Subversive Orthodoxy: Outlaws, Revolutionaries, and Other Christians in Disguise

by Robert Inchausti

It may seem a surprising claim, but some of the most brilliant and original critics of modernity have been shaped by Christianity. In Subversive Orthodoxy, Robert Inchausti maps out a tradition of twentieth century thinkers-including philosophers, activists, and novelists-whose "unique contributions to secular thought derive from their Christian worldviews." Inchausti revisits the lives and work of a stunning array of well-known Christian thinkers as well as figures not often thought of as Christian. From Walker Percy to Dorothy Day, Jacques Ellul to Marshall McLuhan, Inchausti offers a fascinating who's who of what he calls the "orthodox avant-garde." Subversive Orthodoxy will be an informative and encouraging read for pastors, laypeople, and students concerned about the Christian response to secular ideologies.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Spirituality, Faith, Nonfiction, Religion

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

Born in Sacramento, California, Robert (Larry) Inchausti attended Sacramento State University and received his Ph.D. in English from The University of Chicago. Robert is the author of several books, the editor of two anthologies of Thomas Merton's writings, and another an of Beat Literature titled: "Hard to be a Saint in the City" was selected as one of the best books of 2017 by The Advocate. His first book "The Ignorant Perfection of Ordinary People" was nominated for a National Book Award by his publisher SUNY Press. And his book on classroom teaching, "Spitwad Sutras" is taught in teacher education programs across the USA. He is an Emeritus English Professor at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

"I am bourgeois to the core and plebeian beyond belief, and yet I am drawn to great writers and thinkers as my anti-type, my shadow, the voice of genius I never possessed. So I don't think of myself as a teacher or a writer so much as "an impersonator of profundities" inhabiting the wisdom of texts in the naked confidence that the value of the thoughts I express transcend the particular fraud that I am the one espousing them. It doesn't bother me when nobody seems to notice what I have to say because those anonymous, silent readers I know nothing about-- who value my books for their own personal reasons-- are enough to keep me going --- living on the wings of borrowed metaphors."

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Certainly slew my expectations. This book does more than catalog some luminary minds from contemporary Christian history (and what a collection, I might add!) This isn't a book that preaches, boasts or polarizes Christian and secular ideology. It's more like a small encyclopedia of the beliefs of some of modernism's more eloquent critics, lucidly written and aiming for higher issues than politics and current religious debates go for. I think this would be a great place for anyone to start who wants to see traditional Christianity that isn't conservative Christianity.

[Loly De Souza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro fora de série . Realmente subversivo e que faz o leitor parar por várias vezes para refletir e entender o que uma galerias das mais impressionante de grandes pensadores tem a dizer sobre nosso tempo . Com certeza um livro para ser lido mais de uma vez.

[Robert Inchausti]

The Portuguese translation of Subversive Orthodoxy is coming out this week in Brazil--3/29/21.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

this review first appeared on [http://intraspace.blogspot.com]

this book made quite a big impact on me. it wasn't always easy to understand - and when you can't fully understand something it is hard to fully ascertain whether or not you completely agree. that sounds like it might have been a major problem, but there was enough in here that i really liked to be able to say that i liked the whole book.

so that's the review in a nutshell. now for some quotes. in this book inchausti talks about a brand of christian orthodoxy that works counter-culturally (as true christianity is want to do) and is spearheaded by what he calls "the orthodox avant-garde":

"cutting edge Christian thinkers who, merely by expressing the contemporary moral and intellectual implications of their faith, have exposed the dogmas of modernism in the light of a more inclusive and liberating Christian vision of reality."

"not about new religious values so much as it is about the eternal freshness of the old ones. most of the thinkers examined here are religious traditionalists whose ideas challenge the assumptions of their secular colleagues. most are also important innovators in their respective fields, alert to contemporary circumstances, aware of changes in their disciplines, critical of dominant narratives, and yet still capable of drawing connections between their faith and the realities of the modern world ... each of them does far more than simply say 'no' to modernism; they bridge the chasm between our longings for spiritual completion and the technoscientific world within which we live."

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me this book showed how people of imagination, action and intellect found in Christianity a powerful critique and new way of living. It shows people as diverse as Goethe, Dostoyevsky and MLK Jr. as they "rediscover the track of truth" in their questioning of the status quo. "Authentic human expression can change the way the world sees itself and thereby change the world."

"While the fundamentalists and Christo-fascists are usurping the christian tradition and attempting to take over society, an international contemplative counter-culture seethes in the underbelly of our crudely global society."--Avant-Captain Nemo

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just glanced at this one's intro, which intrigues me...I like the people involved - CS Lewis, Chesterton, MLK Jr. etc. A lot about people I wasn't familiar with also, which was good, but misleading from the pictures on the cover.

It got a little too scholarly for me at times, which is impressive but made the read more difficult. If I knew those other folks better, I'd score this one higher probably.

I very much appreciate the dualistic unity motif of "orthodox/avant garde" - suggests the value of tradition/innovation, old wisdom/new wisdom, objectivity/creativity etc.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'll read it and want to change the world a little more with every chapter.