| Title | Heretics |
| Author | G. K. Chesterton |
| Publisher | Chesterton Books |
| Year | 2017 |
| Pages | 142 |
| Rating | ★★★★★ (5 Stars) |
| Purchase Link | Buy Here |
Heretics is one of the most famous books by English writer G. K. Chesterton, famous for his defense of traditional values and critiques of the modern world.
The book Heretics shows the mistakes of several modern thinkers and where they go wrong.
Chesterton made a supplement to this book called Orthodoxy, showing what he considers the correct values. To read more summaries of great books, click here.
Who is the author of the book Heretics?
The author of the book Hereges is written by an actor much admired by several readers because of the quality of his writing.
The author of Heretics is G. K. Chesterton, an English writer, journalist, polemicist and philosopher who significantly influenced the conservative thinking of the time. Chesterton has works in the fields of philosophy, politics, theology, fiction and others.
We can see that this author is very important and inspired other authors, as is the case of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis! To buy the book Heretics, click here.
Summary of Heretics
The book, despite not being so extensive, is quite deep! But I’ll try to sum it up properly.
Heretics is a set of essays in which Chesterton criticizes a number of modern thinkers, such as George Bernard Shaw, HG Wells, Oscar Wilde and others. The English thinker argues that the ideas of such thinkers are wrong and do not deeply touch the subjects addressed, without being able to solve the social problems that society faces.
Thus, throughout the book, Chesterton defends traditional Christian values and beliefs, arguing that they provide the only true basis for a healthy and fulfilling life.
He also offers his own ideas on how to approach the social and political issues of the time, advocating a return to the principles of Christianity and the virtues of common sense.
It is curious to see that several values that Chesterton addresses are later defended by thinkers such as CS Lewis.
Review of Heretics
After all, what to think of the book? For those who are not used to reading Chesterton, I will try to convey the general impression of the book.
In general, the book Hereges is a critique of several ideas of modern and contemporary philosophy, showing, on the other hand, a defense of conservative and Christian values. The book has Chesterton’s writing style which is very particular and fun, once you get the hang of it. It’s a very fruitful read for beginners and advanced!
As I said, understanding this English thinker’s books perfectly is a challenge at first, as he uses many figures of speech and makes many jokes, but it’s just a matter of getting the hang of it.
For example: I felt the same when I read your book Orthodoxy (you can read a summary of it here), but I quickly got the hang of his writing.
Key Lessons of Heretics
The book has several important points, but I tried to summarize them in four main aspects for you to have a general idea:
1. The superficiality of modern thinkers
The main highlight of the book is the author’s criticism of contemporary authors.
According to Chesterton, the way of seeing the world of most authors of his time – many of them being his contemporaries – is limited and only sees some aspects of reality, more harming than helping people who embody these ideals.
Therefore, it may not be such an attractive idea to study only through these authors, as they have limitations of this type.
2. The defense of traditional values
On the other hand, Chesterton gives a way out of the modern problems of humanity: the value that traditional values have.
According to the author, it is necessary to go back to practicing the traditional values taught a long time ago, but which were forgotten with the arrival of new philosophies and ideologies that contaminated the whole world. These values have the ability to make man see reality as it is.
3. The Christian way of life
In fact, one way to recover more traditional values is through what can be called the Christian religion.
The Christian way of life has the perfect balance between controlling man’s negative tendencies and the pursuit of virtue, and can therefore make him reach a more complete understanding of the world, without the blindness caused by ideologies, for example.
To buy the book Heretics, click here.
4. The return of common sense in dealing with sociopolitical problems
Finally, Chesterton talks about the various political aspects that leave us a little lost, as is very common nowadays.
According to the book, we must return to common sense when dealing with social and political problems instead of appealing to strange ideologies, political projects that can do more harm than help or even a false notion of science, which when applied only gives negative results.
Common sense can be much more powerful than it seems and be the key to solving many problems. To buy the book Heretics, click here.
Negative Points of Heretics
The only criticism I can make of the book should already be known to anyone who starts reading Chesterton without much preparation.
For some, the book Heretics can be difficult to understand deeply, as Chesterton does not write in such an accessible way, using figures of speech very often. As a result, the first few pages can be difficult to understand until you “get the hang of” the author.
That is: nothing that prevents reading the book or that spoils the experience, as it is a matter of habit. Click here to read a summary of The Everlasting Man, also by Chesterton.
Positive Points of Heretics
There are several good points about Heretics, and I’ve tried to summarize them in just one paragraph.
Heretics is a book that accurately depicts a number of erroneous thoughts that are popular these days, but unfortunately are embraced by an ever-increasing number of people. Chesterton talks about how it is worth rescuing traditional values and common sense to bring man closer to reality.
This means that it is an extremely interesting read for anyone who sees problems with current society’s ways of thinking. To buy the book Heretics, click here.
Is Heretics worth reading?
If you’ve read the entire article, you already know my answer. But let’s go:
It’s worth reading Heretics, because it’s a book with very current issues that can help many people to understand where certain ideas come from that we’ve always taken for granted in our heads, but that sometimes just end up getting in our way.
Despite the small challenge you may have at first, it’s a worthwhile read!
If you want to buy the book Heretics, it’s worth it! To buy the book Heretics, click here.
Frequently Asked Questions about Heretics
Is Heretics a difficult book to read?
For some, Heretics can be a difficult book to read. But once you get used to the author’s writing, you can read it without too many problems.
Can I start reading Chesterton by Heretics?
It is possible to start reading Chesterton through the book Heretics, but the ideal is to look for more accessible books, such as the fiction books with Father Brown, Tremendas Trivialities and Orthodoxy.
Which Chesterton books to read after Heretics?
After reading Heretics, it is possible to read Orthodoxy and the Eternal Man, as these books function as a trilogy (although they can be understood on their own as well).
What authors are cited in Heretics?
Chesterton cites several authors in the book, but the main ones are Oscar Wilde, HG Wells and George Bernard Shaw.