Adventist Attitudes Toward Literature

[nuff sed]

Another is the story of the Broken Stone Mission................Maybe I should not be the bearer of bad tidings concerning that one.... /nuff sed

[SarahAnne]

I'm not familiar with the story of the Broken Stone Mission - who's it by?

Now, please, nobody tell me "Singer on the Sand" is fiction. Even my love of fiction may not be able to stand that!

[nuff sed]

The story in a nutshell is that someone came to the peruvian village and taught the gospel to the villagers. Then he had to leave. The chief was told that someone would come later to teach more. The chief wanted to know how he would know who the right person was. According to the story, the teacher picked up a stone and broke it, giving half to the chief. When the two halves were united the chief would know that the right man had come...

Nice story.....supposedly the worker came, united the stones and everyone lived happily ever after...............The truth of the matter is that the chief lost his half of the stone.................. But it must have resolved itself for it is still called the Broken Stone Mission..

[John317]

Quote:

SarahAnne:

Again, thankyou for the info. I'll have to look into Thomas Pynchon, who I am not familiar with.

His very best are:

The Crying of Lot 49, a short novel (takes place in Southern Ca) The main theme is paranoia and "signs."

Slow Learner (His first published short stories, containing themes that the author explores in later books. For instance, Entropy. His best story here is "Under the Rose.)

V. (great humor, brilliant)

Gravity's Rainbow (his best and most ambitious)

Gravity's Rainbow is probably the most representative novel of the 20th century. It's has parts that read like a comedy but also a nightmare. It takes place during WW II in England and in war-torn Germany.

Mason & Dixon (Haven't read it, but I hear it's very good.)

Don't be discouraged when you first start reading him. Just keep plowing through. It is kind of like studying a foreign language-- after a while you begin to see the light, and when you do, it will be worth it.

They are a very different style. Pynchon was influenced by cartoons, rock music, 1950s TV, pop culture, and film.

This link will give you an idea of the writer as well as synopsis of his various works: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon

It might be best to wait to read Pynchon's longest books after your Freshman year of college.

His most important books are difficult to read for average readers, but college students majoring in literature usually like him.

[SarahAnne]

Nuff Sed: Thanks for the explanation. Now I remember the story from an old reader. I have to confess that as one who frequently does the children's story for church, I sometimes wonder about the authenticity of mission stories I tell, but still use them because of the dramatic elements that translate well into oral-stories.

john317: Thanks for the author info. Someday hopefully I'll check out his work, but my Must Read list is enormous, and I need to try not to over-do the fiction.

It's almost Sabbath here. Happy Sabbath everyone!

[nuff sed]

When I finally finish my book of children's stories ("Tell Me Another, Uncle Don") I wonder how many of my personal stories will be thought of as being fiction.

[pindoc]

SarahAnne, welcome aboard!

I'm so glad you posted here. I've strolled through the thread and there's so much wonderful input. Please don't let people scare you away from real literature, from most kinds of literature, simply because you are SDA.

John317 mentioned "Crime and Punishment". I attended church school from 3rd grade through 11th. No, I didn't get kicked out. Our local church school only had 10 grades. I lived with my maternal grandmother and went to day academy that last year. My parents decided 1 year w/ grandma was enough for me, so they kept me home for 12th grade. I got to take AP English. C & P was on our itinerary. I loved it. The character development is incredible and the story's intense. It's been over 30, um, 32 years since I graduated, since I read that book. It still sends a chill down my spine and I haven't picked it up since. If you enjoy Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-tale Heart" you would love "Crime and Punishment" - if you can handle the stress of reading on the edge of your seat for that long.

TU

My only regret from AP English was that I didn't appreciate science fiction in those days. I didn't get the point of it. Now I get it. Douglas Adams is a genius. The first page of the "Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" states: DON'T PANIC! You've heard the word "grok"? That was Robert Heinlein's invention. Philip Jose Farmer wrote a very short story, "The King of Beasts," that I cannot get through without choking up. I have tried to read it aloud and I cannot do it without my voice breaking. In "Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials" - I special ordered that book since I could not find it locally - Richard Barlowe depicts a mother creature from another PJF short. I knew the creature without even checking the label. It was if PJF had stood behind the artist at his drawing table, telling him what to paint.

I used to have a Christian-published creative writing book. I'm sure it was SDA-authored, but my memory could be wrong. On the jacket, it stated that the best fiction is full of truth. The characters that touch people the most deeply are very real. We've met them, lived next door, worked with them and had them check us out at the grocery. Truths can be stated in fiction, as fiction, that folks would shy away from in real life. Shy? Often they'd ran at a breakneck pace for the nearest desolate hills.

That's why Jesus told so many parables. He was speaking truths that his companions, and those who feared his influence, could not grasp and would not hear if stated directly. How many times is it recorded that the rabbis left him alone after he answered their questions with a parable? How many other times did that happen? We will not know the beginning of it till we meet in heaven.

[John317]

Pindoc,

Thanks very much for your post.

Am wondering if you've read anything of Feodor Dostoyevsky's besides Crime and Punishment.

Here's a selection of his works, which may be read online:

http://www.kiosek.com/dostoevsky/contents.html

Among his best are

1) The Brothers Karamazov

2) Crime and Punishment

3) The Idiot

4) The Devils (sometimes titled, The Possessed)

5) Friend of the Family

6) Notes From Underground

7) The Eternal Husband

8) The Double

9) The Insulted and the Injured

10) A Gentle Spirit

11) Poor Folk

12) The House of the Dead

13) A Raw Youth

14) White Nights [bright Nights]

15) Netochka Nezvanova

[there buster]

Quote:

She ardently believes Mrs. White's writings, which it must be admitted certainly put a great damper even on what might be considered innocent fiction. I've read the quotes myself and I don't know how I'd get around them except if I rejected the idea that Mrs. White is Divinely inspired.

Sarah Ann, I just noticed this thread, or I would have replied earlier.

As part of my graduate studies, I took the class "The Ellen White Writings" at Andrews University. As part of the course, we were required to research some topic using the White Estate materials, and contribute a short paper. I chose the topic "Fiction."

I discovered that there is a great misunderstanding among many Adventists on this topic. Mrs. White not only had "Pilgrim's Progress" in her own library, she also read other books we would call fiction. When she condemned fiction, she was thinking of a particular kind of light fiction, essentially bubble gum for the mind. The White Estate had a copy of a book she had identified as precisely what she was talking about. It was a Christian Romance from the late 1800's, essentially a young girl's fantasy about finding the love of her life.

It was not the fact that the book depicted events which had not happened, but that it was unrealistic, fed impractical fantasies, and was vapid.

C. S. Lewis and Mortimer Adler the latter an agnostic intellectual) have written similar critiques of bad literature.

Someone else mentioned an Adventist book about writing. I have two copies of "Creative Techniques for Christian Writers," published by Pacific Press in the 1960's, written by Normanl Youngberg. It is an excellent book which distinguishes between fact and truth.

A factual story may tell of a scoundrel who gets away with terrible deeds. But the Bible says, "The way of the transgressor is hard." So a fictional story which portrays that truth may be more true than a factual story which teaches the opposite.

In short, you need not be afraid of fiction, but we all need to be wary of bad writing and fluffy timewasting stories. You might read C. S. Lewis' "An Exercise in Criticism" as useful in your quest.

And in conclusion, lots of Christians misuse Philippians 4 : "Whatsoever is good . . ." etc.

They use it to eliminate anything that isn't absolutely perfect. But the passage concludes, "if there be any virtue, if there be any praise. . ."

No human production is perfect and without flaw. It's easy to find imperfection in any work of literature, if that's what you're reading for. But if you read to learn what is good, whether story or technique, if you pick out what is excellent, you will seldom go wrong.

Are there books that should not be read. Of course. But if you spend your time looking for the good, the great, and the true-- you won't waste time on those that are mainly dross.

[JudyJudy]

If you read Mrs. White's comments on fiction, she was against fairy tales and frivolous stories that fostered escapism and led to a dislike of Bible study. However, she endorsed both "Pilgrim's Progress" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin," both of which -- although fiction -- taught strong lessons on morality and Christian living.

[John317]

... Mrs. White's ....endorsed ...."Uncle Tom's Cabin,"....

I agree with the principle idea of your post, but I'm not aware of her having endorsed Uncle Tom's Cabin.

I would be happy if she did, though, because I do think that book does have value.

Are you referring to a specific statement Ellen White made about it?

[John317]

Great post, buster. I agree.