Adventures in Orthodoxy: The Marvels of the Christian Creed and the Audacity of Belief

by Dwight Longenecker

Watch out, Chesterton and C.S. Lewis! Here’s a writer as clear . . . and as exciting! Christians often find the Creed as tedious as a contract, and orthodoxy dull as dirt. In these lively pages — written for Christians and non-Christians alike — Dwight Longenecker shows that, on the contrary, orthodoxy is exciting and the Creed the beginning of a grand, mysterious adventure! Longenecker demonstrates that, like an ornate cathedral rich with endless nuances of light and shade, the Creed teases with paradoxical possibilities; it bursts with magnificent meaning and unexpected, eternal insights. It sweeps away nihilism, challenges indifference, and uproots religion grown stale and pedestrian. In a word, says Longenecker, the Creed catapults believers to the brink of mystery and invites them to dwell there, in silent wonder and contemplation. Here you'll finally encounter the Creed as it really a striking affirmation that bears us not into theological dead ends, but unto a world that never ends; not into an obsolete medieval universe — closed, dark, and dying — but unto a bright and exciting world that moves in ever increasing spirals of glory, a world to which the only natural response is a grateful and hearty "Amen!"

190 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

About the author

Dwight Longenecker was brought up an Evangelical, studied at the fundamentalist Bob Jones University, and later was ordained an Anglican priest in England. After ten years in the Anglican ministry as a curate, a chaplain at Cambridge, and a country parson, in 1995 Dwight was received into full communion with the Catholic Church. He has published in numerous religious magazines and papers in the UK, Ireland, and the USA, writing on film and theology, apologetics, Biblical commentary and Catholic culture.

Reviews

[Joseph R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed is an ancient text that summarizes the basic beliefs held by almost all Christians. Like any list of basics handed down from posterity, it can seem a bit rote and remote. In this book, Father Longenecker goes through the creed phrase by phrase, showing how the ideas are revolutionary and exciting. One of Longenecker's favorite things is to look at things from different perspectives, as if standing on one's head in order to notice different details. His comments are both insightful and witty, making the book a delightful and quick read.

Here's a rather long quote, but it so well exemplifies the writing style and intelligence of the book:
Try a little experiment. Just for fun, if you aren't already Catholic, tell people you've decided to convert. Your friends with taste will tease you for liking plastic snowstorm paperweights with miniature basilicas inside, paintings of Mary on black velvet, and pictures of Jesus with googly eyes. At the same time your friends who pride themselves on being "plain folk" will blame you for a sudden interest in Baroque architecture, lacy vestments, and Monteverdi Masses. Educated colleagues will denounce you for joining an ignorant and unthinking religion that demands blind obedience, while your less-educated friends will think you've been seduced by philosophical mumbo-jumbo. Your populist critic will blame you for being elitist, while the snob will smile sadly and say that you've chosen to mix with peasants, simpletons, and working-class drones. "Spiritual" friends will be incredulous at your acceptance of a rigid, dogmatic, and hierarchical system, while your theologically minded friends will say you've gone in for mysticism and mushy spirituality. Your liberal friends will shake their heads in dismay at the thought that you would submit to an authoritarian and misogynistic regime, while your conservative friends won't understand how you can possibly agree with a Church that promotes social-welfare programs, opposes the death penalty, and is in favor of ecology, ecumenism, and interfaith dialogue.
If everyone attacked the Catholic Church for the same huge and terrible crimes--as they do Hitler, Pol Pot, or Bin Laden--we'd have to conclude that the Catholic Church was indeed a most terrible organization, and every good man and true should rise up against her. But since the attacks are on totally contradictory fronts, don't we have to suspect that there might be a problem, not with the attacked, but with the attackers? [p. 124-125]
The book is very orthodox and very entertaining and very thought-provoking. Catholic or not, it is well worth reading.

Highly recommended.

[Patrick O'Hannigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was while absorbed in this book that I burned a hamburger patty to the point where it set off the smoke alarm in my house. I cannot remember the last time something like that happened. Three cheers to Fr. Longenecker for his fresh and thoughtful take on the propositions of the Apostles' Creed.

If Wile E. Coyote were involved in the "New Evangelization" and could order only one gizmo from the Acme Company in support of that effort, this is the book that I would recommend to him. It's every bit as dangerous as the anvils and the personal rockets that Mr. Coyote was known for ordering, but it comes with a long fuse, and what it is guaranteed to blow up are any preconceived notions about the Christian creed being boring or irrelevant.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really gained a lot of insights from this book. His writing style is unique and quite unlike that of most books on theology. Each chapter is packed with so many useful insights that it's a book to read over and over. My only complaint is that he spends too much time on the analogies and metaphors, stretching them to the limit. I would have preferred a simpler, more straight-forward approach, as I think it's easy to lose sight of his main point due to the convoluted nature of the metaphors. Nevertheless, it
is a very significant book.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book needs to be approached with simple eyes. If one is expecting a deep discussion of philosophic and theological ideas, one will be disappointed. If one is looking for the faith to be presented simply and in a language akin to a sermon, then this book will hit the spot. This book is most useful to those Catholics who know the Creed they say at Mass each week, but have never taken the time to think about what those words mean. This book can be seen as a gateway book to the deeper thoughts of Lewis, Chesterton, Sheed, and Pope Benedict XVI.

[Nicole Catherine]

Got this book for Christmas, looking forward to checking it out.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoy Fr Longnecker's style. Excellent insights.