Wednesday, December 20, 2023

It is the 20th of December 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

It is not Monday, but it is only five more nights until Christmas, and we here at the Almanac will squeeze every last bit of Christmas fun and joy out of the holiday until the 25th. Others will take it to the 6th- fantastic. We will have a Christmas theme until next Monday. And the questions coming in are fantastic- keep sending them in. Yes, I have too many- but sometimes one question is asked many times, and so I am compelled to answer it. So- here we go again, this time with a question from Scott in Wantage, New Jersey. 

Wantage, a township, is home to the Space Farm and Zoo- which sounded wild until I read that it’s after a guy named Space- not actual space. Scott writes: 

 “Did Dickens intend for Scrooge to be always remembered as the nasty villain?  Or was Dickens enough of a Christian that he wanted Scrooge to be seen and remembered as the classic case of an example of possible redemption by Christ?"

Ok, Scott- I am a big fan of Dickens, and I’ve mentioned him on the show in the past- but I can’t pass this question up. Dickens invented the modern celebration of Christmas in the Anglo-speaking world. And it is his “A Christmas Carol” which has made him one of the most popular authors of all time. There are over 100 film adaptations, and I think you do well, Scott, to ask about the theme of repentance and redemption in it. It is not an explicitly Christian play, but the faith of Dickens- a moderate Anglican- was absolutely central to him and throughout his works. Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, both outspoken Christians, referred to him as a “great Christian author.” 

Hear G.K. Chesterton- the great theologian:

“If ever there was a message full of what modern people call true Christianity, the direct appeal to the common heart, a faith that was simple, a hope that was infinite, and a charity that was omnivorous, if ever there came among men what they call the Christianity of Christ, it was in the message of Dickens.”

There have been some who have downplayed the faith of Dickens- this seems like a modern whitewashing. Hear him in a letter to his children:

“Remember!—It is Christianity to do good, always—even to those who do evil to us. It is Christianity to love our neighbours as ourself, and to do to all men as we would have them do to us. It is Christianity to be gentle, merciful, and forgiving, and to keep those qualities quiet in our own heart, and never make a boast of them”

He compiled a modern harmony of the gospels, not for publication, but for his children. He was a man familiar with his own sin. His divorce and an affair seem to have haunted him just as his own stubbornness and foul moods could. He was not averse to writing semi-autobiographically. His “David Copperfield” mirrors his own life, and his anger at the penal system and knowledge of the law comes from his own experience.

If I might take something of an educated guess on who Ebenezer Scrooge is meant to be, it is Dickens himself. Scrooge “before” and Scrooge “after” are both in him. He is like the man of Romans 7. A Christmas Carol ends on the happiest of notes- Tiny Tim, who did NOT die a raise for Bob, and a reformed Ebenezer should tickle us, and all good news mirrors THE good news, but were Dickens to continue the story, we know too much about him to think it would simply be a fairytale from then on out. Scrooge promises to keep Christmas in his heart all year long, but human nature and a Christian perspective on it will require lifelong repentance. This might be bad news if it meant simply moral reform, but it is instead the invitation to come home again. If you haven’t read any other Dickens Christmas stories- check out The Chimes or The Haunted Man for similar themes- most certainly based on Dickens's own faith. Thanks, Scott, for this question and for supporting this show by sharing it with people, as you wrote. I get to keep making these because people keep listening, and the show keeps growing. So, thank you- and send your questions- Christmas or otherwise to danv@1517.org

The last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Mark 9.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.

11 And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

12 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 20th of December 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by who wonders why the “Ghost of Christmas Present” isn’t a wrapped box with a sheet over it… He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man whose favorite Scrooge is easy: Michael Caine in the Muppets’ Christmas Carol, the best version there is. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.