F W Boreham on Communication that Connects

As F W Boreham matured and developed in his writing and preaching, his ability to forge connections between faith and all expressions of life became increasingly evident.

Dr Boreham was convinced that people needed a theology by which they might understand and cope with life. Preferring the word ‘philosophy’ over the term ‘theology’, he told his readers, “No man is fully equipped for the struggles of life unless he possesses a philosophy with which to face it.”[1]

Symbolic of his understanding that theology must connect with all areas of life, Boreham wrote editorials on such everyday topics as the philosophy of loss,[2] friendship,[3] change,[4] time,[5] play[6] and art.[7]

To drive home his contention that there must be no crack or cranny of life in which theology was irrelevant Boreham wrote on unusual subjects such as the philosophy of posture,[8] cosmetics,[9] cold steel,[10] ridicule[11] and window-dressing.[12]

Indicative of Boreham’s belief that theology must relate to all avenues of life he wrote articles on the ethics of criticism,[13] failure,[14] appetite,[15] feminine charm,[16] cutlery[17] and photography.[18] However, Boreham did not appear to have any master plan that mapped out the subjects that he would tackle and the topics with which he would seek to make theological connections.

F W Boreham’s everyday, pedestrian subjects conveyed his strong belief that useful theology is not remotely abstract but practical and down-to-earth, not exclusively spiritual but immersed in the humdrum, not reserved for privileged people or special occasions but accessible to everybody and at all times.

Geoff Pound

Image: Have you ever spoken about the deeper truths about cutlery?

[1] F W Boreham, Mercury, 7 July 1956.
[2] Boreham, Mercury, 28 August 1943; Age, 8 September 1945.
[3] Boreham, Mercury, 10 August 1957.
[4] Boreham, Mercury, 1 March 1941.
[5] Boreham, Mercury, 1 March 1941.
[6] Boreham, Mercury, 7 December 1946.
[7] Boreham, Mercury, 13 February 1926.
[8] Boreham, Mercury, 8 June 1940.
[9] Boreham, Mercury, 10 March 1956.
[10] Boreham, Mercury, 29 April 1939; Age, 29 November 1947.
[11] Boreham, Mercury, 27 June 1953.
[12] Boreham, Mercury, 7 November 1923.
[13] Boreham, Mercury, 4 August 1956.
[14] Boreham, Mercury, 26 May 1934; Age, 13 April 1946.
[15] Boreham, Mercury, 17 March 1956.
[16] Boreham, Mercury, 24 November 1931.
[17] Boreham, Mercury, 3 October 1953.
[18] Boreham, Mercury, 16 September 1950.

The F W Boreham Approach: Urging Connections

In seeking to characterize F W Boreham’s style of writing and interweaving thoughts about God, the Boreham approach could be described as a theology urging connections.

The Cistercian writer Thomas Merton suggested the possibilities of the pen making divine-human connections when he said, “To write is to think and to live, even to pray.”[1]

On a similar tack, the Czech novelist Franz Kafka identified “writing as a form of prayer,”[2] a phrase interpreted by Melbourne journalist Deborah Forster to mean, “Writing … is a letter to infinity, a way of connecting to the world.”[3]

When Frank Boreham said, “I share it with all the world and all the ages,” he was not only expressing his jubilation at the opportunities of sharing his discoveries with his readers but hinting at the various connections that can be made through the act of writing.[4]

Geoff Pound

Image: “the various connections that can be made through the act of writing.”

[1] Thomas Merton, The intimate Merton: His life from his journals, eds. Patrick Hart and Jonathan Montaldo (New York: Lion Publishing, 1999), 9.
[2] Frederick R Karl, Franz Kafka, representative man (New York: Fromm International Publishing Corporation, 1991), 644.
[3] Deborah Forster, ‘Hearing the prayer’, Age, 29 September 2001.
[4] F W Boreham, The golden milestone, 37.