"Oxford had really represented to us two things so intertwined that we did not clearly distinguish them. One was the apostolic faith in its fullness, as represented by C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams. The other was high civilisation, sweet reason, and the life of the mind, which was no less represented by Lewis and Williams as well as many others. Religiously, we longed for the lively life in Christ, but we did not fully see that we were equally longing for the lively life of the mind - the delights of conversation at once serious and gay, which is, whatever its subject, Christ or poetry or history, the ultimately civilised thing. When we spoke of the lively life in Christ, we meant keenness, to be sure, but we also meant the subtle discourse on the meanings of Christ's way that is, in fact, only possible among highly articulate and civilised Christians."
~Sheldon Vanauken, from A Severe Mercy
Welcome to The Studio, where we hope to engage in conversation that fosters the lively life of the mind. The Studio was the Vanauken's center of lively intellectual life in Oxford, and we are attempting to create a space that emulates that center for discussion which is driven by love for Christ and love of the intellect. In the studio we share poetry, prose, thoughts on Christianity, musings of philosophy, thought-provoking questions, art and music. The Studio is a small reflection of the conversations we are having in real life, and we hope you will join in.
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