I have been reading Darwin's Origin of Species recently, so I looked for what Chesterton had to say about evolution. Truly, I think he had something to say about everything! I found this, from The Everlasting Man:
“Nobody can imagine how nothing could turn into something. Nobody can get an inch nearer to it by explaining how something could turn into something else. It is really far more logical to start by saying ‘In the beginning God created heaven and earth’ even if you only mean ‘In the beginning some unthinkable power began some unthinkable process.’ For God is by its nature a name of mystery, and nobody ever supposed that man could imagine how a world was created any more than he could create one. But evolution really is mistaken for explanation. It has the fatal quality of leaving on many minds the impression that they do understand it and everything else”I will have to remember that a term doesn't always suffice as an explanation; nor does the fact that something is understood somewhere by someone necessarily mean that I, or another given person, understands it ;-).
Thanks to Sarah, for hosting Weekends with Chesterton, and please go to her site for links to more Chesterton.
I loved The Everlasting Man but it's been so long since I read more than a few quotes - This one is really good, and makes me want to read it again. I like your take, "A term doesn't always suffice as an explanation."
ReplyDeleteI love how he wrote about everything! I find myself constantly thinking, "I wonder what Chesterton thought about..." all day long! :)
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