Chesterton, Calvinism, and Classical Education

Reading G.K. Chesterton for the first time, one cannot help but think his inward thought was a mental expression of his external, disheveled appearance; or, perhaps it was his outward dishevelment that would seem to be an physical reflection of the overactive stream of diverse ideas he put forth in his writing. Either way, he can be a difficult author to follow if one clings to every paragraph he writes as a independent, isolated thought. Indeed, it is hard to not do so, for he is an eminently quotable author whose sentences are known for their concise wittiness and cleverness of style. However, existing underneath this superficial impression one might garner from a glance at his works, Chesterton's reasoning- the totality of his philosophy- is as consistent throughout all his writings as the appearance of the sun rising each morning. With that said however, it does take some effort to first discover his initial thought on a given subject and subsequently keep this thought in mind as one follows him along his mental perambulations.

Nowhere is this more necessary than in reading his reflections on the education of children as found in What's Wrong With The World. In this work, a lengthy critique of modern society is put forth where especial concern is given to contemporary philosophies of education. He devotes an entire section on it and- in true Chestertonian style- at the start of it begins by denouncing something utterly different than his subject: Calvinism. At best, this might seem tangential to his aim, yet, it is to be argued if the reader retains the substance of this critique on John Calvin's theology, he might better understand what Chesterton is saying about childhood education and how it ought to be accomplished.

Chesterton's friend George Bernard Shaw once told him that "Calvin was quite right in holding that 'if once a man is born it is too late to damn or save him.'" (What's Wrong With The World, Part IV, Chapter 1). It is this sentiment that is expressive of the characteristic determinism of Calvin's soteriology. Man's role in his own salvation is entirely obsolete. He has been decreed from birth to either heaven or hell and nothing he does can change his predetermined sentence.

But this belief is abhorrent to the Catholic Chesterton who believed in a God who not only condemns that which is evil but saves that which is good. Still, it is not quite so simple as we would like, for there is a hurdle that must be dealt with by a person like Chesterton who believes in the perfect justice of God who desires all to be saved: making sense of the reality of Original Sin and its effects on each member of the human race. For, it is to be asked: How can a fair shot at becoming good be given to individuals who are handicapped by the effects of Original Sin they have inherited from Adam and Eve, chiefly those two classic handicaps: the weakening of the will and the dimming of the intellect? To what extent does one's heredity predetermine one's future especially when that heritage is one as gripping as sin? Are we all pre-sentenced by this one simple reality? It is perhaps by answering these questions that one can begin to understand Chesterton's view on education as put forth in What's Wrong With The World.

For the Catholic, the answer to this problem is that man must be saved from without, that is, his rescue from his own inherited fallen state comes as a gift received from Someone outside himself. It cannot come from inside through his own efforts, but must be received as grace coming from on High. This is quite in contrast to the predestination of Calvinism which eliminates the possibility that one destined for hell can indeed be saved since his fate has already been sealed. According to Calvin, that fate is inborn in him- destined to shape the whole of his life much as a man's genetic disposition is inherited and influences his entire life from birth to grave. On the contrary, for the Catholic, the potential of God's grace entering into the heart and mind of fallen man to redeem him is not only possible for all, but actually willed by God Himself. Salvation comes from without and is not an unalterable sentence for some and an unattainable reality for others.

It ought not come as a surprise then when Chesterton is finished critiquing Calvinism (and subsequently biological determinism and the modern emphasis of heredity over environment), he has already laid the groundwork for his theory on education: just as salvation first comes from outside the individual so too must education first come from outside the child. For Chesterton's terse definition of education as "only truth in a state of transmission" (ibid, Part IV, Chapter 5) is clearly trying to grasp at this idea of external knowledge coming from the teacher and being transitioned into internalized knowledge for the student- where the outward action of the instructor shapes and affects the inward mind of the pupil. It is like putting things into the mind of a child like an apothecary does with ingredients for medicine rather than drawing them out like a dentist does a bad tooth (c.f. ibid, Part IV, Chapter 6). In other words, it could be said that education addresses one of those previously mentioned effects of Original Sin: it brings outside light to the intellect dimmed inwardly by sin.

Chesterton seems to see in the mind of the child, a void that is waiting to be filled. However, it is not the privilege of a Catholic education to fill this void at its leisure. There is an imminent need to do so early in the child's life, for, if it delays, that void will necessarily be filled by the errant philosophies of the modern world- if not beforehand by the inclinations of the child's own dimmed intellect.

The child's mind is as territory awaiting conquest by whomever arrives there first. It is for this reason Chesterton says a radical thing: "Education is violent...it is an interference with life and growth" (ibid, Part IV, Chapter 6). Education can be thought of as violent as when light disperses darkness, truth confronts falsehood, repentance repudiates sin, good conquers evil. In short, education according to this interpretation is as vibrantly dramatic as the salvation of an individual and, in turn, the salvation of civilization.

For anyone familiar with the stages of classical education organized according to the trivium- grammar, logic, and rhetoric- it could be framed that Chesterton's thoughts on education as expressed in What's Wrong With The World fittingly apply to that first stage of classical education known as the grammar stage. It is during this time the child is thrown material and exposed to all good, true, and beautiful things. No time is spent quite yet on organizing the content and making deep sense of it (that will come later in the logic stage) nor in training him to be able to articulate this content to others (that will come still later during the rhetoric stage).

The first stage of education in the classical tradition, as well as the type of education that Chesterton seems to be alluding to here, is as the first stage in salvation- planting knowledge into the child from without just as God infuses the soul with grace from without. Exposure to material- a blitz of content- at this stage is as analogously important as the exposure to grace is in the salvation of an individual. Only later will that knowledge be understood by instruction during the logic stage- which can likewise be seen in our salvation analogy as when the soul begins to understand what it believes by faith. And still later, will the mind then be empowered to express to others what has been understood- and in continuing our salvation analogy one step further, the soul can then make his faith alive by works of charity. Therefore, just as grace, faith, and charity are necessary in the salvation of the individual, so too are grammar, logic, and rhetoric necessary in the complete education of the child.

It might be countered that this is not at all what the author had in mind in writing Part IV of What's Wrong With The World. Can there really be such a clean-cut connection between education and salvation in the mind of Chesterton? Perhaps not, but it must be asked in turn: Why in the world would Chesterton have begun his critique of modern education by a chapter rejecting Calvinism? It would seem by doing so, he was attempting to link the education of youth to the overall framework of salvation. Man need not be condemned by the errors of others nor the ignorance of his own darkened intellect- he need not be condemned by a pre-natal decree to damnation. Rather, let him be instructed by wise teachers who are confident in their certainty of an objective world governed by a just and rational God. Education ought to be thought of as one important step in setting things right again in this our fallen world by putting into the minds of children good, true, and beautiful things.

This reflection on Chesterton's view of education is an attempt to incorporate a thought expressed later on in his life when he wrote: "There is a Catholic view of learning the alphabet" (The Completeness of a Catholic Education), that is, there is a specifically Catholic way of seeing all things in the world. The interpretation put forth here could be seen as a Chestertonian way of Catholically understanding education- it is oriented to the glory of God and the drama of man's role in contributing to that glory. It is oriented towards reversing the ignorance caused by sin and it is to do this by exposing the child's mind to outside truth.

It is not insignificant that Mary Magdalene's immediate exclamation upon recognizing the risen Lord was: "Rabbi!" For it was her prior education by Christ the Teacher that enabled her dimmed eyes to see the true identity of the Stranger before her. It is to be hoped that this too will be what a genuine classical Catholic education can do when united to the philosophy of G.K. Chesterton: it will empower the child to see our Lord hidden in all things, even if he be disguised as a common gardener.