A Christmas Carol is the story of a miserly old man named Scrooge who is visited by four spirits, or ghosts, one Christmas eve: his long-dead former business partner, Marley; and then in immediate succession the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. It is a story that has become a part of the American psyche and has done more to shape our view of Christmas than any other piece of literature, including the Bible.
In his book, The Man Who Invented Christmas, Les Standiford describes Dickens as “the first modern novelist” and “the chief spokesman for his age.” During the mid-1800s, Charles Dickens was the most famous novelist of his time. He had come from a childhood of poverty and humiliation to become one of England’s most articulate social critics, and he used his gifts as a novelist to advance a social agenda that still influences social policy today. For those interested in exploring more of his works, a novels website can provide easy access to his literary masterpieces.
When he published A Christmas Carol in 1843 he had already made a name for himself with such novels as The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, and The Old Curiosity Shop. But by 1843 he was nearly bankrupt.
Really for no other reason than he desperately needed the money, Dickens began writing A Christmas Carol in October of 1843 and finished it in just six weeks, releasing it just in time for Christmas on December 19. All 6,000 of the original copies sold out within a few days.
A Christmas Carol is more than just a heartwarming Christmas tale. At its very foundation is an intentional presentation of an alternative gospel based in Charles Dickens’s humanistic view of the world, which can be summarized as:
The happiness of man is his ultimate end and purpose. We are fellow travelers to the grave and therefore ought to seek all of the pleasure this life has to offer. “The end he sought in all his zeal was a society in which the pleasures of life could be enjoyed by everyone: culture, entertainment, good food and drink, convivial fellowship, and a happy family.”
Man is basically good and possesses an “innate decency.” Dickens believed “in the possibility of an individual’s capability for self-determination,” that “man had the capacity to change himself and his lot in life.”
The source of man’s sin is his ignorance, which leads him to poverty and ultimately to commit crime. Dickens offered education and benevolence as the solution. “With the application of his knowledge, reason, and innate decency, mankind had everything needed to make a just and happy world.”
All of these themes find their apex in A Christmas Carol:
Les Standiford: “A Christmas Carol is a bald-faced parable that underscores Dickens’s enduring themes: the deleterious effects of ignorance and want, the necessity for charity, the benefits of goodwill, family unity, and the need for celebration of the life force, including the pleasures of good food and drink, and good company.”
A Christmas Carol presents “a secular counterpart to the story of the Nativity.” Dickens “complemented the glorification of the nativity of Christ with a specific set of practices derived from Christ’s example: charity and compassion in the form of educational opportunity, humane working conditions, and a decent life for all. Just as vital as the celebration of the birth of a holy savior into a human family was the glorification and defense of the family unit itself.”
Colossians 2:8-15 deals head on with the humanist error of focusing on the humanity of Christ to the exclusion of his deity, which is precisely the error that Dickens makes. The humanism of Charles Dickens values the example of Christ more than Christ himself, a view of Jesus that betrays an unbiblical understanding of the humanity of Christ:
1. The Humanity of Christ was a veil for the Deity of Christ: v. 9
(Hebrews 10:19-20 “through the veil, that is, through his flesh”)
2. The Humanity of Christ was a vehicle for the deliverance of God’s people from their sins: v. 13; Colossians 1:22
Here Jesus deals with Christmas Past: Dickens believed man could atone for his past mistakes by living more charitably in the present.
a) Matthew 1:19 – 21 “He shall save his people from their sins”
b) 1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree”
c) John 1:29, 35 “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”
d) Isaiah 53:6 “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all”
3. The Humanity of Christ made possible his victory over the devil: v. 15; Hebrews 2:14 – 18
Here Jesus deals with Christmas Future: Dickens believed that your future reward was based on your present life of good works and benevolence.
a) Through his resurrection he has defeated death and the devil: delivering those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage: this is Scrooge’s fundamental problem: he doesn’t want to die.
b) Through his resurrection he has become our priest
Jesus did not come into the world to reveal to man his own potential. Jesus came into the world “when we were yet without strength” and he died for the ungodly.
Jesus didn’t come into the world to be an example of how humans should live charitable lives. He came into the world, not to rehabilitate us or to reform us, but to make us new.
I think you are missing the history of the story. Charles dickens wrote a Christmas Carol in response to the “Poor Mans Law” which made it illeagle for a person to be poor and cast the poor into prisons and work houses. The church was in favor and Dickens is writing a sermon to the church that is why Scrooge is name “Ebenezer” ( “The Lord is my help” (1 Samuel 7:1–2). I think Dickens goal is preaching justice not mere happiness.
Most people don’t realize Charles Dickens has a biblical foundation. Each of the spirits that appear in A Christmas Carol directly correlates with an Advent lesson that is found in the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer. Perhaps that is what attracts Christians to the story of A Christmas Carol. Every Advent Christians revisit this old Victorian moral story with because it echoes with the ancient lessons of Advent. Hearing the Gospel Through Charles Dickens’s “A
Christmas Carol” is a Christian devotional that uses A Christmas Carol as a tool to teach the ancient Advent lessons of Hope, Faith, Peace, Love and Joy. Each week’s devotion begins with a section from A Christmas Carol which dramatizes the Advent Lesson and is followed with a scriptural Advent lesson from the Church of England’s Book of Prayer. The word Ebenezer is defined in scripture as “The Lord is my help” (1 Samuel 7:1–2). The modern evangelical church has diminished the Advent season to a single Christmas Eve service or Christmas Sunday service. As a community, we no longer spend time preparing our hearts for the season of “Christ coming.” This devotional traces advent from its’ historical roots into the modern celebration of Christmas. It seeks to analyze Dickens’ motives for writing ‘A Christmas Carol’ and what message this tale has for the church today.
The book is available on Cambridge Scholars Publications under recent titles or by clicking on the link below:
http://www.c-s-p.org/Flyers/Hearing-the-Gospel-through-Charles-Dickens-s–A-Christmas-Carol-1-4438-1714-7.htm
It is also available on Amazon.com under the title or by clicking the link below:
http://www.amazon.com/Hearing-through-Charles-Dickenss-Christmas/dp/1443817147/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264297767&sr=1-1
Hey Paul,
Nancy is absolutely right. Humanism is the issue and you cut right to the heart of the matter.
Paul,
You are so good at cutting through the smoke and mirrors to find the real issue!
Paul,
You said a lot, let’s unpack this.
You said “Certainly Jesus WAS an example of how human beings ought to live. But it is impossible for fallen human beings to follow that example.”
My response: Why not, aren’t we followers of Jesus? Isn’t that what it means to be a Christian? I am not talking about making my own path to salvation by imitating Jesus. Jesus is the means to salvation, however, there is much that Jesus spoke of that, if follow, makes for a more fulfilling life. Universal truths like loving thy neighbor, etc, stuff that most religions of this world have in common. This is the stuff of the kingdom of God, universal truths that help us different humans beings get along.
You said “Humans can’t be rehabilitated or reformed we must be fundamentally changed in the core of our being.”
This I have an issue with, you make it sound like once Jesus has changed a person in the core then the world would be a better place. All it takes is for Jesus to change everyone and we will have the kingdom of God on this earth.(the Calvinistic idea of it is not us its Him). I have found in my walk that usually the people that really consider themselves “born again”, “saved” whatever, whether they are Armenian or Calvinistic are the most awful people to be around, this includes myself a few years back. I got to the point that I couldn’t stand myself and the way that I felt about other people. I have changed quite a bit in a few years but I have to tell you, letting go of that idea and embracing the mystery of God and the absolute truths of god has made a great deal of impact on my life. What change? My perspective of God, god didn’t it was just my understanding of him. I don’t have to always be right because my text says it is, many times Jesus railed against those who were right and embraced those who were inquisitive.
You said: He came to fundamentally change our natures so that they become “new” in every sense of that word
My response: I agree but i differ with you on how that is done, I think the church has failed in trimming Jesus down to this or that doctrine and has made the same mistake that the Pharisees did in the time of Jesus. We have put God in a box and created pat answer for everything that the “world” takes issue with. We criticize a great story like the Christmas carol of a person who realizes that his actions impact more than just himself and that if he changes he can help the lives of many people. In this day of unfettered greed on Wall Street and Washington there are a few hedge fund managers and politicians that could use a scrooge experience.
Ray,
Thanks for pointing me to Mark Roberts’ posts on A Christmas Carol. I have read each of them and think this one paragraph of his summarizes my issues with A Christmas Carol:
“According to both Dickens and the evangelicals, human transformation comes as a result of grace, grace that is communicated through a supernatural agent. Of course in the Christian case grace comes from God, not a human ghost, and is delivered through the Holy Spirit, not the spirit of a dead colleague. Jacob Marley doesn’t appear in Scripture when I last checked. So when it comes to theology, A Christmas Carol isn’t especially Christian. But Dickens’s understanding of human nature is surprisingly similar to the Christian perspective in some ways. We change in response to grace, with the help of a supernatural spirit.”
I find it disturbing that a theologian of Dr. Roberts’ stature would conclude that Dickens’s “understanding of human nature is surprisingly similar to the Christian perspective in some ways.” Honestly I cannot see where Dickens’s understanding of human nature is biblical in ANY way.
Dickens believed that human nature is what it is because of the environment we were born into, that Scrooge was Scrooge because of the hard childhood he experienced (as Dr. Roberts accurately portrays in his posts). The word of God, on the other hand, says that we are what we are “by nature” (Ephesians 2), that our environment does not shape us as much as our sinful natures shape our environment.
Dickens believed that if you could change a man’s environment you could change him. The Bible takes the opposite view: change a man’s nature and you change his environment.
Further, to make a comparison between the grace Scrooge received from Marly with the grace God has provided for us in Christ seems to me to be quite a leap.
Jeff,
You ask, “Why does Jesus have to be reduced to this? couldn’t he have come to this earth to “make us new” AND be an example of how humans should live charitable lives?”
It can’t be both for the simple reason that fallen humans have turned merely “following Jesus’ example” INTO salvation itself. Certainly Jesus WAS an example of how human beings ought to live. But it is impossible for fallen human beings to follow that example. Remember, Jesus was and is the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. We aren’t.
Humans can’t be rehabilitated or reformed, We must be fundamentally changed in the core of our being. That’s why Paul went to great lengths in the book of Romans, particularly chapters 5 and 6, to define our “union with Christ” in his death and resurrection. Fundamental change is a supernatural act of God, not merely a reform in our behavior.
That’s why I say Jesus didn’t come to rehabilitate humanity. He came to fundamentally change our natures so that they become “new” in every sense of that word. Not new in the sense of reformed or merely changed, but new in the sense of what used to be present is no longer present and something entirely different is in its place. That “something” is His own divine nature. This new man is created by a supernatural act of God producing faith in Him through His word, not through our human efforts to live better lives more in keeping with Christ’s example.
What was the primary motivation for Scrooge to change? Read his first encounter with Marley’s ghost for the answer: http://tinyurl.com/85osz.
What is it that Scrooge fears most? When he wakes up on Christmas morning, WHAT has changed him and WHY?
Chris,
A whole sermon on A Christmas Carol might not be warranted until you consider the worldview agenda behind it. Dickens was uncompromising in his belief in man’s capacity to save himself. He viewed the grave as man’s ultimate end, therefore he preached an alternative gospel of “eat, drink, and be merry.” These themes dominate A Christmas Carol.
The fact that this little book is as you say “popular fiction at its best – manipulative and heartwarming” is what makes it so dangerous. It presents a false gospel that claims a man can change himself. All he needs is enough information and the ability to tell the future.
It should be noted again that the outline I posted was expanded on in the actual audio version. I made it clear that I am not suggesting we ought to abandon holiday traditions and family celebrations. Rather, we need to redeem these things from the humanistic tendency to see them as an end in themselves, rather than as gifts from God and as reasons to give him glory. I think this is what is (intentionally) missing from Dickens’s “little Carol.”
Good thoughts, jeff.
I agree with Paul in that the new creation is of utmost importance–human beings can be charitable, kind and loving, but if they’re not saved by grace through faith (aka, a new creation), it doesn’t do them any good. So I see why the Gospel has to be paramount.
However, Justification is not the end-all-be-all, as I no doubt know Paul knows, but sometimes doesn’t stress enough. We are called to be sanctified and live as Christ lives, which is where parables like ‘A Christmas Carol’ would be so needed–not to show us salvation, which only the Gospel does, but to show us a reminder–even if it’s a shadow–of how Christ lived.
I wonder how many christians of today would have railed against Jesus for his words in Matt 5 and 6?
Regarding the following: “Jesus didn’t come into the world to be an example of how humans should live charitable lives. He came into the world, not to rehabilitate us or to reform us, but to make us new.”
Why does Jesus have to be reduced to this? couldn’t he have come to this earth to “make us new” AND be an example of how humans should live charitable lives?
Paul, you should interview Mark Roberts about Dickens and the Christmas Carol. While acknowledging that A Christmas Carol is not a Christian book per se, Roberts still finds many positive things for Christians in the story. Here is a link: Christmas According to Dickens
I doubt any Christians really read “A Christmas Carol” looking for a religious parable. There is a sense in which I wish we had two holidays to celebrate this time of year–the more solemn, holiday of Christmas that celebrates the birth of Christ in a right way and then a separate day to celebrate family and good deeds to fellow man.
While I agree that “A Christmas Carol” is probably one thing that has turned Christmas into more touchy-feely holiday than a religious holy day, I think it’s a bit overboard to preach an entire sermon against Dickens’ story. The story of Scrooge works because it’s popular fiction at its best–manipulative and heart-warming. It’s the story of a man who has lived miserly and alone and who learns that it is important to care for others, treat them fairly and celebrate with them. Surely we don’t disagree with that theme…even if it’s not the Gospel, it’s still a good theme to remember and I think Christians would be good to revise it in a way, keeping the story intact but then linking it with the Nativity Story (the actual story, not the wretched movie a few years back).
Can’t wait to hear what you think about National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation or A Christmas Story!
P.S.–Is the Muppet Christmas Carol still okay?
“… Charles Dickens values the example of Christ more than Christ himself…”
Excuse me, but is there an echo on this blog? While I’m sure it would be very difficult to find amongst the ghosts of postings past…I’m quite sure I have heard this sentiment before…
Signed,
A new creation, becoming un-conformed to this world…*: )