Craft Notes
The Religion Thing
Thou Shalt Read
Last week while I was visiting family in Mississippi, I spent more time in church than I have in the past two years. This reminded me that from the age of 4 and 14, I spent roughly 490 Sundays in church excluding occasional sick days. That’s 1,225 hours when you include Sunday school and “fellowship” time. In addition to regular Sundays there were Wednesday night dinners, youth group meetings, confirmation classes, summer Bible school, youth choir practice, choir tours and weekend retreats. I’m estimating that about 3,500-4,000 hours. Yikes!
But what effect does all this Jesus have on one’s writing? I can’t speak for everyone who has had this kind of upbringing, but for me, church-going led me directly into writing. Prayer led to journaling; journaling led to disgraceful poetry; disgraceful poetry led to disgraceful fiction, then to essays and memoir and more fiction. But church also instilled a reverence for narrative and the inclination to analyze and obsess over stories and books (first books in the bible, of course, but then others.)
Just in time for Christmas, N+1 posted this video of their panel discussion titled Evangelicalism and the Contemporary Intellectual and it’s pretty interesting, though the title is slightly misleading. (It’s not just about Evangelicalism, which is a very particular corner of Protestantism, but about growing up in the church in general.)
The panelists are James Wood, Malcolm Gladwell and Christine Smallwood. The moderator is Caleb Crain. I like what Christine Smallwood says the best. It earned sporadic applause.
(Skip to 5:35 if you want to hear Caleb Crain’s introduction. Skip to 7:25 for Caleb Crain’s short history of evangelicalism. Skip to 11:00 for Malcolm Gladwell’s story, Skip to 20:00 for Christine Smallwood, and 29:00 or so for James Wood.)
Discussed:
New Yorkers will laugh at children who are addicted to the ecstatic experience of “being saved.”
Writing is often a replacement for church.
Malcolm Gladwell used to sneak into revival meetings that were held in a vacant lot near his house.
Church teaches one to “reconcile the irreconcilable.”
Christianity teaches adherents to feel outside of the mainstream.
English churches place more of an emphasis on the literalism of the spirit, and American churches place an emphasis on literalism of the word (the Bible.)
When I was a child I found church so boring I would just ignore everything and everyone and read the bible. That was probably my first serious reading. The bible is a great fucking book. Great poetry, great example of most every lit theme and the need for conflict. I was also introduced to Appearance versus Reality. I read the whole bible and found my church was teaching 1% of the stories! The others were crazy (in a good way) and I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting them. So I learned adults had a secret world. I think this secret world is probably 80% of what writing digs at…
Also, I love flash fiction. Jesus spoke in flash fiction. You ask him anything and he would tell you a cool little story.
When I was a child I found church so boring I would just ignore everything and everyone and read the bible. That was probably my first serious reading. The bible is a great fucking book. Great poetry, great example of most every lit theme and the need for conflict. I was also introduced to Appearance versus Reality. I read the whole bible and found my church was teaching 1% of the stories! The others were crazy (in a good way) and I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting them. So I learned adults had a secret world. I think this secret world is probably 80% of what writing digs at…
Also, I love flash fiction. Jesus spoke in flash fiction. You ask him anything and he would tell you a cool little story.
My parents literally wrote long division math problems on the church service handouts and I did math problems during the service because it was so boring. And I hate math!
My parents literally wrote long division math problems on the church service handouts and I did math problems during the service because it was so boring. And I hate math!
Love this, Sean: Jesus spoke in flash fiction.
Love this, Sean: Jesus spoke in flash fiction.
The bible is a great fucking book. Great poetry, great example of most every lit theme and the need for conflict.
I agree with this. The part of the bible that always haunts me is when The Judge tosses the newborn puppies into the river and then shoots them with a shotgun as they drown and the Kid looks on in horror.
The bible is a great fucking book. Great poetry, great example of most every lit theme and the need for conflict.
I agree with this. The part of the bible that always haunts me is when The Judge tosses the newborn puppies into the river and then shoots them with a shotgun as they drown and the Kid looks on in horror.
Is that the King Faulknerian translation, Lincoln?
Is that the King Faulknerian translation, Lincoln?
How’d you come to stop at age 14, Catherine?
How’d you come to stop at age 14, Catherine?
I believe it’s the version [banned in most Protestant wor{shop} Precincts] written by King Cormacian Mcarthus.
I kept going, but not consistently. My grandpa put up the money for me to go to boarding school and so I went. Then I went through the I-hate-church-and-you-can’t-make-me-go thing, and now I go with my family but I don’t say any of the words or sing any of the songs. I read everything, but actually saying it feels dishonest and I can’t do it. I enter a weird meditative state while I’m in church now. I go to a church were all the songs they sing are old-school 17th century classics. No praise band or shit like that.
I believe it’s the version [banned in most Protestant wor{shop} Precincts] written by King Cormacian Mcarthus.
I kept going, but not consistently. My grandpa put up the money for me to go to boarding school and so I went. Then I went through the I-hate-church-and-you-can’t-make-me-go thing, and now I go with my family but I don’t say any of the words or sing any of the songs. I read everything, but actually saying it feels dishonest and I can’t do it. I enter a weird meditative state while I’m in church now. I go to a church were all the songs they sing are old-school 17th century classics. No praise band or shit like that.
sean,
identical experience for me, though i was raised in the greek orthodox chruch. i would bug my sunday school teachers perpetually with the old testament and a highlighter marker all “if there is only one true god then why are they sacrificing goats to Azazel the desert demom?”
ah youth.
sean,
identical experience for me, though i was raised in the greek orthodox chruch. i would bug my sunday school teachers perpetually with the old testament and a highlighter marker all “if there is only one true god then why are they sacrificing goats to Azazel the desert demom?”
ah youth.
Also, I am wondering if anyone who comments here goes to church and if so does that make you feel more creative. I get huge creative bursts after I go to church. This didn’t used to be the case, but lately it has been.
Also, I am wondering if anyone who comments here goes to church and if so does that make you feel more creative. I get huge creative bursts after I go to church. This didn’t used to be the case, but lately it has been.
i was also raised going to church every sunday, probably until about the same time, age 14 or 15. religion is different in my family though, it was all more about my mom trying to find a community to belong to and my brother and i got dragged along. my dad never even went, he just stayed home. we went to different churches a lot. like every year we’d start attending some new start-up church that my mom had heard about and thought might be a better community of people. it wasn’t about being taught anything for me or believing in anything. i just saw it as a way to belong to a community. i never really felt i needed it.
i was also raised going to church every sunday, probably until about the same time, age 14 or 15. religion is different in my family though, it was all more about my mom trying to find a community to belong to and my brother and i got dragged along. my dad never even went, he just stayed home. we went to different churches a lot. like every year we’d start attending some new start-up church that my mom had heard about and thought might be a better community of people. it wasn’t about being taught anything for me or believing in anything. i just saw it as a way to belong to a community. i never really felt i needed it.
No the Faulknerian translation is the one where Jesus is some kind of idiot man-child and the virgin Mary is a small fish. Actually, maybe that was every translation.
No the Faulknerian translation is the one where Jesus is some kind of idiot man-child and the virgin Mary is a small fish. Actually, maybe that was every translation.
I am very inspired after church as well Catherine. But I’m not sure if it’s more of a spiritual high.
I am very inspired after church as well Catherine. But I’m not sure if it’s more of a spiritual high.
Indeed. I’ve always found the Song of Solomon to be exquisite.
Indeed. I’ve always found the Song of Solomon to be exquisite.
The only church I can attend is church of canoeing nearby river or church of 10 mile run, but I might go back. Might. Would have to research/visit a few.
The only church I can attend is church of canoeing nearby river or church of 10 mile run, but I might go back. Might. Would have to research/visit a few.
i went to church with my grandma last weekend. she’s baptist. and her preacher gave a long-winded explanation for why the old testament is irrelevant, as well as how no one is good or evil, using watered-down scholarship, circular logic, and, strangely enough, existentialism (without the existentialism part, of course). but in the end he somehow brought it back to how jesus is the one and only path to righteousness. at lunch my grandma and extended family all talked about how ‘profound’ the sermon was and the preacher, who was eating at the same restaurant, came over to our table to shake everyone’s hand; i just sort of waved at him. everyone was equally impressed with how i ‘decoded’ a makeshift plaque that had the word jesus ‘hidden’ in relief of abstractly placed wooden outlines. i wanted to tell them all how funny it was that they couldn’t see the name of ‘god’ for all the little lines.
i went to church with my grandma last weekend. she’s baptist. and her preacher gave a long-winded explanation for why the old testament is irrelevant, as well as how no one is good or evil, using watered-down scholarship, circular logic, and, strangely enough, existentialism (without the existentialism part, of course). but in the end he somehow brought it back to how jesus is the one and only path to righteousness. at lunch my grandma and extended family all talked about how ‘profound’ the sermon was and the preacher, who was eating at the same restaurant, came over to our table to shake everyone’s hand; i just sort of waved at him. everyone was equally impressed with how i ‘decoded’ a makeshift plaque that had the word jesus ‘hidden’ in relief of abstractly placed wooden outlines. i wanted to tell them all how funny it was that they couldn’t see the name of ‘god’ for all the little lines.
Where was this plaque? Expound.
Where was this plaque? Expound.
i used to do the same thing except i would bring my own books from home. i can’t tell you how many fantasy novels i read while sitting in church.
i used to do the same thing except i would bring my own books from home. i can’t tell you how many fantasy novels i read while sitting in church.
Jesus plaque: http://harrisfamilygroup.com/JesusBoard.jpg
I went to church a lot growing up. It was always very boring. When I became more literarily aware, I formed the opinion that the hymns were written shitty. I never read the Bible. The sermons were all bullshit. Ministers are weak-minded shitheads. All the people that went to my church were weak-minded shitheads. Fuck it all.
Jesus plaque: http://harrisfamilygroup.com/JesusBoard.jpg
I went to church a lot growing up. It was always very boring. When I became more literarily aware, I formed the opinion that the hymns were written shitty. I never read the Bible. The sermons were all bullshit. Ministers are weak-minded shitheads. All the people that went to my church were weak-minded shitheads. Fuck it all.
damn, that’s the one. they were handing them out on the way out. the preacher said it took him ‘a full five minutes with help from god’ to figure it out. i couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
damn, that’s the one. they were handing them out on the way out. the preacher said it took him ‘a full five minutes with help from god’ to figure it out. i couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
My girlfriend is sleeping, and I can’t be buggered to listen to the fucking thing, but I’ll take your word for it.
The thing about religion is that it’s people-made. So is any writing. There’s my input, except to say that I’m a Priest and I find Church terribly dull.
– –
Okay,
Father Luke
My girlfriend is sleeping, and I can’t be buggered to listen to the fucking thing, but I’ll take your word for it.
The thing about religion is that it’s people-made. So is any writing. There’s my input, except to say that I’m a Priest and I find Church terribly dull.
– –
Okay,
Father Luke
This is really fascinating, CL, and I’m glad you decided to share it. I haven’t had the chance to sit down and watch the panel discussion yet, but I’m looking forward to the moment when I do. The truly interesting panelist choice, I think, is Christine Smallwood. She obviously wasn’t the “name-draw” for this event, but I like her work a lot, and she piqued my interest more than Wood or Gladwell. She’s done a bunch of stuff for Salon, and used to be (maybe still is?) co-editor of this print zine called The Crier, that did some pretty interesting issues, and may or may not still exist. Anyway, I think it’s fascinating to hear people talk about religion–and especially church–as a formative literary experience. I sometimes wish I’d had it–or something comparable–in my own life. Not to say that I would have enjoyed it or not, or benefited from it or not, or been made into a writer by it (that seemed to happen anyway), but it would have impacted me in some way, I’m sure. I guess I’d just love to know what that way would have been.
This is really fascinating, CL, and I’m glad you decided to share it. I haven’t had the chance to sit down and watch the panel discussion yet, but I’m looking forward to the moment when I do. The truly interesting panelist choice, I think, is Christine Smallwood. She obviously wasn’t the “name-draw” for this event, but I like her work a lot, and she piqued my interest more than Wood or Gladwell. She’s done a bunch of stuff for Salon, and used to be (maybe still is?) co-editor of this print zine called The Crier, that did some pretty interesting issues, and may or may not still exist. Anyway, I think it’s fascinating to hear people talk about religion–and especially church–as a formative literary experience. I sometimes wish I’d had it–or something comparable–in my own life. Not to say that I would have enjoyed it or not, or benefited from it or not, or been made into a writer by it (that seemed to happen anyway), but it would have impacted me in some way, I’m sure. I guess I’d just love to know what that way would have been.