Ronald Knox as Apologist: Wit, Laughter and the Popish Creed

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, as both an Anglican and as a Roman Catholic, Ronald Knox was a well-know part of the English landscape. He was a favored preacher for occasions great and small; his articles on a host of topics found a place in the newspapers and monthly literary magazines; his voice was heard often on the BBC. Most significant was the tide of books that flowed from his pen that found a wide readership in Great Britain and the USA.

A gifted writer, Knox expressed himself in a variety of genres -- from Limericks and detective stories to belles-lettres and spiritual conferences. He was a humanist and a Christian. Knox could grapple with profound philosophical and theological issues, and he could write for fun. He could amuse, edify or challenge -- and not infrequently, he did all three in the same work.

In this book, Milton Walsh has gathered together the most significant writings of Knox that fall under the genre of apologetics, writings that teach and defend the Catholic faith. Knox was a superb apologist because as a priest he was a man of deep faith, and as a writer he had a wonderful way of expressing the Christian truths in an elegant and clear language. Knox was also a man with a grand sense of humor and a keen wit, as well as empathy and kindness, and both his humor and charity are captured well in these writings.

This book is another excellent entry in the growing list of works of great British writers of the early 20th century who are being enthusiastically rediscovered by today's readers. Ronald Knox stands alongside G. K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and Evelyn Waugh as some of the great spiritual and literary British writers whose works are once again receiving wide readership and appreciation.