Naming Things After Chesterton

Phil in the combox tells us that he just named his new puppy "Chesterton" and we were talking earlier about Chesterton's dog being named after a character in Pickwick Papers, a Mr. Winkle.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has a pet named after Chesteton or one of his characters? Someone earlier also mentioned that they had named a son Something Chesterton Smith. Has anyone else named children after Chesterton?

All Roads Lead to Truth

Is that true?

There's a bit of a discussion going on on a writer's group I belong to, and the one guy (a lwayer) is saying that anything, even trash, can lead a person to the truth. However, he then made this statement, "Truth is how you view it" and there's something about that that rings false. To me.

Do all roads lead to truth? Aren't there some detours we could avoid with prudence? I'm kindof saying, why take the trash road, when you could take the mountain view road?

What would you say to the person who said "Truth is how you view it"? Is that true?

The Chesterton Ideal

You have heard it said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult, and therefore left untried.” (GKChesterton)

But now I say to you:

Reading Chesterton has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult, and therefore (at times) left untried. (NCBrown)

Most of you here probably already read Chesterton. If you don't, we encourage you to do so, immediately.
And if you do already read Chesterton, find a way to encourage one other person to start reading him. Today. That's your task. If each one of us finds one more, we'd double the number of Chestertonians within the week! And the world would be better for it.

Frank Petta Jokes

One reason to subscribe to Gilbert is for the monthly dose of a Frank Petta joke. If you come to the conference, you'll hear more.

Frank is a long time friend of the American Chesterton Society, and always has a pocket full of jokes.

Here's his latest:

An accountant answered an advertisement for a top job with a large firm. At the end of the interview, the chairman said, "One last question--what is three times seven?"

The accountant thought for a moment and replied, "Twenty-two."

Outside, he checked himself on his calculator and concluded he had lost the job. But two weeks later he was offered the post.

He asked the chairman why he had been appointed when he had given the wrong answer.

"You were closest," the chairman replied.

Charles Dickens: The Pickwick Papers

Join us today and start reading The Pickwick Papers, so we can all chat about Samuel ("Sam") Pickwick, Tracy Tupman ("Tups"), Augustus Snodgrass (I don't want to call him "Snod" so let's just say "Gus), and Nathaniel Winkle ("Winkie"? "Nate").

If this is your New Year's resolution (to read Dicken's in 2006) it is time now to acquire the book either from your local library or your local bookstore.

My immediate first comments: Chesterton had a dog, I believe, named Winkle. I've also heard of a dog of his named Jingle. I don't know if these were the same dog, called two different Pickwickian names, or two different dogs. Anyone know? And since the dog Jingle talks about is called Ponto (I've just read about Ponto's amazing ability to read!) why didn't Chesterton call his dog Ponto, instead of naming it after a person?

Inquiring minds want to know.

School Choice

The Main Editorial in the latest Gilbert Magazine was titled "The Truth about School Choice" and it addresses the common misconceptions and arguments against school choice.

Our family homeschools. There are times when I wish our state (Illinois) offered vouchers to me, because every year I pay an astronomical amount of property taxes (I believe I heard the state of Illinois was the 49th worst state as far as using property tax money un-evenly to pay for public education) of which I never see any benefit. Even the public schools in my area, as good as they do manage to educate some certain segment of our population (mainly those with interested parents or "those who take care of 'you'" as our librarian refers to parental substitutes), they are constantly on academic warning about the test scores or lack there of.

However, what strings come attached with vouchers? If you take government money and use it toward private schools, will the government (either now, or in the future when they discover a loophole) want to regulate what happens with their money, no matter where it is spent?

Because of strings or the potential for strings, I am not eager to take voucher money, even if offered to me.

Here is another amazing set of figures:
--to educate a child in an elementary public school in Illinois=$4-6,000-8,000 per child (and take this into consideration, every homeschooled child in the state deprives that district of its "share" of the money that should come in (that's the way they see it and why teachers in general aren't too fond of homeschoolers), and yet, we "save" the district the burden of having to educate our children)
--to educate a child in private school in our area=$2,400-3,000 per child
--to homeschool a child at home in our area=One dedicated parent and $500 per student (average)

So, back to the editorial. I agree with it all, but I wonder. Is school choice really the no brainer it appears to be? Does the government really stay out of the way of whatever school that voucher is used for?

Another reason I wonder is because our local Catholic school took government money for meals in the cafeteria for needy kids, and teh government came in and made all kinds of inpections, rules and regs necessary in order to accept their "gift." Makes me leary of that kind of gift.

If anyone lives where they have vouchers (Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio and Wash DC) and either uses them or decided not to, chime in here and let's discuss this issue.

The God in The Cave

Someone was asking Mark Shea about caves/stables and mangers. I thought this the perfect time to read:

A meditation on Bethlehem. Today would be the perfect day to read this chapter of The Everlasting Man.

"Traditions in art and literature and popular fable have quite sufficiently attested, as has been said, this particular paradox of the divine being in the cradle. Perhaps they have not so clearly emphasised the significance of the divine being in the cave. Curiously enough, indeed, tradition has not very clearly emphasised the cave. It is a familiar fact that the Bethlehem scene has been represented in every possible setting of time and country of landscape and architecture; and it is a wholly happy and admirable fact that men have conceived it as quite different according to their different individual traditions and tastes. But while all have realised that it was a stable, not so many have realised that it was a cave. Some critics have even been so silly as to suppose that there was some contradiction between the stable and the cave; in which case they cannot know much about caves or stables in Palestine. As they see differences that are not there it is needless to add that they do not see differences that are there. When a well-known critic says, for instance, that Christ being born in a rocky cavern is like Mithras having sprung alive out of a rock, it sounds like a parody upon comparative religion. There is such a thing as the point of a story, even if it is a story in the sense of a lie. And the notion of a hero appearing, like Pallas from the brain of Zeus, mature and without a mother, is obviously the very opposite of the idea of a god being born like an ordinary baby and entirely dependent on a mother. Whichever ideal we might prefer, we should surely see that they are contrary ideals. It is as stupid to connect them because they both contain a substance called stone as to identify the punishment of the Deluge with the baptism in the Jordan because they both contain a substance called water. Whether as a myth or a mystery, Christ was obviously conceived as born in a hole in the rocks primarily because it marked the position of one outcast and homeless...." GKC 1925

Reading Dickens in 2006

Here is a Homeschooling Blogger who plans to read ALL of Dickens this coming year! Wow, I'd like to take that challenge up myself.
With the upcoming ACS Conference, I quickly realized the sad neglect of my education. I had never, prior to this year, read anything of Dickens, other than A Christmas Carol.

So, I read David Copperfield this past year, and loved it.

I own Pickwick Papers, which is the first book Writing and Living is reading, so I could do it with her, and I should. Maybe I will.

Merry Christmas

May it be magical.

Robert Moore-Jumonville has a column in the latest Gilbert magazine titled, "It's Magic." At first I thought it was going to be about Chesterton's play called, "Magic" but it wasn't. It's about considering the mysteries of life as magic, and how this is a superior view of things than saying things could have naturally occurred as they do.

I agree.

What are the chances of the stars just ending up in the sky naturally? Or that one star should have led three wise men across the known universe in search of what that star meant, and that they should have all thought it meant the birth of a king?

What are the chances that naturally, a woman and a man would have been travelling just when the babe was about to be born, and found no room and had to give birth in a stable (that never happened to me)?

What are the chances that shepherds should have heard the angels and the stars singing, and heard voices that told them to go to that stable? Natural?

What are the chances that on his own, Joseph would have had a dream and knew he should take his wife and child and flee? When was the last time you acted seriously to change the course of your life after having a dream? Don't we consider dreams mumbo-jumbo most of the time?

What are the chances that anyone would even write down such a story, if it were an ordinary natural story, about a baby being born? Babies are born every day. People travel every day. Shepherds watch their fields every night. Stars shine every night.

What more can we say?
It's all magic.

Merry Christmas.
May yours be filled with magic.

Call Me Mrs.

As Sean mentioned, there is a great article in the latest Gilbert (Oct/Nov) by Lorraine Murray (a new author for Gilbert and most welcome!) on her desire to be called "Mrs." and not "Ms."

I wholeheartedly agree with her.

And I found, over the years since I threw off my earlier forms of "Advanced Right-Wing Feminism" that the title "Mrs." is often missing as a choice when I fill out forms. So, I rather boldly write it in for myself. I will not be called "Ms." for whatever Miz is, I am probably not.

Often times, when I meet new children, I am confronted with the question, "What is your name?" and I have answered it the same ever since the first day I was married. "Mrs. Brown."

Occasionally, I will have a child who looks at me in disbelief, and asks, "But what is your real name?"
To which I firmly answer that that is, indeed my real name.

I find that the use of the title Mrs. goes along with a certain respect entitled to a grown, married woman. A level of respect which is not conveyed if a child calls me "Nancy" which I do not allow. In fact, there are probably quite a few young people out there who do not even know my first name, they so seldom hear it. Which is fine.

And, in the same way, I do not allow my children to call other adults anything other than their title, Mr. This or Mrs. That.

Even if the other adult says, "Oh, they can just call me Alice," I still don't allow it. The adults are sometimes offended, but I feel strongly that I am teaching my children an important lesson, and perhaps the adult needs a lesson in formality, too.

However, I have often wondered if this is right. I don't wish to offend the adults who hate hearing themselves referred to as "their mother-in-law's name" which one woman told me it sounded like to her.

So, for this discussion, let's just talk about the use of titles. Is it important to you? Do you introduce yourself to children (if you are an adult) as "Mr. Smith" or "Mrs. Jones"? Why or why not? Should I allow my children to call other adults my their first names if the adults insist on it?

Gilbert Magazine in the mailbox

My Gilbert magazine came today in the mail, and so you'll have to excuse me. I usually find a quiet place and read it, cover to cover.

After I've read it, maybe we can discuss some of it here. If you've read it, what article struck you as a conversation piece? I've only just started it, but being a Wisconsin-born person, I'm personally interested in the editorial on school choice. But let me hear from you what you find interesting, or controvertial.

Membership in the American Chesterton Society

A membership to the American Chesterton Society is well worth it, and a great last minute gift idea, as well.

Here's what you get:

1. The good feeling of knowing that you are supporting the spread of Chesterton everywhere, into classrooms that have never heard of him, into textbooks that have never mentioned him, and into hearts, where he can teach what's right and true.

This is the most important mission of the ACS, because reading Chesterton helps us to think.

2. Your membership includes a subscription to Gilbert Magazine which helps you read Chesterton bit by bit (some people prefer large chunks of Chesterton, and others need little bits at a time, some people love to do both!) plus great essays and columns about Chesterton, which helps you bridge the gap between Chesterton and everyday life.

3. When you join the ACS, our membership gets you a discount of 20% on all ACS Books. Now you can get that complete set of Illustrated London News columns you've always wanted and can't get anywhere else.

4. You'll have the pleasure of knowing that you are helping to spread the word about Chesterton. It is a deeply satisfying feeling.

5. You'll be invited to attend the annual American Chesterton Society Conference, this year the theme is Chesterton and Dickens, because 100 years ago, Chesterton had published his critical work on Dickens, reviving the love of Dickens for the English audiences. You will not want to miss this event.

6. If you are already a member, THANK YOU. And now, you members can take advantage of a great offer of a gift membership for only $25! This is a great last minute gift idea, and I encourage you to do it today.

Chesterton in Argentina

I just read a wonderful story about the Chesterton Society in Argentina. Chesterton is truly universal when he can garner hundreds of participants to come to a conference about himself when he's been dead now 70 years. The topics were things you might have heard at an American Chesterton Conference: "Chesterton and the Evangelization of Culture," "The Fiction of Chesterton," "Chesterton, Thomism and Creation," "Chesterton, Catholicism and English Journalism."

So, to become a member of the American Chesterton Society you not only connect locally to people in your area who love and want to read and understand Chesterton, but you connect nation-wide, continent-wide and world-wide.

This suggests a title for a future book: Chesterton: The Global Reader which would have stories of people from all over the world who have re-discovered the work of G.K. Chesterton, and how it has affected their lives.

Sunday Break from Blogging

As Blogmistress for you all, I thought I'd let you know that we consider Sunday a family day, a day of rest, a day to worship God.

So, there will be no new posts on Sundays.

However, the comment section is open 24/7 so you can always get in on those conversations.

If there are ever issues you'd like discussed here, either put it in the comments, or e-mail me.
Nancy at nancy dash brown dot com

Thanks, and Happy 4th Sunday of Advent. I'll be reading St. Thomas (scroll down).

Faith + Reason = Married for Life

Good News from the Pope here.

Thursday Quote

My attitude toward progress has passed from antagonism to boredom. I have long ceased to argue with people who prefer Thursday to Wednesday because it is Thursday. GK Chesterton

Christmas Thoughts

It was a tradition in Chesterton's family each year for either him or his wife to write a Christmas poem that could be sent to their friends as a Christmas card. These poems are some of the most beautiful verses that Chesterton ever wrote. In one of them, entitled ”The Wise Men", he writes about the magi who came to worship the new-born Messiah. They explain: "We are the three wise men of yore,/ And we know all things but the truth."

Via The GK Chesterton Institute for Faith and Culture

More "What this blog is about"

"This [blog] exists to insist on the rights of man; on possessions that are of much more political importance than the principle of one man one vote. I am in favour of one man one house, one man one field; nay I have even advanced the paradox of one man one wife. But I am almost tempted to add the more ideal fancy of one man one magazine ... to say that every citizen ought to have a weekly paper of this sort to splash about in ... this kind of scrap book to keep him quiet.

[Ward, GKC 497 quoting GKW April 4, 1925]

What the American Chesterton Society's blog is all about

If Chesterton had a blog, what would it have been like? In essence, he had a blog, his columns in the Illustrated London News (scroll down to Volumes 27-35 of the Collected Works), (some 1500 weekly essays, averaging 1452 words--I'm told by a Chestertonian expert). And what did he find to write about?

Sometimes, something happened to him at home, sometimes it was a pondering of some idea, sometimes about a book he read, sometimes on "current events" sometimes he quoted some column and then tore it to shreds.

We think Chesterton did a good job, and so we'd like to imitate him. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of thanks. Or something like that.

So, join us here for conversations about Chesterton, things that happen in the world, ideas we think about, books we read, current events and critiques of any or all of the above. Comment early, comment often. You do not have to "sign in" to this blog, you are free to comment as yourself or anonymously. However, the moderator (that's me-Nancy Brown) has the ability to edit and remove any uncharitable remarks. Let's strive to be as polite, friendly and kind as Chesterton here. Thanks!

Appreciation

"The aim of life is appreciation; there is no sense in not appreciating things; and there is no sense in having more of them if you have less appreciation of them." Autobiography, CW (Collected Works) Vol 16, p.322 For an audio version of this book click here.