[HerrBlucher]

I recently watched the American Chesterton Society video about the debate between Chesterton and Clarence Darrow in 1931. I figured Chesterton won the debate but I did not realize he obliterated Darrow and made him look oafish, uneducated, and a fool. Darrow had made a big name for himself with the Scopes trial in 1925 and pretty much did the same to William Jennings Brian. I guess it was Darrow's turn to look the fool.

You don't tug on superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the old lone ranger, and you debate Chesterton. Chesterton took on, and usually won, debates with notable Atheists of the day such as Bertrand Russel, Beranard Shaw, HG Wells, and Robert Blatchford.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Thanks for posting.

Chesterton was truly one-of-a-kind.

[Joe 6-pack]

As much as Mark Steyn stands and delivers on the virtues and values of Western civlization, he seems to lack somewhat when it comes to Christian apologetics which are (were?) the underpinnings of everything that allowed the west to blossom in human history.

Steyn has the wit and mental alacrity. If he were to more fully and shamelessly incorporate the virtues of Christianity into his repertoire, he would justly be considered the heir of Chesterton and Lewis.

[Mrs. Don-o]

And you DON'T debate Chesterton!

Thanks for this article. Fascinating, HerrBlucher!

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Dale Ahlquist is Chesterton’s Boswell. He is a brilliant expositor of Chesterton’s wisdom.

For anyone who’s interested, his program runs SundY nights at 9 pm on EWTN.

[Taft in '52]

You don't tug on superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the old lone ranger, and you don't debate Chesterton.

Poor Clarence! He should have run and hid.

[Salvation]

Chesterton Ping please.

[Salvation]

A great quote"

G.K. Chesterton, one of the 20th century’s most famous converts, entered the Catholic Church.  Explaining “why I am a Catholic,” he wrote: “there are ten thousand reasons all amounting to one reason: that Catholicism is true.”

[Salvation]

Chesterton on birth control/population control:

In 1925 Chesterton wrote an introduction to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in which he said that “The answer to anyone who talks about the surplus population is to ask him, whether he is part of the surplus population; or if not, how he knows he is not.”

[Salvation]

G.K. Chesterton vs Clarence Darrow
THE MISER AND HIS FRIENDS BY GK Chesterton
Who Dares Attack My Chesterton? (Long)
Chesterton on the ties binding fathers, mothers, and children
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND CONVERSION BY G. K. CHESTERTON, CHAPTER III: THE REAL OBSTACLES
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND CONVERSION BY G. K. CHESTERTON, Chap. II, THE OBVIOUS BLUNDERS
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND CONVERSION BY G. K. CHESTERTON, CHAP. I: INTRODUCTORY: A NEW RELIGION
Chesterton on Christmas
Table of Contents for "In Defense Of Sanity: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton"
Chesterton and Saint Francis

[Why I Am Catholic}: A [Chesterton] Poem and a Prayer for Michaelmas
G. K. Chesterton: "Who is this guy and why haven’t I heard of him?"
How the Great Wind Came to Beacon House, Chap 1 of Manalive by G. K. Chesterton
Film and Audio Recordings of G. K. Chesterton
Chesterton on "The Human Family and the Holy Family"
Why I Am A Catholic by G. K. Chesterton
"The God In The Cave" | From The Everlasting Man (G. K. Chesterton) Part 1
Alternatives to Assigned Readings
Aquinas vs. Luther: A Brief Excerpt from Chesterton
Social Reform versus Birth Control

[gitmo]

Thank you for this post.

[JoeProBono]

[Sans-Culotte]

I wish there were more specifics about substance of the debate. For the most part, it seems Chesterton won because he came off as “nicer” than Darrow. That almost sounds like today’s debates, in which style often defeats substance. The only real clue about what happened was that Darrow was apparently debating a straw-man instead of Chesterton; and Chesterton apparently didn’t let him get away with it.