Finished Reading “Heretics”

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  "G. K. Chesterton, the "Prince of Paradox," is at his witty best in this collection of twenty essays and articles from the turn of the twentieth century. Focusing on  "heretics" - those who pride themselves on their superiority to Christian views - Chesterton appraises prominent figures who fall into that category from the literary and art worlds... those who hold incomplete and inadequate views about "life, the universe, and everything." He is, in short, criticizing all that host of non-Christian views of reality, as he demonstrated in his follow-up book Orthodoxy. The book is both an easy read and a difficult read. But he manages to demonstrate, among other things, that our new 21st century heresies are really not new because he himself deals with most of them." (Goodreads)

10 Things I Just Don’t Understand

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Years ago I worked for a man who modeled an excellent response to frustration. He would return from a meeting or a business errand, go to his office, sit motionless for a few minutes (eyes closed, most likely praying). Then he would stand up and say, “there are some things I just don’t understand,” laugh a little, then go about his day. Here are 10 things “I just don’t understand.”

  1. How forgiveness can be restorationless.
  2. How restoration can be directionless.
  3. How help is available to those who can afford it.
  4. How “we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.” (Marcus Aurelius)
  5. How there are some who think that if they can’t win, it’s ok to change the rules. 
  6. If “that made me mad” or “that made me happy,” then “that” can make anyone do anything. 
  7. How “all roads lead to God,” yet each road has disagreeable distinctives concerning God. 
  8. How people can blatantly do evil while simultaneously deny responsibility for their actions. 
  9. How is it ok to work harder, not smarter?
  10. That evil will increase in days to come.

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