Is Christianity so Bizarre that it Must be True?
GK Chesterton’s flights of sophistical apologetics
In the history of Christian apologetics, GK Chesterton’s most consequential impact may have been on CS Lewis, who called Chesterton’s book, The Everlasting Man (1925), “the best popular apologetic I know,” and who might have converted to Christianity based partly on the force of Chesterton’s case. Lewis, in turn, evangelized millions.
That book by Chesterton was largely a reply to HG Wells’ The Outline of History, which portrays human history as part of life’s evolution on this planet. Chesterton argued, on the contrary, that our species is special, and that Christianity is anomalous among religions. Indeed, that anomalousness is a sign that Christianity is likely true, according to Chesterton.
Yet there are three problems with Chesterton’s logic. First, saying that our species or genus is special is consistent with saying that we evolved from other species. All species are specially adapted to their niche, and throughout the universe complexities emerge from fundamental elements and forces.
Second, there’s quite a leap in saying that because a religion is strange, it’s therefore likely true.
Third, Christianity isn’t even so strange in the history of religions, and to the…
