Arts, Literature, and Religion

Wendell Berry's decades of reflections on agriculture, sustainability, and poetry have been rooted in weekly sabbaths spent in the woods of his Kentucky farm. Graeme Sharrock's analysis shows how this practice of sacred time in rural sacred spaces has shaped his poetic rhythms and imagery,

See note to chapter 1.

This is a chapter in the book On the Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art (New York: Routledge, 2004), available on Amazon.

Chapter 2 was originally published with two "verys":  "From Bird-Goddesses to Jesus 2000: A Very, Very Brief History of Religion and Art," Thresholds [MIT] 25 (2002): 76–83, including a discussion with Caroline Jones. Later it was reprinted in Faith, exh. cat., edited by James Hyde (Hartford CT: Real Art Ways, 2005-2006), 79-90.

This is about as brief as a history can get: the idea is to show that in Western practice before the Renaissance, the concepts of "religion" and "art" did not exist in their current forms, so it does not make sense to talk about "religious art" in all centuries and cultures. The chapter also points to developments from the 16th to the 19th centuries, in which "art" became increasingly detached from "religion." Without these very abstract, very sweeping observations, it can sometimes be difficult to know what is being claimed in conversations on religion and art.

Con straordinare intuizioni quasi profetiche, Péguy, da semplice poeta, anticipa e precorre molti dei cambiamenti che si avranno nella visione teologica del Concilio Vaticano II. In un certo senso gli riesce di penetrare nei meandri del cuore di Dio, a sbirciarne il segreto della salvezza per poi sentire il dovere di mostrare agli uomini quello stupore straordinario in grado di trasformare il mondo. 

Personaggio affascinante, rivoluzionario, sempre coerente con i suoi ideali anche a prezzo della solitudine, dell’esclusione sociale. Fedele al suo desiderio di verità, al suo sogno di giustizia, non si è mai risparmiato, non ha smesso mai di seguire a perdifiato la sua passione per la salvezza. 

Una vita intera, se pur breve, sognando e lottando per un mondo migliore; sognando e cercando una salvezza universale. Una salvezza possibile che, inizialmente ricercata attraverso l’impegno sociale, l’impegno politico con il socialismo, potrà finalmente scoprirla stando in contemplazione ai piedi della croce, ai piedi di quell’uomo crocifisso che svela il volto di Dio, il cuore stesso di Dio.

È proprio il tema della salvezza, la ricerca, l’intuizione che c’è una promessa di salvezza, l’approfondimento del mistero della salvezza, il filo conduttore della “vocazione” artistica del nostro autore, delle sue opere ed in particolare dei suoi Mystéres. 

L’obbiettivo del seguente lavoro è appunto quello di “mettersi in ascolto” di quelle intuizioni. Lasciare che quelle immagini poetiche così vive, così reali, così vicine al cuore degli uomini che Péguy sapientemente utilizza per descrivere le verità intuite, possano “parlarci”, dirci qualcosa su Dio, sull’uomo e sul segreto della salvezza.

Il lavoro sarà articolato in tre capitoli:

Nel primo capitolo accennerò brevemente qualche dato biografico rilevante della vita dell’autore, ponendo l’attenzione a quegli aspetti storico-culturali che hanno influenzato e determinato l’evoluzione del pensiero di Péguy. In particolare metterò in evidenza la sua prima formazione fortemente laica e secolarizzata, la sua adesione al nascente socialismo e il suo successivo allontanamento ed infine il suo rapporto con la fede e il cattolicesimo dell’epoca.

Nel secondo capitolo cercherò di inquadrare il nostro autore dal punto di vista più prettamente artistico mettendolo a confronto con le correnti letterarie a lui contemporanee, sottolineando la sua concezione profetica della poesia ed infine evidenziando come Péguy abbia riconosciuto nell’essere poeta, nel “cantare” il mistero di salvezza la sua vocazione propriamente cristiana. 

Nel terzo e ultimo capitolo dopo aver introdotto e presentato i Mystéres, lascerò alle stesse parole di Péguy il compito di farci ripercorrere la strada che conduce fin sotto la croce, nel cuore di Dio. Fino ad intuire quella promessa di salvezza che da origine alla speranza cristiana. Quella salvezza possibile che chiama in causa la libertà degli uomini per essere realizzata, che richiama gli uomini alla solidarietà per poter essere coronata.

This thesis argues that the 1996 novel Infinite Jest, by David Foster
Wallace, offers to Unitarian Universalism a much-needed resource for reimagining the concepts of sin and salvation. By examining the novel in
conversation with Paul Tillich’s theology of sin and salvation, and by applying Tillich’s theology of art, I show how Infinite Jest’s formal elements, subject matter, and style combine to create symbols of sin and salvation that resonate with contemporary readers.
Having eschewed religious language of sin and salvation, Unitarian Universalism lacks shared language and liturgy that addresses the universal human experience of brokenness and the quest for wholeness. This thesis uses Tillich’s theology of art, with attention to literature in particular, to argue that art must be embraced as a source for theology. Great works of art serve as symbols that both open us up to deep levels of theological realities and allow us to participate in those realities.
Using a dialogical method, this thesis then explores what Infinite Jest
expresses about the human experience of estrangement. By examining
Wallace’s writing style and the novel’s theme, characters, and structure, I show how the novel creates a sustained symbolic window that invites readers into participation in the theological reality of estrangement from God, self, and others.
The thesis also explores how Infinite Jest creates a symbolic window into salvation as an existential process, primarily in the character of Don Gately. In dialogue with Tillich’s theology and through close readings of several passages, I show how Gately represents salvation not as assent to doctrine but as surrender to reality, acceptance of grace, and transformation through faith. Finally, in a brief application, I show how Unitarian Universalism might incorporate insights from the novel and its theology of sin and salvation into revised shared language about those concepts.

Generations of scholars have analyzed the culminating tale of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales—The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale, asserting the confessional theme, sermon structure, sacramental hermeneutics or reconciliation results of it. While looking at these assertions, it is intriguing to find how these themes and structures reflect our current Roman Catholic Sunday mass. This essay will attempt to piece these approaches together as the sequential components that mirror our Sunday Eucharistic celebration. This essay will suggest the Pardoner’s confession to the other pilgrims in the Prologue mirrors The Penitential Rite. Most importantly this essay will bring forth the idea that the first part of his tale reflects the Liturgy of the Word. And as he tells the tale of the old man and three rioters, it mirrors a Homily or a Sermon. Finally with the help of the Knight, the Pardoner reconciles with the Host which mirrors the Creed bringing unity upon parishioners. This paper will also look into Hans Boersma’s Heavenly Participation, and its discussion on sacramental ontology in tandem with the thesis of The Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale mirroring the Roman Catholic mass. I will also reference Norman Harrington’s views on The Pardoner’s Prologue as a confessional link. Before looking at The Pardoner’s Tale as the Liturgy of the Word and a Homily, I will contrast Rodney Delasanta’s theory on the tale having sacramental elements. Although in tandem with my analysis, Delasanta’s theory can be seen as a fragment of a Roman Catholic Eucharist celebration. I will then proceed to incorporate Roger Ellis and Alan Gardiner’s debate on whether The Pardoner’s Tale has sermon elements, as well as Robert P. Merrix analysis of a medieval sermon structure. This essay will also briefly look into the similarities and differences of biblical reference and values The Parson’s Tale and The Pardoner’s Tale have. And with a brief look at Chaucer’s Retractions, the ending of The Canterbury Tales, will be argued as an ever-unfolding Eucharistic feast.

This volume on the relationships between decadent literature and anthropology in late 19th- and early 20th-century Europe studies the unnoticed connection between, on the one hand, a purposeless and ephemeral beauty, and, on the other hand, the disinterestedness and the spontaneity ascribed by anthropologists to the ceremonial expenditure of “primitive” civilizations. The book highlights how, in those two apparently opposed discourses, prodigality and uselessness challenge the Western cult of profit by working in two directions: beauty is a form of lavishness, and lavishness is a source of beauty. An innovative theoretical and cultural framework at the crossroads of aesthetics, anthropology, and philosophy allows me to reexamine the works of O. Wilde, G. D’Annunzio, and J.-K. Huysmans, and to claim the crucial role of neglected authors like Paolo Mantegazza and Vernon Lee in what I trace as the emergence of a proto-theorization of gift-exchange in the European fin de siècle culture. The pervasiveness of symbolic economy in those writers establishes a new dynamic relationship between decadence and modernism, and also exposes the limits of the allegedly disinterested forms of expenditure that will soon lure the modernists to go “primitive”.

RESUMEN: Teniendo en cuenta la acción misericordiosa de Dios en los hombres y la respuesta de éstos a Dios, se pasa revista tanto al don de la conversión (fruto de la misericordia divina) como a las obras de misericordia impulsadas por esa misma conversión. Mencionando a varios conversos famosos, son recordados desde una visión cronológica otros más desconocidos, destacando algunos testimonios recientes y ciertos casos especiales de acción misericordiosa de Dios.  PALABRAS CLAVE: Conversión, misericordia, obras de misericordia, caridad.
ABSTRACT: Using as a point of departure the merciful action of God toward human persons and their response to God, this article examines both the gift of conversión (as a fruit of divine mercy) and the works of mercy undertaken as a result of this conversion. A number of famous converts are mentioned, with emphasis on recent testimonies and certain special instances of the merciful action of God. KEY WORDS: Conversión, mercy, works of mercy, charity.

Partindo da leitura de três contos de H. P. Lovecraft – "Ar frio" (1926/1928), "Sonhos na Casa da Bruxa" (1932/1933) e "O assombro nas trevas" (1935/1936) – procurou-se tecer algumas considerações a respeito da representação do catolicismo na obra ficcional deste autor. Concluiu-se que a marca desta é, antes do mais, uma interessante ambiguidade.

The Transition from Greek to medieval philosophy that speculated on religion, nature, metaphysics, human being and society was rather a rough transition in the history of English literature. Although the literature content of this age reflected more religious beliefs, the love and hate relationship of medieval philosophy that was mostly based on the Christianity with Greek civilization was exhibited clearly. The modern philosophical ideologies are the continuation of this period's ideologies. Without a well understanding of the philosophical issues related to this age, it is not possible to understand the modern ones well. The catholic tradition as well as the religious reform against church called Protestantism was organized in this age. In Medieval Period, philosophy and theoretical thoughts related to the Christianity were well-organized and the philosophy, science and theoretical thoughts served religion. Philosophy had different forms and orientations in various stages of this period. One of these philosophical thoughts was the Augustinian philosophy which was strongly in favor of church with its different practices and styles. It used Platonic and Neo-Platonic traditions to prove that faith is the result of divine dispensations, not the result of human will power and wisdom. On the other hand, according to Aquinas, we experience different types of the effects that existed in the world around us. He believed that we assign an effective cause to each effect we experienced around us. Additionally, he claimed that reasoning was the only way to reach the real faith. In fact, philosophy of Medieval Period attempted to prove that religious assertions and ideologists were in search of matching their philosophical beliefs with the beliefs of Christianity. Christianity as the dominant factor in Middle English Literature helped English to be stablished as a literary language.

From fresh archival evidence we know that J. M. Coetzee was reading works by Rudolf Bultmann, a German New Testament scholar and theologian, while writing Life & Times of Michael K. In these texts Bultmann had developed a conception of the ‘meaning’ of the Gospel of John, in particular, as inseparable from the reading experience it stages. Notably, he claimed that the Gospel aims to stage a dialectical reading experience: it encourages reliance on mythological language and formal features (thesis), which it then undermines (antithesis), in order to invite potential encounters with the divine, as that which exceeds even the best mythological description (synthesis). Drawing on Coetzee’s archived notes, I show how Michael K diffusely reorients this dialectical strategy. Instead of deploying mythological language to invite encounters with the divine, Coetzee relies upon, but also undermines, biographical conventions to cultivate conditions that might expand readers’ awareness of the limitations of this narrative before the life it purportedly represents. By tracing a religious register, my reading also foregrounds episodes in which characters undergo encounters that exercise a claim over them, which they cannot quite articulate. Indeed, by attending to Coetzee’s readings of Bultmann, I show how this fiction depicts the very phenomenon it stages. For there is good reason to believe that Michael K was specifically crafted with a view toward cultivating attentiveness to ways in which life persistently exceeds representational specificity. Moreover, this was a particularly politically freighted endeavour for an author grappling with life under the apartheid narrative.

Um das Phänomen institutioneller Selbstzensur in der russischen, vor allem in der Moskauer Kunst- und Ausstellungspraxis fassbar zu machen und zur Diskussion zu stellen, eröffnete der Kurator Andrej Erofeev mit der Ausstellung Verbotene Kunst 2006 (Zapretnoe iskusstvo – 2006) eine ursprünglich auf mehrere Jahre angelegte Reihe. Vom 7. bis 31. März 2007 waren im Moskauer Sacharov-Zentrum Kunstwerke zu sehen, die im Verlauf des Jahres 2006 in Moskauer Galerien und Museen entweder von ihren Direktoren oder den dafür zuständigen internen Kommissionen nicht zur Ausstellung freigegeben worden waren – jedoch nur durch kleine Gucklöcher in den Stellwänden, sodass die Ausstellung zur Peepshow wurde und der Betrachter zum Voyeur. Doch anstatt eine Diskussion über Selbstzensur und den damit einhergehenden vorauseilenden Gehorsam in staatlichen wie privaten Kunstinstitutionen zu eröffnen, endete die Ausstellung mit einem Prozess wegen Erregung nationaler und religiöser Feindschaft­ unter Ausnutzung der beruflichen Position.

Coordinación del nº 279, monográfico, sobre "Bellas Artes y Espiritualidad". Las "Bellas Artes" escogidas y los articulistas en este número (se hace constar si es artículo o nota): ARTES MAYORES: 1. PINTURA: Arturo Beltrán Ortells, ocd (artículo). 2. ESCULTURA: Eduardo Sanz de Miguel, ocd (artículo). 3. ARQUITECTURA: Marina Álvarez Alonso y José Miguel Barbero Sánchez (artículo); Ignacio Husillos Tamarit, ocd (artículo). 4. LITERATURA: Ignacio Husillos Tamarit, ocd (nota). 5. MÚSICA (ya se publicaron dos números monográficos sobre la relación de esta bella arte con la espiritualidad). 6. ARTES ESCÉNICAS (ya se publicó un número monográfico sobre la relación de esta bella arte con la espiritualidad). 7. CINE: Carlos Eymar (artículo). ARTES MENORES: 1. VIDRIERAS: Montserrat de la Cruz, ocd (nota).

Nomos Journal (NJ) is an online journal that publishes a revolving array of material engaging the intersection between religion and popular culture. NJ considers brief academic articles (1500-3000 words) that explore this intersection, but it is further unique in that it accepts submissions of poetry, artwork, photography, and reflective essays. The journal maintains the understanding that some of the best explorations of these cultural dimensions take place outside of a more traditional academic approach. The submission period for this year's first quarter is now open until April 1st. Please visit http://www.nomosjournal.org/about for more information about the journal and guidelines for submission. Please send all inquiries to info@nomosjournal.org. http://www.nomosjournal.org

From Yale University Press page:

Shortlisted for the 2011 ACE Mercers' International Book Award (UK Award)

Translating Truth is a novel and compelling account of how illuminated vernacular manuscripts transformed conceptions of Christian excellence in the later Middle Ages. Following the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), which legislated a broad pastoral outreach to the laity, new forms of religious instruction played a decisive role in the lives of Christians throughout Europe. For royal and aristocratic laypeople, luxury manuscripts of spiritual instruction made sacred truths and religious knowledge accessible—and authorizing—as never before.

In this beautifully illustrated book, Aden Kumler examines how manuscript paintings collaborated and, at times, competed with texts as they translated the rudiments of Christian belief as well as complex theological teachings to new audiences on both sides of the English Channel. In the illuminations in these books, Kumler argues, elite laypeople were offered an ambitious vision of spiritual excellence and a greater role in the pursuit of their salvation.

Lo scrittore olandese Frank Westerman, dal 22 settembre al 12 ottobre, sarà a Venezia, protagonista di una residenza letteraria all'interno del progetto Waterlines del Collegio Internazionale Ca' Foscari.
Gli appuntamenti con l'autore, in occasione dei quali la scrittura si coniugherà con altre discipline artistiche, sono:

- Mercoledì 25 settembre, ore 18: nell'ambito dell'installazione Psalm di Edmund de Waal, Westerman si confronterà con Alvise Bittente e Lucio De Capitani per una riflessione sul rapporto con l'Altro, prendendo le mosse dal suo romanzo-reportage «Ararat». L'incontro «Ararat and Beyond» si terrà nell'Aula Magna dell'Ateneo Veneto (San Marco, 1897 - Campo San Fantin) con un'introduzione di Cristina Fossaluzza.

- Lunedì 30 settembre e lunedì 7 ottobre, ore 9.30: il laboratorio in due parti «The Anatomical Lesson» tratterà il confronto con l'Altro in un'ottica di creazione di un'opera letteraria, nell'intreccio fra storia, reportage e autobiografia. L'evento, ospitato dalla Fondazione di Venezia Rio Novo (Dorsoduro 3488/U), sarà in lingua inglese.

Tutti gli appuntamenti con lo scrittore sono a ingresso libero con consiglio di prenotazione dei posti scrivendo all'indirizzo: info@waterlinesproject.org

The Recorder 22 (Spring 2016), 8–10.

A short note on a letter I discovered from John Brown of Bedford (Bunyan's 19th century biographer and successor as pastor to the Bedford Independent congregation), to J.B. Lightfoot, bishop of Durham and noted New Testament/patristics scholar. The letter is stuck into a copy of Brown's biography in the possession of the Cambridge Divinity faculty library, whose pages (as of the time of writing) have been cut only partway through.

Freely available at https://johnbunyansociety.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/2016-recorder1.pdf

Sacred Text—Sacred Space: Architectural, Spiritual, and Literary Convergences in
England and Wales. Foreword Richard Chartres. Vol. 4 of Studies in Religion and
Arts Series, eds. James Najarian and Eric Ziolkowski. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2011.
Pp. xvi + 372 + illustrations. $166.00 paper.

This article identifies a biblical allusion in John Dryden’s Annus Mirabilis not previously noted. It argues that Dryden describes the looting undertaken by Sir Robert Holmes’s sailors in their raid on the Vlie estuary in terms that associate them with Hophni and Phinehas, the sacrilegious sons of the high priest Eli, called “sons of Belial” in 1 Samuel. This allusion subverts the propaganda function of the poem by calling into question the morality of England’s economic and imperial expansion, and lends credence to the suggestion of Dutch writers that the Great Fire of London represents divine retribution for “Holmes’s Bonfire.”