Creed without Chaos: Exploring Theology in the Writings of Dorothy L. Sayers

by Laura K. Simmons

British novelist and playwright Dorothy L. Sayers, best known for her Lord Peter Wimsey detective novels, possessed the unique combination of keen theological sense, tremendous writing skill, and a deep concern with how ordinary people understand Christian life. She stands, along with C. S. Lewis, among the most vigorous and popular twentieth-century defenders of Christianity for her work in relating theological themes to everyday concerns.

Creed without Chaos performs a service for readers by providing a careful introduction to Sayers's writings from a theological rather than a literary perspective. Laura Simmons further provides a powerful argument for Sayers's continuing relevance to the church.

Genres: Theology, Biography

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2005

Reviews

[Melora · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this well organized exploration of Dorothy Sayers's theological writings references an essay which I have as part of the collection Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine (I believe it's actually included in several essay collections), and Simmons's book has made me eager to go back and reread that book. I'd forgotten how refreshing and grounding Sayers's direct, decisive, down-to-earth style is for me until I recently read her small (two essay) collection Are Women Human? Astute and Witty Essays on the Role of Women in Society.

Laura K. Simmons does an excellent job here of examining how Sayers's theology appears in her works – letters, essays, broadcasts, plays, and books – and considers how her view of her vocation evolved over her career. I've read several of Sayers's books, but the biographical and historical context which Simmons gives here added to my appreciation of her work.

Only the final chapter, “Reclaiming Sayers for the People of God,” in which Simmons proposes specific ways in which churches might use various of Sayers's works, failed for me. Not that I disagree with the idea, generally, but I found her exercise of matching essays, etc. to various church activities to be speculative and dull. No doubt I would feel differently if I were in charge (Lord forbid) of organizing Sunday school classes.

For readers who have not discovered Sayers's theological writings this would be an excellent introduction – Simmons includes short selections from many of Sayers's works to illustrate her points – and for those who have read them this nicely brings together ideas and arguments found in her various mysteries, dramas, letters, etc. in a way that may deepen your understanding of her thought.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good overview of Sayers' theological writings. I especially appreciate the appendices and will certainly use them often.

[Rick Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book on several levels. Overall the book intends to be an introduction to the theological thought of Dorothy Sayers. In the first section, the author summarizes Sayers's approach to theology. A good case is made for lay theology and for classical education, as the author shows that Sayers's broad literary background gave her the ability to uniquely translate theological concepts into a form understood by modern men and women. The second section of the book gives a summary of Sayers's thought on the various areas of Christian theology addressed in her work.

I appreciated the fact that the author doesn't force Sayers into a pre-made mold as many Sayers critics do. Sayers was a very complex woman, and Laura Simmons recognizes this fact. The footnotes in the book are as interesting as the main text, and I came away with so many great quotations from Sayers that I had never before encountered. Finally, the book is lucidly written from start to finish in such a way as to be both academic and accessible to anyone. This is one of the best books on Sayers's work that I have read.