Defiant Joy by Kevin Belmonte

If you were arguing with a blind man about the color of the sky, what good would it do you to throttle him if he refused to see the truth? Somewhere along the line, Christian apologetics has been detrimentally affected by the uncivil tone of secular opponents. If your objective is to illuminate, and you have truth on your side, how exactly does bludgeoning help your cause?




G. K. Chesterton is an appropriate model for believing thinkers today. He managed to combine orthodoxy and an unambiguous view of the truth with humor, tolerance and respect. If you are unfamiliar with Chesterton, Defiant Joy would be a great starting point. It is the best sort of biography for an author. We learn all about his life, but also about his work. Not only does Kevin Belmonte tell us about the things Chesterton wrote, but he analyses Chesterton’s work with reactions from Chesterton’s contemporaries and thoughts from other writers right up through today.

The danger one faces with Defiant Joy is the fact that one’s “to read” list is guaranteed to grow exponentially. Not only do the many works Chesterton wrote become must reads, but many of the writers he wrote about will increase in appeal. You have been warned!


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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Book Review Blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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