Christianity and Literature

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Christianity and Literature

• Presented by Alyson Olsheski

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Early 19th Century

• English-speaking settlers in the New World were
  strongly Puritan
• Rejected literature because any thing or any
  story that was fictitious was a waste of their
  time
• Suspicious of many new things and changes
• But Christians believed in moral purpose, which
  began to translate into religious novels

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Harriett Beecher Stowe(1811-1896)

• Calvinist heritage
• Daughter of strong Congregationalist-Presbyterian
  supporter
• Wrote fondly of the world in which she was raised
  
• She wrote of moral earnestness and modified
  Calvinist Spirituality
• Wrote about Christ-like protagonists
• Uncle Toms Cabin (1852)

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Orestes Brownson(1803-1876)

• Converted to Catholicism
• Wrote for a Catholic audience
• Believed Catholicism of old Europe would thrive
  even more in the New World
• Wrote about protagonists who displayed strong
  Christian values

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Social Gospel

• Turn of the 20th century people began to
  acknowledge the question What would Jesus do?
• Approached society and situations with this
  attitude and authors wrote of their Christian
  visions of, and for, the world
• Authors hoped their literature would allow people
  to understand the seriousness of the question
  What would Jesus do? and approach their own
  lives in such a way
• Targeted audiences from young children, to
  teenagers, to adults and the genre became a huge
  best seller

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Dr. Charles Gordon a.k.a. Ralph
Connor(1860-1937)

• Important Canadian writer at the time
• When his optimistic writings about the Social
  Gospel were published they were very much
  appreciated
• Themes of morality and justice
• The Sky Pilot (1899)

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Biblical Stories

• Were very popular then and continue to be today
• Lew Wallaces Ben Hur (1880)
• Academics criticized this genre
• Audiences could never get enough, very popular
  and had high entertainment value

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Literature on Immigration and Minorities

• Their life as they settle in North America
• Write of their life, their society, their
  experiences, and their faith
• They either experience the presence or absence of
  God during their struggles and how the meaning of
  life is defined through them
• Struggle with faith, Christian convictions, and
  the church
• The church plays a central role for African
  Americans and their experiences are captured in
  their literature

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Literature on Immigration and MinoritiesAuthors
and Books

• A.M. Klein
• Saul Bellow
• Ole Rolvaags Giants in the Earth (1929)
• Shirley Nelsons The Last Year of the War (1978)
• Ruby Wiebes Peace Shall Destroy Many (1962)
• James Baldwins Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953)
• Alice Walkers The Color Purple (1982)

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Literature in the Universities

• Literary canon - more complicated look at
  biblical themes worthy of academic attention
• They disclaim a connection with Christianity or
  faith of any kind although the themes are present
  in their writing
• Despite this they ask spiritual questions
• A protagonist battles with good and evil
• Struggle with temptation, passion and the self
• They use Biblical language
• Do not advocate Christianity but engage in it

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Nathaniel Hawthorne(1804-1864)

• The Scarlet Letter (1850)
• Was repulsed by his Puritan ancestors and all
  their bigotry
• Was amazed at how they tested themselves
• His writings are Puritan accounts of wrestling
  with God

• Hermin Melville
• (1819-1891)

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Herman Melville(1819-1891)

• Moby Dick (1851)
• Common theme of good vs. evil
• Reflection of God among humanity

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Emily Dickinson(1830-1886)

• Considered to possibly be the greatest American
  poet
• Strong Puritan background and uses that angle in
  her poetry
• She writes of human experience
• Never makes a Christian affirmation

• Mark Twain
• (1835-1910)

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Mark Twain(1835-1910)

• Huckleberry Finn (1884)
• Writes about the declaration of Christian dogma
  and the characters distaste of the experience
• Engagement in church practices
• Believed that he was not a Christian but still
  wrestled with faith

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William Faulkner(1897-1962)

• Themes reflected stories from the Bible
• Moral seriousness in his writing
• Not a Christian writer but writes of Christian
  tradition
• Protagonist is heroic, may rise to spiritual
  greatness by the grace of God, or fall
• The conflict between the flesh and the spirit
• Original Sin

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Robertson Davies(1913-1995)

• Wrote of Christian matters inspired by diverse
  heritage
• Observed Christian expression and morality
• Instincts, actions, or reflections on Christian
  matters

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Postwar Fiction

• Catholic writers emerging from the strongly
  Protestant South after the war
• Walker Percy (1916-1990)
• Flannery OConnor (1925-1965)
• J.F. Powers (b.1917)

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• In the 19th and 20th centuries the poets and
  novelists from the New World are quite varied.
  Also varied is the way they approach Christianity
  and faith in their literature. They all come from
  different cultural and religious backgrounds and
  have developed different domestic and world
  views. Although not all willingly accept a form
  of Christianity themes of morality, passion,
  brotherhood, among other Christian ideals, are
  present in their work. They describe the pain and
  the comfort of faith.

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Discussion

• Has anyone read any of the authors or literature
  discussed? Did any religious themes strike you?
• If you studied them in school, was Christianity
  ever discussed? How were they approached or
  taught?
• In stories such as Ben Hur, or Passion of the
  Christ, why do you think academics would be so
  critical about bringing these stories to life?
  Why do you think they have such high
  entertainment value?