“Why I Am a Catholic”

In Episodes 74 and 75, Ed, Cory and I discuss G.K. Chesterton’s influential essay, “Why I Am a Catholic.” For a century, converts to Catholicism have been inspired by this essay, or felt that it gave words to what they felt during their conversion process. As you listen, you might want to read it for yourself. Below is a link to the full essay on the website of the Chesterton Society.

As you do, you might notice two peculiar features of most of Chesterton’s writing. First, he was a ”quote machine,” meaning that he could really turn a phrase, capturing memorable insights in just a sentence or two (which is why you see so many Chesterton one-liners all over the internet). The second thing you’ll notice is that he often wanders into responding to critics or commenting on issues of the day. Chesterton was a newspaper editor and columnist. If he were alive today, he might be a talk radio host, or a podcaster, or a blogger, engaged with current events and public conversations. But for us, a century later, it can be hard to know exactly what he was responding to because we aren’t reading the London daily papers and looking to Chesterton for a response.

So, as you read this essay, take what you can from it, and if there are parts that don’t seem relevant today, don’t worry about those for now.

“Why I Am a Catholic” by G.K. Chesterton

Greg