspire and guide each time it is read.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.