"Men's
courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, must
lead, but if the courses be departed from, the ends will change." ~ Ebenezer Scrooge
"But
if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and
keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall
surely live, he shall not die." ~ Ezekiel 18:21
"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." ~ Matthew 1:21
Late this evening, I will do as I have done consistently
since my children were small. After our traditional Christmas Eve supper
of fried oysters, ham, pumpkin pie, and apple cider, (Just a tad
“hard”) I will sit down with whoever will join me (Usually one or two of
my daughters) and watch one of the many screen adaptations of Charles
Dickens’ (1812-1870) literary classic, A Christmas Carol. The version I most often watch, and probably one of the most popular and best done, is the 1951 film, A Christmas Carol, starring Alastair Sims as Ebenezer Scrooge and Mervyn Jones as Bob Cratchit.
Christian purists may scoff at such an activity on this holiest of
Christian holidays but Dickens’ story of a hateful, selfish, old man’s
transformation into a joyful, generous old man offers a wonderful
opportunity to contemplate the transforming affect that the Incarnation
has had upon society. It is interesting to note that while Dickens would
not be considered a true follower of Christ by Biblical standards, it
is undeniable that the miraculous story of Christ’s birth made a
dramatic impact upon this prolific author.
Dickens’
classic Christmas story certainly espouses a Christian worldview. The
beginning of the Victorian period in Britain had seen a decline in the
celebration of Christmas. This was due to two factors. The lingering
Puritan influence of Oliver Cromwell’s rule had discouraged the
celebration of the holiday and the industrial revolution then gripping
England permitted little time for holiday festivities. But Dickens’
story, published in 1843, rekindled both Britain’s—as well as
America’s—desire to celebrate the holiday in grand fashion. And while
much of the story is not explicitly Christian, the novel does focus on
the Christian holiday and the biblical concepts of charity, repentance,
and forgiveness.
Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire (England) on February
7, 1812. He moved to London in 1822 where he would reside most of his
life. During Dickens’ formative years, Dickens’ father often brought the
family to the brink of economic disaster by his extravagance and poor
management of the family finances. For a time, young Dickens’ had to
leave school and work in a factory due to his father’s confinement to
debtor’s prison. This was an influential experience in Dickens’ life and
one sees his sensitivity to the underclass and what he considered the
oppressed all through his writings.
Another
powerful influence on Dickens was the Christ-centered revival that took
place in England during the 1830’s. The Christian activism that sprang
from this revival took root in Dickens’ political philosophy. At the
center of much of this reform movement was the Christian statesman
William Wilberforce, whose faith, hard work, and evangelical zeal
eventually led to the abolition of slavery in the British Isles (1833).
Wilberforce also led the efforts for prison reform and relief for the
poor. Much of Wilberforce’s work and thought would manifest itself
through Dickens’ characters and stories. While there is plenty of room
for critical analysis of Dickens’ works, as well as his theology
(Dickens attended an Anglican Church, but most would consider some of
his beliefs Unitarian), the classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his
miraculous transformation is filled with allusions to biblical
principles and Christian allegories. Though Dickens’ theology rejected
the need for Christ alone for salvation, he could not escape the
beautiful and unparalleled truths contained in the Incarnation. It is
evident from the story line in A Christmas Carol that Dickens was well versed in the Biblical principles and need for redemption.
First we see the utter depravity and selfishness of mankind expressed
in the character of Scrooge. Dickens’ description of Scrooge is vivid:
Oh!
But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind- stone, Scrooge! A
squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old
sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out
generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose,
shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin
lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime
was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his
own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the
dogdays; and didn't thaw it one degree at Christmas.
In
an opening scene in Dickens’ story, we see Scrooge’s nephew cheerily
enter the old miser’s counting-house and greet him with, “A merry
Christmas, uncle! God save you!”
“Bah, Humbug!” is Scrooge’s gruff reply.
A
few moments later two men enter Scrooge’s office soliciting funds for
“the least of these my brethren” or in the words of Dickens, the “Poor
and Destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time.” Scrooge denies
their request of benevolence and suggests it would be better if the poor
wretches die “and decrease the surplus population.” Scrooge aptly lives
up to Dickens’ description. His comment also reminds us that modern
American culture’s disdain for what it considers the weak and valueless
or, what the founder of Planned Parenthood and the architect of modern
birth control and abortion, Margaret Sanger, called “human waste,” is
nothing new.
We also see the persecution of the righteous in the character of Bob
Cratchit. A church going, hard working (If not very bright) father who
labors faithfully for Scrooge and whose only joy comes in the love of
his wife and children. Cratchit’s universally loved but crippled son,
Tiny Tim, exemplifies Christian contentment and charity in his prayer
request for Scrooge, “God bless us every one!” as his father proposes a
toast to the man who has just “sacked” him on Christmas Eve.
Scrooge’s
conscience is “awakened to righteousness” as he is visited on Christmas
Eve by four apparitions. First, the “ghost” of his dead business
partner, Jacob Marley and then, “the ghost of Christmas past, the ghost
of Christmas present, and the ghost of Christmas yet to come.” One can
see the workings of the Holy Spirit depicted by these visitors as one by
one they bring Scrooge face to face with his sins of greed and
selfishness.
Marley
bemoans the course he chose in life as he admonishes Scrooge:
“Business’ cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. ‘Mankind was my
business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy,
forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my
trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my
business!”
The allusion to Christian themes is obvious. In the end, Scrooge comes
to himself, repents of his selfish ways and makes restitution to his
fellow man. Dickens most certainly linked Scrooge’s transformation to
the new birth:
He
went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people
hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned
beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the
windows, and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had
never dreamed that any walk -- that anything -- could give him so much
happiness.
While
Ebenezer’s “conversion” was to human goodness rather than to Jesus
Christ, Dickens had to resort to Christian principles and metaphors to
make his point. Despite Dickens’ unorthodox beliefs, he could not escape
the impact of Christ’s birth—and neither can anyone else. While ironic
and sad, Dickens’ humanistic quest for redemption is an admission of his
need and illustrates what we so often see in our family, friends, and
acquaintances at this time of year—being drawn to the warmth and love of
Christ, but ultimately grasping at the false and deceptive humanistic
trappings of the Christmas season. Perhaps this Christmas God can use us
to show them that redemption can only be found in that One born in the
manger who ultimately died on the cross so that we could be saved from
our sins. Mankind is Christ’s business. Mankind should be ours.
