Trudy J. Morgan-Cole's Blog, page 64

Writing Wednesday 36: Eye Pokey Forky

Is it just me? Can anyone else relate to this phenomenon, as  a reader and a writer?

Sorry, no Searching Sabbath this week …

… for no particular reason other than that I had a very, very busy week and didn’t have time to shoot one. Regular service will resume next week, I promise!

Writing Wednesday 35: Playing With History

This week I’m talking about the ever-present issue of how accurate you need to be in historical fiction. Different writers take different approaches to this: I framed this video around discussion of a single passage in Wayne Johnson’s excellent novel, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. Johnson’s a brilliant writer, but his approach to the primacy of fact in historical fiction is very different from the approach I take both as a writer and a reader.

My sensibilities as a reader of historical fiction were shaped by Sharon Kay Penman and Margaret George, both of whom I read at a very young and impressionable age. I’ve always appreciated writers who put an “afterword” at the end of the novel telling you where they deviated from known history. I do this myself, and a reviewer once mocked me — actually made fun of me — in a review, for this slavish devotion to facts. But I like facts. I think the airy castles of fiction need to be built on a solid foundation of historical fact — and that means getting the historical, geographical, and cultural details correct as much as you possibly can. I do, however, appreciate that other readers and writers may take a different view. What do you think?

Books I Read in May

Searching Sabbath 16: The Lord’s Supper

One more Adventist doctrine I don’t find particularly controversial … although there is plenty of controversy within Christianity over it!

I know the amount of comments I get on these videos varies from “lots” to “none,” but I think in writing a blog post to go along with this video on this topic, what I’d really like would be to toss questions back at you, the readers. If you’re a Christian, what does the Lord’s Supper/Communion/Eucharist mean to you? Do you see it as having a mystical and/or sacramental value, or purely as a memorial of Christ’s death? And most importantly … why do you believe this?

I’m also curious (since I know lots of people who read my blog aren’t Christians) about how it looks to outsiders. The ancient Romans accused Christians of being cannibals (or so I’ve heard) because they claimed to eat the body of their god. Does Communion seem to you like a harmless arcane ritual, or a weird cannibalistic feast?

I’m also interested in a lot of the debates I didn’t have time to get into at all in this vlog — like, open versus closed communion. I’m actually offended when I visit a Catholic church and am barred from Communion — I find that a terribly divisive attitude to take towards the Lord’s table, though I try to soothe myself by saying that it doesn’t mean the same thing to Catholics that it does to me, thus for them it would desecrate the ritual to open it up to those with whom they’re not truly “in communion.” I did take Communion in a Catholic church once though … at the funeral of a co-worker of whom I was very fond. I felt sad and wanted both to feel touched by God and to honour my friend. I don’t think he was the type of Catholic who would have minded, but I’ve always felt weird about having done it.

I also wonder what others think about the “how often” question … and, of course, I’m happy to answer any questions that others may have about the way we Adventists practice communion, including our somewhat unusual service of footwashing. So, please fire away in the comments — this project is far more interesting to me when others participate!

Writing Wednesday 34: You’re the Inspiration

This past weekend was one of my favourite kinds of weekends — one of those rare getaways where the Strident Women (or as many of them are available on a given weekend) retreat to Coley’s Point to read, write, workshop, laugh, talk, play Trivial Pursuit or Scrabble … or do whatever we find relaxing. This was a good weekend since 5/6 of us were able to be there (Natalie had to miss it at the last minute, but she has a small baby and as you know babies are ticking time bombs of unpredictability, so we hope to see her next time). I decided to record a Writing Wednesday episode about inspiration, but as you’ll see, I had to overcome some obstacles — primarily the wind and my own incompetence, since I wasn’t using my regular video camera. But in the end I discovered that no matter what the obstacles, the Strident Women are pretty inspiring — as well as entertaining.

I only wish I could show you the outtakes … but I won’t.

Searching Sabbath 15: Baptism

Disclaimer: this is the first of two Searching Sabbath videos that I accidentally shot wearing the wrong shirt!! By the time I realized my mistake I didn’t have time to re-shoot. I’ve been wearing my “Love, Hope, Optimism” shirt for every one of these videos because apart from providing visual continuity, I like that it keeps me grounded in my core values while I talk about doctrinal issues. However, this week and next week you’ll have to make do with me wearing a pretty T-shirt featuring clothes on a clothesline, which  used to belong to my mom.

This week I’m talking about the Adventist church’s teaching on baptism, which, perhaps surprisingly, I have no quibbles with. If you are taking the Bible as your rule of faith and practice, I find it hard to see how you could find a firm Scriptural foundation for anything other than what the Adventist church teaches — baptism is a ceremony marking the individual’s decision to follow Christ and join the community of faith, and as such, it is a decision that needs to be made by a reasoning adult. Also, the practice of full immersion in water signifies the death to sin and resurrection to a new life. So yes, I’m a big fan of adult baptism by immersion; I think it’s very telling that all the New Testament references to baptism are to people making the decision to be baptized, and baptisms being carried out at places where there is “much water” or people “going down into the water.”

I also get into a little side-rant that may be controversial or offensive to some, but I really take issue with the practice of people bringing their children for infant baptism, or even for a baby dedication in a church like ours that doesn’t baptize babies, just as a cultural ceremony (or “to please the grandparents” or something) when they have no intention of raising that child in the church community. I guess it’s hard for me to understand why someone would want that (even though lots of friends of mine, people I greatly respect, have done this). I think there ought to be some kind of secular naming ceremony that gives people an excuse to gather and welcome the new baby, rather that a ceremony where you take a baby to a church you don’t attend and promise to raise them in a faith you may not even believe in yourself. 

There are lots of other issues and questions to be raised around the whole topic of baptism, but if people want to raise them I’ll look forward to reading about (and discussing them) in the comments!

Writing Wednesday 33: Grammar Nazi

I’m pretty sure this is the angriest you’ll ever see me on a Writing Wednesday video, because I get to rant and rave about my grammar, punctuation, and usage pet peeves. But then I ask the all-important question: how much does all this really matter when you’re trying to produce a piece of creative work? You may disagree with my conclusion, and there’s plenty of space in the comments to talk about it if you do.

Writing Wednesday 32: The Journey of 1000 Words

This week: a not-very-secret formula for moving forward when I’m stuck with my writing, as I have been for the last little while. I’ve been researching, revising and planning for the last few months but it’s past time for me to actually write the second half of the book. And I’ve been procrastinating. Now I’m not. This week I talk about how I got from there to here. Today’s video includes bonus captioning for the moments when the brisk St. John’s wind gets so loud you can’t hear what I’m saying, because I didn’t have time to re-shoot.

Searching Sabbath 14 (11): Growing in Christ

Trying to get back on track this week with the Searching Sabbath videos, I realized I had inadvertently skipped Adventist Fundamental Belief #11 — the extra one that got added a few years ago. In content it is entirely uncontroversial as far as I can see — the only debate I’ve ever heard around it has been over whether it actually needed to be included in our statements of beliefs, which some people consider far too long and detailed already. 

By His death on the cross Jesus triumphed over the forces of evil. He who subjugated the demonic spirits during His earthly ministry has broken their power and made certain their ultimate doom. Jesus’ victory gives us victory over the evil forces that still seek to control us, as we walk with Him in peace, joy, and assurance of His love. Now the Holy Spirit dwells within us and empowers us. Continually committed to Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, we are set free from the burden of our past deeds. No longer do we live in the darkness, fear of evil powers, ignorance, and meaninglessness of our former way of life. In this new freedom in Jesus, we are called to grow into the likeness of His character, communing with Him daily in prayer, feeding on His Word, meditating on it and on His providence, singing His praises, gathering together for worship, and participating in the mission of the Church. As we give ourselves in loving service to those around us and in witnessing to His salvation, His constant presence with us through the Spirit transforms every moment and every task into a spiritual experience.

As I said, I have no problem with any of this. In spite of that, my video above veers off into a rant because I’m disturbed by what I see in this teaching — a healthy understanding of the principles of spiritual growth and the place of spiritual disciplines in that process — and some of the pronouncements that have come down from our current General Conference president and other voices of authority in the church, regarding the “dangers” of certain spiritual practices. I hate fear-based approaches to religion and I hate exclusivist approaches — the kind of thinking that rejects a valuable spiritual practice — or even the terminology attached to it — just because it might be associated with another religious group. In fact, this attitude distresses me a lot — as you can kind of see from the video.

Comments, as always, welcome and encouraged.