G. K. Chesterton
The Romance of the Creeds
For this presentation we wish to reflect on the creeds, using comments from G. K. Chesterton. After briefly introducing Chesterton, and explaining some of the challenges of reading him, we will make general remarks about his commitment to the creeds. Toward the beginning of Orthodoxy: The Romance of Faith, one of his most forceful books arguing for the Christian worldview, he says: “When the word ‘orthodoxy’ is used here it means the Apostles’ Creed, by everyone calling himself Christian…” Then we will take six highlights from the Nicene Creed and cull various comments on them from Chesterton’s writings. Because we cannot cover every locus in the Nicene Creed, we will limit ourselves to six of the most promising.
They are: (1) We believe in one God, the Father Almighty; (2) Maker of heaven and earth, of things visible and invisible; (3) Christ’s person and work; (4) To judge the living and the dead; (5) And his kingdom will have no end; (6) We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. Chesterton was not a systematic theologian. However, well aware of the doctrinal implications of each of these statements, his comments are predictably learned, often amusing, and devastatingly polemical.
To give two examples: first, in commenting on the locus, “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty,” Chesterton defends the Trinity. He defends it against monism (one but not three) and against polytheism (three or more but not one). Second, under “Christ’s person and work” Chesterton has powerful comments on both the incarnation and the resurrection. In his rich chapter “The God in the Cave” he comments extensively on the uniqueness of a religion which combines finitude with the infinite. He famously says those who went to the empty tomb were witnessing not only the arrival of the new world, but that the old world had died in the night.
We will contend briefly for Chesterton’s evocative views of the creeds and finally address some reasons these views are still of great value in our world today.
William Edgar
Professor Emeritus
Westminster Theological Seminary