Posted on 12/25/2020 12:43:21 PM PST by imardmd1
Published 173 years ago this month, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was an instant bestseller, followed by countless print, stage and screen productions. Victorians called it “a new gospel,” and reading or watching it became a sacred ritual for many, without which the Christmas season cannot materialize.
But A Christmas Carol’s seemingly timeless transcendence hides the fact that it was very much the product of a particular moment in history, its author meaning to weigh in on specific issues of the day.
. . .
What he wrote was that employers are responsible for the well-being of their employees. Their workers are not of value only to the extent to which they contribute to a product for the cheapest possible labor cost. They are of value as “fellow-passengers to the grave,” in the words of Scrooge’s nephew, “and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” Employers owe their employees as human beings—no better, but no worse, than themselves.
And, yes, that might mean “a prize Turkey” at Christmas. (Dickens could not resist a description of food in sensuous detail.) But the real salvation that Scrooge gives to the Cratchit family is a raise.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
"A Christmas Carol" contemplates a changing of one's heart, of one's attitude toward his fellowman, a gospel of "turning over the leaf" as to behavior, which is not Jesus Christ's gospel.
Dickens' story is a social gospel, a meritorious one, but one that does not feature the saving of one's soul by the recognition of one's total depravity, with the only healing possible being the application of the shed Blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary to wash away one's sin and sinfulness through a birth in the Spirit, the creation of a new spiritual man inside the old human husk.
That is the true Christmas Carol, not the one of Dickens. Despite his change of heart, Scrooge's heart is still depraved and unsaved in this poor excuse for a compassionate reaction to a lost and dying world.
ping
“Dickens’ story is a social gospel, a meritorious one,”
I am not sure any form of the social gospel is a meritorious one. They want to replace Christ. They don’t like the the rest of his message. Think of Google, Facebook, and Twitter looking out for your interests.
Most of his works sought to chronicle the monstrous times he lived in ......unrelenting poverty,
hunger, injustices, rife with child labor, workhouses for the poor, and other indignities.
Dickens was successful at getting the changes he sought.
It is actually a horror story.
Read it and pretend you don’t know the ending. It changes how you view the story. It is actually quite a profound bit of writing.
There’s an ongoing play in Minneapolis called the “Gospel According to Scrooge.”
It’s put on by a church. It follows the story almost the same, but at the end he “repents of his sins and accepts Christ.”
Dickens dumped his wife and kids for a younger woman. He was a dickhead.
dickens was a fairly tortured soul. there’s a universe of interesting research out there about what moved his pen.
There is probably nothing in the play about fornication, deviant sex, abortion, staying married, or if you don’t work you don’t eat.
Total depravity is Calvinist non-sense.
And a narcissist it seems. He can write about the plight of others and bring attention towards himself while ignoring his own injustices towards his wife and kids.
it’s actually worse than that; He was a noted radical social reformer of his day — while he was banging a girl half his age and denying his wife her proper social position (which was worse than death for a victorian lady of any prominence)
he took care of his children, though.
Thanks to capitalism, by this time, England and the US had been able to escape the Malthusian trap, and were able to both expand the the population and increase average wage rates for the first time in history. It was the beginning of objective increases in prosperity for the masses.
I know the social-gospelites calling themselves “Christians” want to do some meritorious things, and have often bettered the lot of many of their fellow worldlings, but it is not clear to me that any of them are regenerated except in the earliest stages of rebirth, before any progressive sanctifying has taken place. At best, they seem to be “carnal” “Christians,” not born-in-the-spirit servants and Friends of the Savior (1 Cor. 3:1-3).
Yes, it is. "Go, and sin no more." (John 8:11)
Ironic that this story is titled ‘A Christmas Carol’. Carol? As you point out, it is about social justice, as if works saved Scrooge’s soul. (I wonder, is social justice to be the heart of Chrislam’s appeal for those left here after the Redeemed are evacuated?)
“’A Christmas Carol’ contemplates a changing of one’s heart, of one’s attitude toward his fellowman, a gospel of ‘turning over the leaf’ as to behavior, which is not Jesus Christ’s gospel.”
If you put any two Christians in a room, they will vehemently disagree about something trivial but which they both consider to be extremely important if not completely essential to the truth.
Even churches that are supposedly united by a mutually agreed upon set of doctrines will split over issues such as which way the toilet paper in the bathroom should rolled. (Everyone knows it should be top to bottom. And anyone who disagrees is a heretic.)
Dickens also wrote Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickleby, and many more. Dickens was a talented writer, and none of his public works were religious treaties. He did write “The Life of Our Lord” which was intended only for his own family to learn about Christ.
Perhaps you are correct in arguing against Dickens’ views of the Gospel, but there is a fine balance between the Biblical admonition against false gospels and redeeming the culture.
Galatians 1:8 (NKJV)
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
But what does this mean? Is everything the Gospel? Should we advocate for banning all celebrations of Jesus that do not conform with our personal doctrinal views?
What did Paul (who wrote the above passage) do when contenting with false religious views? He used them as a bridge to proclaim the truth. See Acts 17.
We live in an era where few even know what Christmas is all about. Many would even ban Christmas altogether for various reasons. Most of them are due to opposition to Jesus.
A Christmas Carol is an entertaining FICTIONAL story that is mostly about the vivid dreams of a guilty old miser who becomes awakened to his moral failures by these dreams. Such as story could be a springboard to sharing Christ with irreligious folks who now make up the bulk of society.
Before Jesus saved the world by His death and resurrection, He first won the hearts of the multitudes around Him by befriending them and meeting their practical needs for healing and deliverance from oppression. It would serve Christians who want to fulfill the duty of the Great Commission by preaching the Gospel to first make friends with the people they hope to reach and demonstrate the love of Christ in what ways they are able.
That is the true Christmas Carol, not the one of Dickens. Despite his change of heart, Scrooge's heart is still depraved and unsaved in this poor excuse for a compassionate reaction to a lost and dying world.
Well, it is a compassionate reaction in a world that often doesn't react compassionately.
Dickens' story is a social gospel, a meritorious one, but one that does not feature the saving of one's soul by the recognition of one's total depravity, with the only healing possible being the application of the shed Blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary to wash away one's sin and sinfulness through a birth in the Spirit, the creation of a new spiritual man inside the old human husk.
Is that Jesus, or St. Paul or Luther or Calvin?
The Corporal Works of Mercy
Feed the hungry
Give Drink to the thirsty
Shelter the homeless
visit the sick
visit the prisoners
bury the dead
give alms to the poor
But these are personal acts, or acts of the Church
Releasing responsibility for these acts to “Caesar” is barren of
Love, Kindness, Caring, Mercy, Gratitude, and Humility
“Social Justice” leads to empty, barren acts, bereft of Love, and ignore...
Seven spiritual works of mercy
To instruct the ignorant. This work of mercy means all of us are called to share and teach the faith passed on to us. ...
To counsel the doubtful. ...
To admonish the sinner. ...
To bear wrongs patiently. ...
To forgive offenses willingly. ...
To comfort the afflicted. ...
To pray for the living and the dead.
dickens was very attracted to the idea of religion, but had no specific religious beliefs himself. if you find strong christian convictions in dicken’s works, it was either an accident or a marketing effort.
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