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Transpositions is the official blog of the Institute for Theology, Imagination, and the Arts at the University of St Andrews. Featured Posts
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Theology
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A Persistent Pessimism: On Roger Scruton’s “Why Are Pessimists Ignored?”
Posted on 03/04/2013 | 1 CommentOne of the many nightmarish global crises indexed in the pages of the New York Times this past week was the identification of an almost universally neglected bogeyman: Optimism. According to Roger Scruton, writer and Professional Fellow in Moral Philosophy... -
Through Stained Glass Dimly Lit
Posted on 01/04/2013 | 4 CommentsFrom the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know it, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first fruits of the Spirit, we too... -
The Host
Posted on 27/03/2013 | 2 CommentsMartin Firrell’s The Question Mark Inside (light-projection, St Paul’s Cathedral, 2008) was discussed during a recent symposium on Art in Sacred Spaces at London’s National Gallery. The work received positive support but also notable contempt when one participant compared it to Reagan’s... -
Review: A Double Dose of Jesuit Humour
Posted on 22/03/2013 | 1 CommentJake Martin, SJ. What’s So Funny about Faith?: A Memoir from the Intersection of Hilarious and Holy. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2012, 161 pp., £11.50/$13.95 paper. James Martin, SJ. Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the... -
The Laughter that the World Cannot Give
Posted on 21/03/2013 | No CommentsThe Good Book tells us that when the Lord comes, “The lame shall be humorous again!” Actually, it’s “leap like the deer” (Is. 35:6), but that’s only useful if you’re trying out for the Olympics or escaping from prison. A... -
Uncloaking the Proud: The Power of Comedy
Posted on 20/03/2013 | 1 Comment‘I do not like seriousness. I think it is irreligious. The man who takes everything seriously is the man who makes an idol of everything: he bows down to wood and stone until his limbs are as rooted as the... -
Two Humours Too Many
Posted on 19/03/2013 | No CommentsIt was Saturday evening. I was set to perform a sketch at the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union (CICCU) meeting straight after the visiting preacher had finished his talk—a talk which turned out to be the most intensely serious sermon ever...
