{"id":6301,"date":"2009-11-30T14:57:08","date_gmt":"2009-11-30T19:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/2009\/11\/30\/a-brilliant-classic\/"},"modified":"2009-11-30T14:57:08","modified_gmt":"2009-11-30T19:57:08","slug":"a-brilliant-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/11\/30\/a-brilliant-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"A Brilliant Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"100_0533.JPG\"<\/a><\/span> I don\u2019t consider Nathaniel Hawthorne\u2019s\u00a0The Scarlet Letter<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/strong><\/em> \u201cfiction\u201d because I\u2019d prefer to maintain my impish, indefensible line:\u00a0I don\u2019t read fiction<\/i>. So, having read the book lately, my line needs commentary: \u201cI don\u2019t consider classic fiction to be fiction; it\u2019s a classic.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Perhaps you are unconvinced.\u00a0<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The book is brilliant, classic or fiction, because Nathaniel Hawthorne (statue at left) can get to the heart of darkness.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Any comments about the novel? or the descriptions of Puritans in the book? What do you like most about this novel? What do you dislike?<\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The story revolves around one Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale, the woman with whom he had an indiscreet affair (Hester Prynne), the child of that union (Pearl), and the diabolical doctor, Mr. Roger Chillingworth. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve read the story through since either high school or college, so I had forgotten some of it \u2026 and what really took me in this recent reading was that Hawthorne turned Chillingworth, the secretive husband of Prynne, into one whose soul was destroyed by his possession with revenge on his wife\u2019s lover. And I was taken away by the odd descriptions of little Pearl and how she mirrored her mother\u2019s wild nature.<\/div>\n
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I must register an issue \u2014 that so many learn what \u201cPuritan\u201d means from the stereotyped hypocrite that we find in Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister who impregnated Hester Prynne and who failed to admit his sin and was tortured by his conscience. As his fame rose among the residents of Salem, so his conscience assaulted him for his sin. Puritans, it ought to be observed, have suffered the fate of the Pharisees: the terms have both become synonymous with \u201chypocrite.\u201d Such is not the case with either Puritan or Pharisee. We owe our children a fair and positive description of the American Puritans.<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I don\u2019t consider Nathaniel Hawthorne\u2019s\u00a0The Scarlet Letter \u201cfiction\u201d because I\u2019d prefer to maintain my impish, indefensible line:\u00a0I don\u2019t read fiction. So, having read the book lately, my line needs commentary: \u201cI don\u2019t consider classic fiction to be fiction; it\u2019s a classic.\u201d Perhaps you are unconvinced.\u00a0 The book is brilliant, classic or fiction, because Nathaniel Hawthorne […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA Brilliant Classic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I don't consider Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter "fiction" because I'd prefer to maintain my impish, indefensible line: I don't read\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/11\/30\/a-brilliant-classic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Brilliant Classic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I don't consider Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter "fiction" because I'd prefer to maintain my impish, indefensible line: I don't read\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/11\/30\/a-brilliant-classic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-11-30T19:57:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/assets_c\/2009\/11\/100_0533-thumb-333x403-9490.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/11\/30\/a-brilliant-classic\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/11\/30\/a-brilliant-classic\/\",\"name\":\"A Brilliant Classic\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-11-30T19:57:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-11-30T19:57:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"I don't consider Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter \\\"fiction\\\" because I'd prefer to maintain my impish, indefensible line: I don't read\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/11\/30\/a-brilliant-classic\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/11\/30\/a-brilliant-classic\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/11\/30\/a-brilliant-classic\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Brilliant Classic\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. 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