Items related to Laughter at the Foot of the Cross

Laughter at the Foot of the Cross - Softcover

 
9780226245119: Laughter at the Foot of the Cross
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 

“Christian laughter is a maze: you could easily get snarled up within it.” So says Michael A. Screech in his note to readers preceding this collection of fifty-three elegant and pithy essays. As Screech reveals, the question of whether laughter is acceptable to the god of the Old and New Testaments is a dangerous one.

But we are fortunate in our guide: drawing on his immense knowledge of the classics and of humanists like Erasmus and Rabelais—who used Plato and Aristotle to interpret the Gospels—and incorporating the thoughts of Aesop, Calvin, Lucian of Samosata, Luther, Socrates, and others, Screech shows that Renaissance thinkers revived ancient ideas about what inspires laughter and whether it could ever truly be innocent. As Screech argues, in the minds of Renaissance scholars, laughter was to be taken very seriously. Indeed, in an era obsessed with heresy and reform, this most human of abilities was no laughing matter.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
"Lavishly erudite, digressive. . . . Screech commands the intellectual and literary history of the sixteenth century. . . . The finished book is a provocative, wide-ranging work of cultural history."--Anthony Grafton "Times Literary Supplement "

"Laughter can be innocent. . . . But suppose there is an exultation over the foe, can this be Christian? Psalm II suggests it can. For after describing the rage of the heathen and their plots against God's anointed, it says: 'He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn: The Lord shall have them in derision.' What gives "Laughter at the Foot of the Cross" its sinew and muscle is the way Screech takes this mocking triumph with the utmost seriousness. . . . Apart from numerous fresh insights along the way and the scholarly erudition, the great importance of this book is a paradoxical one. It is a book about laughter but it forces us to face the reality of evil."--Rt Revd Lord Richard Harries, former Bishop of Oxford "Times Higher Education "

"A splendid and exciting book, and a learned one. It takes the maxim that man is a laughing animal and enlarges it to encompass the concept that Christianity is a religion centred on laughter. . . . "Laughter at the Foot of the Cross" is a book that is historical in its thrust, philological at every step in its argument, and vigorously celebratory of the achievement of Erasmus and Rabelais both for their own times and for our own."--R. J. Shoeck "Journal of Ecclesiastical History "

Lavishly erudite, digressive. . . . Screech commands the intellectual and literary history of the sixteenth century. . . . The finished book is a provocative, wide-ranging work of cultural history. --Anthony Grafton "Times Literary Supplement ""

Laughter can be innocent. . . . But suppose there is an exultation over the foe, can this be Christian? Psalm II suggests it can. For after describing the rage of the heathen and their plots against God s anointed, it says: He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn: The Lord shall have them in derision. What gives "Laughter at the Foot of the Cross" its sinew and muscle is the way Screech takes this mocking triumph with the utmost seriousness. . . . Apart from numerous fresh insights along the way and the scholarly erudition, the great importance of this book is a paradoxical one. It is a book about laughter but it forces us to face the reality of evil. --Rt Revd Lord Richard Harries, former Bishop of Oxford "Times Higher Education ""

A splendid and exciting book, and a learned one. It takes the maxim that man is a laughing animal and enlarges it to encompass the concept that Christianity is a religion centred on laughter. . . . "Laughter at the Foot of the Cross" is a book that is historical in its thrust, philological at every step in its argument, and vigorously celebratory of the achievement of Erasmus and Rabelais both for their own times and for our own. --R. J. Shoeck "Journal of Ecclesiastical History ""
About the Author:
Michael A. Screech is an emeritus fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780713990126: Laughter at the Foot of the Cross

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780713990126
Publisher: Allen Lane, 1998
Hardcover

  • 9780367007300: Laughter At The Foot Of The Cross

    Routledge, 2019
    Hardcover

  • 9780813337395: Laughter At The Foot Of The Cross

    Routledge, 1999
    Hardcover

  • 9780367157173: Laughter At The Foot Of The Cross

    Routledge, 2020
    Softcover

  • 9780140124903: Laughter at the Foot of the Cross

    Penguin, 1999
    Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Screech, Michael A.
Published by University of Chicago Press (2015)
ISBN 10: 022624511X ISBN 13: 9780226245119
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_022624511X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 20.30
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 3.17
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Screech, Michael A.
Published by University of Chicago Press (2015)
ISBN 10: 022624511X ISBN 13: 9780226245119
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think022624511X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 22.63
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 3.37
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Screech, Michael A.
Published by University of Chicago Press (2015)
ISBN 10: 022624511X ISBN 13: 9780226245119
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GF Books, Inc.
(Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. Seller Inventory # 022624511X-2-1

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 26.08
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Screech, Michael A.
Published by University of Chicago Press (2015)
ISBN 10: 022624511X ISBN 13: 9780226245119
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Book Deals
(Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-022624511X-new

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 26.09
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Michael A. Screech
Published by University of Chicago press (2015)
ISBN 10: 022624511X ISBN 13: 9780226245119
New Softcover Quantity: > 20
Seller:
INDOO
(Avenel, NJ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 022624511X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 23.25
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 3.16
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Screech, Michael A.
Published by University of Chicago Press (2015)
ISBN 10: 022624511X ISBN 13: 9780226245119
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover022624511X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 24.51
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 3.41
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Screech, Michael A.
Published by Univ of Chicago Pr (2015)
ISBN 10: 022624511X ISBN 13: 9780226245119
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Revaluation Books
(Exeter, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 328 pages. 8.75x6.00x1.00 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # zk022624511X

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 35.76
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 10
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds