FORMED Book Club

Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce wrap up Chesterton’s Orthodoxy as
well as the Formed Book Club! In two weeks, this iconic trio will join once again to launch the new podcast, Ignatius Press—Off the Shelf. So, stay tuned for more of the same great content, and for now, enjoy their discussion of Christianity as guardian of liberty, innovation, and advancement. You can find new episodes here: https://offtheshelf.podbean.com/ or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Support the show

Monism, pantheism, Arianism, and determinism are often considered the hallmarks of free thought, but Chesterton argues that they are actually not liberal at all. In fact, these ideologies lead to tyranny, slavery, and close-mindedness. Join Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce discuss how only through Christ can be come to true freedom and happiness.

Support the show

Join Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce as they discuss why happiness on this earth requires a fixed standard, a composite design, and a state of watchfulness. For Chesterton, the nature of this happiness requires a good Christian to always be in a state of revolution, not because he seeks to do away with the old, but to return to the old—to the goodness that which God created us before the Fall.

Support the show

In this episode, Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce begin chapter seven and reflect on Chesterton’s description of chronological snobbery or the modernist belief that progress and evolution are always good. Chesterton argues that if progress is to be good, it must be aimed at an ideal that is fixed, complex, and maintained with vigilance.

Support the show

Is Christianity too bland, too elaborate, somewhere right in the middle, or both extremes? In this episode, Fr. Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce dive into the Chesterton’s paradoxes of Christianity. 

Support the show

Wrapping up chapter five and beginning chapter six, Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss Christian optimism, which sees the good in this world but recognizes that Heaven alone is our true home. They also reflect on G.K. Chesterton’s claim that by becoming Catholic a person often experiences everything fitting into place.

Support the show

In what way is martyrdom different from suicide? In this episode, Father Fessio, Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce discuss Chesterton’s strong words against suicide.

Support the show

What is real patriotism? Can you love your homeland too much? For G.K. Chesterton, it depends on what we mean by love. Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro read the chapter "The Flag of the World" in Chesterton’s Orthodoxy.

Support the show

Escapism is bad, but escape can be very good. Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro parse the “Ethics of Faerieland” in G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy.

Support the show

This third episode on the book’s central chapter about fairytales draws on several of its inherent themes: memory, trust, and joy. Father Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro continue discussion of Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton.

Support the show