If it be true (as it certainly is) that a man can feel exquisite happiness in skinning a cat, then the religious philosopher can only draw one of two deductions. He must either deny the existence of God, as all atheists do; or he must deny the present union between God and man, as all Christians do. The new theologians seem to think it a highly rationalistic solution to deny the cat.
-- G.K Chesterton, Orthodoxy
Please don't try this at home.
Posted by: AllYourCanonsAreBelongToUs | April 21, 2009 at 09:40 AM
I believe I understand this quote... But would someone out there help me understand what Gilbert is getting at here?
tx
Posted by: d.f.nathaniel | June 17, 2009 at 04:02 PM
d.f. - I think what Chesterton is getting at is how man confronts the presence of evil in the world, and how that fits in with the existence of God.
There are two ways in which to solve the conundrum. Firstly, you deny God exists, therefore concluding that there is no moral basis on which to distinguish good from evil. Alternatively, if you believe God exists, and that he is perfect in holiness and morality, you then conclude that the relationship between God and man is not what it was meant to be, and that it is man's fault that this is so. The latter is the Christian position on the issue.
The 'new theologians' of Chesterton's time, and presumably the Emergents of today, are therefore seen to be either missing the point altogether, or denying it because they do not like the answers that the question raises.
Hope this helps!
Posted by: Neil King | July 03, 2009 at 07:54 AM