The Deadly Sins
In this age of Puritanism and Hedonism, Chesterton's view
of the seven deadly sins seems the ultimate in paradox. Unlike the pleasure-seeking
hedonists, Chesterton believed in the reality of sin. Unlike the
prohibition-minded Puritans, he believed in enjoying God's pleasures to the
full.
Chesterton taught us . . .
. . . to believe wholeheartedly in sex but not to believe in lust.
. . . to pursue leisure passionately but not to pursue laziness.
. . . to defend private property and to attack the sin of greed.
. . . to think that fighting is often right but that wrath is always
wrong.
. . . to know that having a rival is a good thing and that envying a
rival is a bad thing.
. . . to do everything to promote festivity and everything to avoid
gluttony.
. . . to strive to be good while striving not to be proud.
To Chesterton, in short, "Salvation is not
negative, but highly positive".
Chesterton's wisdom is as counter-cultural today as it was
ninety years ago. He noticed then that the repressive Puritans and the
hedonistic libertines agree on one crucial thing, that religion is mainly
concerned with moral restraints and prohibitions -- with negatives. If you want
to scandalize both sides in this conflict, follow Chesterton's example. Say
grace before lighting a cigar.
Gilbert! is determined to express Chesterton's gratitude for God's plenty and its
corollary, that we should begin our thoughts and discussions with what is right
and what is good. That this was Chesterton's approach is demonstrated in each
issue of Gilbert! by James V. Schall, S.J. and Joseph Schwartz.
[And for further reading on this
subject see "The Ethics of Elfland" in Orthodoxy; "If I
Had Only One Sermon to Preach" in The Common Man; "They Are
All Puritans" in Sidelights on New London and Newer York; and
"Chaucer and the Renaissance" in Chaucer]. From Martin Ward's Chesterton
website.