Rating: 
Summary: An equal to C.S. Lewis as an apologist for orothodoxy.
Review: Dorothy L. Sayers is the best christian apologist I have read next to C.S. Lewis. These two contemporaries both defend orthodoxy in the christian faith in a way that is enjoyable to read (in terms of scathing wit and very appropriate humor) and disturbing for its clear presentation of the failings of both modern christianity and modern society.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Miss Dorothy L. Sayers
Review: If I have a gripe about this book, it's that the cover picture and blurb would be more at home on a tabloid at the checkstand. There's an earlier version of this book with a somewhat better cover. For that matter, these essays are drawn from two collections published in Sayer's day, Unpopular Opinions and another one I forgot. The best essays reappeared some time back in a collection called Christian Letters to a Post-Christian World (I wonder why that title didn't sell?!), and then again in a series by MacMillian called The Whimsical Christian (catch the play on the name of her detective, Lord Peter Wimsey).However you have to get them, try to read the best of these essays, "The Dogma is the Drama" and "And Telling You a Story" among them. The first one relates to her experiences while writing The Man Born to Be King, the first radio drama of the life of Jesus for the BBC. Long before Jesus Christ Superstar and the many movies tackling the subject, she was at the front lines of critical crossfire for updating the gospels to everyday Cockney England (the sort of updating that was common in the Middle Ages in Mystery plays). The second essay tells how she fell under the spell of another British writer, Charles W.S.Williams, and was so inspired by his writings on Dante that she taught herself Italian and translated the three volumes of The Divine Comedy (the third volume, Paradise, being completed by her student, Barbara Reynolds). Other essays touch on her trials as a mystery writer and playright, and the zillion other things she did (that no one seems to know about). Fans of her sleuth, Lord Peter, may enjoy tracking down these witty essays by the divine Dorothy L.
Rating:
Summary: A Strong Blast of Orthodoxy
Review: It may come as a surprise to many readers that mystery-suspense author Dorothy Sayers ("Murder Must Advertise"; "Gaudy Night") was a first-rate theological writer as well. Although published nearly fifty years ago, to Miss Sayers' mind the world was going to hell in a handbasket (almost literally!) and it's a wonder we have survived for so long. We've got to have dogma, she says--not partial dogma or silly dogma or nondogma masquerading as freethinking or tolerance. She lampoons the silliness of her own fellow Anglicans' beliefs in a kind of parody catechism. The section on Atonement begins, "God wanted to damn everybody, but His vindictive sadism was sated by the crucifixion of his own son . . ." She notes (quite accurately, I think) that it is nonbelievers who fear death the most, not staunch Christians, whereas a common-sense interpretation might lead one to think exactly the opposite. Sayers believes the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds must be taken literally--now, lots of people do but you will rarely encounter someone who argues the case so intelligently. Stylistically and theologically, Sayers was so Anglo-Catholic as to be Catholic. As the preface to this book warns, Sayers occasionally uses "catholic" to mean the Christian church universal, sometimes "Catholic" to mean the Church of England (Anglican Church) and sometimes the Roman Catholic Church. It's easy to figure out what she means from context, though. Like many radical conservatives (Ayn Rand comes to mind), Sayers is best on the attack. Another way of saying this is that she was better at diagnosing the problem than coming to workable solutions. She plumps for the dignity of individual labor in pre-mechanical settings so strongly that I suspected she had in mind the medieval past she knew so well (among her accomplishments Sayers was also a gifted medievalist). If that's the case, I doubt we can bring back the guild halls, get rid of the Diesels and keep the antibiotics, just like that. She is furious at the Church of England for being so namby-pamby about teaching dogma but at the same time must at least acknowledge that the C of E will lose attendance if it is too dogmatic. None of this is to imply that "Creed or Chaos" is a blast from the past. It is well worth reading today because the issues it raises are still with us today. On the whole this book is witty, forceful and a pleasure to read. I couldn't quite give this book a "5" because I thought Sayers bit off a bit more material than she could chew, but this is a good read nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: A Strong Blast of Orthodoxy
Review: It may come as a surprise to many readers that mystery-suspense author Dorothy Sayers ("Murder Must Advertise"; "Gaudy Night") was a first-rate theological writer as well. Although published nearly fifty years ago, to Miss Sayers' mind the world was going to hell in a handbasket (almost literally!) and it's a wonder we have survived for so long. We've got to have dogma, she says--not partial dogma or silly dogma or nondogma masquerading as freethinking or tolerance. She lampoons the silliness of her own fellow Anglicans' beliefs in a kind of parody catechism. The section on Atonement begins, "God wanted to damn everybody, but His vindictive sadism was sated by the crucifixion of his own son . . ." She notes (quite accurately, I think) that it is nonbelievers who fear death the most, not staunch Christians, whereas a common-sense interpretation might lead one to think exactly the opposite. Sayers believes the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds must be taken literally--now, lots of people do but you will rarely encounter someone who argues the case so intelligently. Stylistically and theologically, Sayers was so Anglo-Catholic as to be Catholic. As the preface to this book warns, Sayers occasionally uses "catholic" to mean the Christian church universal, sometimes "Catholic" to mean the Church of England (Anglican Church) and sometimes the Roman Catholic Church. It's easy to figure out what she means from context, though. Like many radical conservatives (Ayn Rand comes to mind), Sayers is best on the attack. Another way of saying this is that she was better at diagnosing the problem than coming to workable solutions. She plumps for the dignity of individual labor in pre-mechanical settings so strongly that I suspected she had in mind the medieval past she knew so well (among her accomplishments Sayers was also a gifted medievalist). If that's the case, I doubt we can bring back the guild halls, get rid of the Diesels and keep the antibiotics, just like that. She is furious at the Church of England for being so namby-pamby about teaching dogma but at the same time must at least acknowledge that the C of E will lose attendance if it is too dogmatic. None of this is to imply that "Creed or Chaos" is a blast from the past. It is well worth reading today because the issues it raises are still with us today. On the whole this book is witty, forceful and a pleasure to read. I couldn't quite give this book a "5" because I thought Sayers bit off a bit more material than she could chew, but this is a good read nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: Dorothy Sayers was Anglican
Review: Just a quick correction to the second review of Creed or Chaos... Dorothy Sayers was Anglican, not Roman Catholic. She was a novelist, playwright, scholar, and an associate of C.S. Lewis. Her fervent call for orthodoxy and her witty warnings about the impending chaos in creedless Christian churches are basic points expounded by Roman Catholicism...so the error is completely understandable. Sayers, like Lewis, wrote on universal principles & truths. Her message is one to be embraced by all intellectually honest Christians able to see past denominational separatism. It's too bad the Roman Catholic Church can't claim her as one of their own- she'd have made a bright feather in their cap of illustrious thinkers.
Rating:
Summary: I'll take Creed, thank you.
Review: Like some of the other reviewers, I found that some of the essays in this book did wander off from the main question as presented in the book's title. Particularly the last three chapter's do this, focusing more on socio-economic issues rather than on the significance of dogma or creed in the church. These essays were tangentially related, however, as Sayers pointed out the need for Christianity's influence to be pervasive in all aspects of life. The weakest chapters in this volume were, nonetheless, the 5th and 6th chapters, titled "Strong Meat" and "Why Work?" However, the remainder of the book was very well written, and enjoyable to read. Sayer's primary intent was to show how Christianity collapses without dogmas or creeds. She marvelously shows how dogma is not the dusty, dull, and boring thing that modern Christians often claim, but rather, that the very excitement and drama in Christianity is in the dogma! She uses the doctrine of the incarnation in particular to illustrate this, and throughout the book she interweaves the historic Apostle's, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds to show their profound relevance and interest to even modern humanity. The problem, she asserts, is not that the dogma is dull, but that the church has not properly taught or shown its meaning. This has created another problem, which is that most unbelievers despise Christianity without even ever understanding the truly radical nature of what it teaches: that God entered the world in human flesh. When Christianity isn't clear and creedal in what it teaches to its own, it won't be able to present a clear and vital witness of Christ to the world. The best chapter of the book is the one titled "Creed or Chaos?" In it Dorothy Sayers affirms that "it is absolutely impossible to teach Christianity without teaching Christian dogma" (33), and then proceeds to list several dogmas which are especially in need of being taught on account of their being misunderstood. She states the case for dogma very well in this chapter, but makes one particularly false statement. She says that "The Church of Rome alone has retained Her prestige because She puts theology in the foreground of Her teaching"(33). Rome is not alone in retaining her prestige or dogma. The glaring omission is that the confessional bodies of the Lutheran church also place theology in the foreground of their teaching. There are those in Lutheranism wandering toward Chaos (and who would do well to read this book), but the true heart of Lutheranism is a boldly creedal faith. Even though Sayers ignores the Lutheran church, it is interesting to note that in the 6th chapter, on "Why Work?", she comes surprisingly close to the Lutheran understanding of what Scripture teaches regarding vocation. Overall, Sayers' book issues a much-needed call to return to the orthodox creeds of Christianity, as this problem has continued and worsened in the church at large since she wrote these essays in the WWII era.
Rating:
Summary: Realistic Apologetics
Review: Sayers is by far the sharpest apologist I have read. Theologically, I am liberal and often conservative apologists cannot speak to me. Sayers, a Roman Catholic, is simply not just a conservative apologist but an apologist for all of Christianity. Which was also the case with C.S. Lewis. Sayers should be read by all who profess to have any Christian influence in their lives.
Rating:
Summary: A simple choice.
Review: The last chapter of this book (chapter 7 - "The Other Six Deadly Sins") is alone worth the purchase price; an analysis of the seven deadly sins, and how, be it grossly or subtly, we commit them every day. This chapter can serve as a good guide for those who wish to examine their own consciences. We tend to dismiss our own sins by comparing ourselves to those who have sinned worse, but this is not part of Christian life. Our sins, even the small ones, adversely affect ourselves and a lot of other people. So, it is imperative for moral Christians to, with brutal honesty, ask themselves, "What sins, no matter how small, am I committing?" But then, how does one know what is and is not a sin? That's where creed comes in. Without a creed, a Nazi can say that it is not evil to kill Jews, and who can tell him authoritatively that he is wrong. Without a creed, a slave-trader can say that it is OK to enslave human beings, and even use the Bible alone to justify it (as slave owners in this country did). Who can tell him authoritatively that he is wrong? It is not surprising at all to hear so many people who say that the author sounded Catholic (one reviewer even mistakenly said that she WAS Catholic); this because her views DO sound very Catholic. This "call to holiness" is exactly what we teach, and we have a firmly established creed to follow. A good book for Catholic and protestant alike.
Rating:
Summary: Too Close for Comfort
Review: This collection of essays and speeches covers more ground than the title suggests. The first portion, on the importance of dogma in an authentically religious life, is passionate, persuasive, and predicts the coming battle between Christianity and paganism in Western culture. Interesting as this is, I found the second part of the book more intriguing still, when Sayers turns her attention to the significance of work and then to the Seven Deadly Sins. She draws a crucial distinction between work as an end in itself and work as a means to an end. Instead of treating our work as our gift to God, are we merely looking for a paycheck so we can get more stuff? Sayers exposes the social ills wrought by excessive materialism and insufficient attention to our moral responsibilities, and carries this theme further in her discussion of the deadly sins. This final chapter makes for an excellent examination of conscience as well as an embarrassing commentary on the crass materialism that pervades our culture, almost invisible in the absence of moral reflection. And above all, this book exhorts us to moral reflection. With remarkable power and insight, Sayers encourages us to ask, "What am I doing, and why am I doing it?"
Rating:
Summary: A Quality Read
Review: This short work is well worth the time of any Christian. What exactly is our claim? Has the church complacently allowed a post-modern relativism to separate us from the great doctrines of the creeds? Why is modern Christianity so diverse and perverse? These are the critical questions Sayers attempts to answer. Her uncompromising passion for objective truth is refreshing and she conveys that righteous passion with eloquence. Again, this short work is well worth the time. The only caveat I will make to my enthusiastic approval of her book is it seems to end after the fourth chapter. Chapters five through seven are dedicated to things outside the primary concern of the work, embodied in the first four chapters. While the later are of some value as well, the first four chapters are the heart of the work and they are what I enthusiastically praise.
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