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Chesterton appeals to many evangelicals even though he was a Roman Catholic. Why is that? Is there anything Catholic about Orthodoxy that may frustrate evangelicals?

Chesterton had not converted to Roman Catholicism when he wrote Orthodoxy, but his attraction to that tradition is apparent in several places. Most evangelicals will not be frustrated by this, because he so brilliantly and logically celebrates the Apostles' Creed. On the other hand, his disdain for Calvinism and Puritans is not subtle, and this offends many readers, especially those who recognize that he often distorts these traditions.

If Chesterton were writing today, what might attract his ire?

If he were writing today, he would not have to change much of what he wrote a century ago. He would still attack the lack of logic and tough-mindedness so rampant among so-called intellectuals in the academic world. But I am confident that he would place most of his emphasis on the truth that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Chesterton celebrated life and the One who is the Life. Although he did attack abortion and infanticide during the early 20th century — especially in places such as China — he would be enraged by the wholesale slaughter of the unborn in the United States, the UK, and Western Europe. He would, I think, go on the offensive against the silence of most Protestants in the face of this carnage.

Do any contemporary Christian writers remind you of Chesterton?

There are some excellent apologists writing today who communicate well with an intelligent public. Among them are Ravi Zacharias and Dinesh D'Souza, just to mention two. But Chesterton was different in one respect. He interjected humor into his writing in a way that few apologists — except Malcolm Muggeridge — have done.

Collin Hansen is a CT editor at large and author of Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists.

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November (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 52