I believed Chesterton labored so hard to debunk the foolishness of his times, because he knew that all of us, himself included, are prone to latch on to the trendy. In Orthodoxy, he lays out his own personal odyssey of discovering the truth and calls it an "elephantine adventure in pursuit of the obvious." He acknowledges, "I freely confess all the idiotic ambitions of the end of the nineteenth century. I did, like all other solemn little boys, try to be in advance of the age. Like them I tried to be some ten minutes in advance of the truth. And I found that I was eighteen hundred years behind it." For my part, I am with Chesterton in praying for the grace to recognize the obvious. I have seen too many get entangled in subtleties and nuances to the point where they become incapable of breathing fresh air and eventually asphyxiate themselves.LINK
Perhaps reading Chesterton would be the cure, for he is always a breath of fresh air.
Janet Smith herself has worked tirelessly to debunk the foolishness of our times. She wrote Humanae Vitae: A Generation Later, edited Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader, and recorded Contraception: Why Not? - her talk that many thousands have heard. Go to One More Soul for more info on Dr. Smith.
Thanks for the links, Joe.
ReplyDeleteBelieve I have lost my ability to laugh at foolishness- had it when I was younger, but with age, I kind of expected adults would know better. Now it is something that must be dealt with- I know that I can be quite foolish at times, and it pains me to think that other's may put up with it. The folly of most adults is not funny to me- it is that "intolerable tolerance" factor that I am referring to. The fun & folly of children is different, altho they too can fall into the trap of chasing possessions that are the trend of the moment, and lose interest once the coveted is possessed. And they usually can't do it without the consent of adults, who can tend to overindulge and encourage the quest for the next fleeting fad. I have been guilty of this, too-
Faith
PS Pardon my ignorance- what's that thing at the bottom?