Name: Thrive! NCHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-05-22T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-24T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Tagged: A Christmas Carol, Christian perspective, Dickens

This topic has 12 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 5 months ago by Sue.

Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)

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October 29, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Sue
Participant
It’s been awhile since I’ve completely read Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” I do recall that there is a lot in the book that could be a springboard for discussions of the Christian life, but I’m wondering about others’ opinion of the content from a Biblical and/or Christian perspective.
I love reading everyone’s point of view on spiritual matters and character development! Any takers?
Thanks,
Sue M.
October 30, 2010 at 12:15 am
Rachel White
Participant
This is a tough one that I have struggled with myself. My children are youngish-9 and 10, so they’re not at the point when they would read it. I know Dickens was a Christian and I’ve always found the story such a valuable one, but I struggle with the “ghost” presence (no pun intended) that is obviously the main part of the storyline, though not the clear moral message which is good and clear and definitley mirrored Dicken’s time, if that makes sense.
I teach that G-d doesn’t send ‘ghosts’ in the form of dead people coming back to deliver a “message”; G-d’s messengers are His Angels. I tell my children not to tell ghost stories. I guess one could make the argument that G-d sent the 2nd and 3rd spirits/angels as messengers to teach Scrooge, as I believe they weren’t previously dead people and Scrooge didn’t perform any conjuring or perform divination for future info., to bring them to himself, which is forbidden. The only allowed form of divination was in the Hebrew Scriptures when done by the Priests inside the Temple to obtain G-d’s decision on important questions on which human judgement was considered inadequate; such as administering justice, military actions and the choice of leaders, etc.
Any paranormal experiences people have (and I do believe they have them and they exist) are not from G-d, but demonic, no matter how ‘benevolent’ the spirit may seem that’s been ‘left behind’ for whatever reason. Lastly, necromany is forbidden; again, however, Scrooge didn’t call upon the dead Marley either (is that the right name? been a long time for me). He showed up carrying the chains of the sins of his earthly past. So Dickens didn’t show the concept of Salvation and forgiveness of sin in Marley’s life, as he was doomed in his ‘post-mortem’ life, which of course isn’t exactly the Biblical example, but sends a clear message of a ‘judgement’ that is received in the end for those who do not except Messiah and follow His Commands.
All books don’t have to line up with Biblical “doctrine” exactly to be read here (such as LOTR, most fairy/folk tales and Greek/Roman mythology at apporpriate age levels and in appropriate amounts. as well as writings from the thinkers of the past who were pagans, such as Plato, etc). I don’t clump A Christmas Carol into the occultic genre at all, as I do Harry Potter and others or post-modern thinking books (HP inc. here, too), gruesome and morbid horror glorifying books, which are strictly off limits. In Dicken’s time, the average person, even in England still, was raised up as a G-d-fearing person with that worldview and G-d was present in the culture, His morality being the absolute compass, whereas now that’s not the case at all. Our world has a completely different worldview in it’s culture and all is relativistic and the occult is mainstream. Such was not the case in Dicken’s time. I think he was probably continuing in a certain literary tradition; I don’t know. I’m sure others have examples of such a literary model in other works that I can’t think of right now. I know Dickens wrote a series of other “Christmas-time Fables” that follow a similar concept, with goblins and ghosts; which I really wouldn’t want my children to get drawn into, to be honest. Just because the storyteller is marvellous in his gift, doesn’t mean the content should be consumed by us.But I haven’t read all the others, yet.Sorry to ramble; I was sort of thinking and writing as I went; not meaning to go on so long. I don’t think I’ve contributed much to the topic as I was “typing aloud”. I hope others will chime in; I don’t think this discussion has been brought up before here and I’ve been a part of this forum from the beginning, so thanks for bringing it up.
Rachel
November 1, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Sue
Participant
Bump….just curious, everyone!
November 2, 2010 at 10:04 am
labellavita
Participant
Sue ~ I’m of the mindset that this book, along w/ myriads of others, truly do not matter in a child’s education, they only matter if YOU and your DH deem they matter, via the Word of God.
His Word is our guide, we are to meditate on day and night. I don’t do that like I want to, so I just don’t have the brain cells to devote to distractions, IYKWIM, first things first. If I have to spend so many brain cells to figure out if a book is valuable to my family, then its probably not. God is pretty clear about what is holy and what is not.
Scripture tells us that God’s commands are not burdensome, and if we are feeling burdened, twisted all up inside, etc, trying to figure this out, I believe its because we have the ideas of man competing with the Word of God.
Something is bothering you about this book, so my suggestion to you would be to shelve it, don’t pursue it right now, pray about it, and also, read your bible, see His heart, see what the Word says, not what men are telling you it says. Is it a right fit for someone trying to use the bible as a guide for their life? Not all books that are popular, or are considered “classics” are. Is it a good fit for your child? Not all books that are popular, or are considered “classics” are…
I just don’t bend my knee to what others think much anymore. 😉
Oh, here is a snippet of something that happened to me and the conversation that I had w/ my Messianic rabbi that I’ll share with you:
As I was digging into my Bible I discovered many things that G-d says are an abomination, things that unfortunately are very popular in children’s books. It also dawned on me how much our culture elevates various Greek and Roman authors, and seek them for wisdom instead of going to God’s Word… so I had all these questions formulating in my head. I had all these “quality” literature booklists from various homeschool curriculums, there were so many books on these lists that I had concerns about, if they truly fit the biblical model that God had laid out before us. So I talked to my rabbi.
This is what he said, and I’ll never forget it: “too often people try to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They try to eat just the good, but you can’t do that, along with the good also comes the evil.”
That really struck me.
I don’t want to walk through my life with the mindset, “did God really say…”
That is what opened doors that Eve couldn’t close.
So, my advice to you is if you want to use the bible as a benchmark with which to guide what books your children read, then use it. With no qualms. This doesn’t have to be an intellectual exercise of trying to validate your position, to me its very, very simple. God said. I trust that He knows better than I do, so I follow and obey. He’s never let me down.
I’ve released myself from worrying about so many books. I feel much more peace since I’m not so wrapped up in chasing after the wisdom of the world. I LOVE books and would own gazillions more if we just had the $ and space , but honestly, I just don’t worry about books like I used to. If they are not of the quality I want for my children, we don’t read them. Like I said, if you are conflicted about this book, I say shelve it until you have clear understanding, and aren’t just pursuing it because everybody else is. I really try to not ignore the red flags within me, it has often been real discernment.Remember, your children will NOT be uneducated just because they don’t read x book. What is “educated” anyway? This, from a former classical ed’er who has changed her tune. I’ve been there, I’ve done the soul-searching, and have found my place of rest.
Be blessed, read His word, pray for His discernment.
Ginnie
November 2, 2010 at 6:00 pm
quietwatersmommy
Member
Ginnie- what a beautiful well said post!
I have come to this same point myself…if there’s that much angst about a book, it’s not worth it, even if EVERYONE else is considering it a “must read classic”

Nanci
November 2, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Sue
Participant
I appreciate everyone’s comments. However, I haven’t been agonizing or struggling over whether to read the book; I simply was giving it some consideration–and not to add to our curriculum (we certainly have plenty of wonderful, godly books in our literature plans), but just as a holiday read-aloud. Also, it wouldn’t be the centerpiece of any Christmas literature, just one of a few….or several, time permitting. I plan to take a break from our scheduled Bible studies to focus on the prophecies concerning Christ’s birth and the gospel accounts of the same.
My question was more along the lines of, it’s been a long time since I’ve read the book and I don’t know if I have enough time to zip through it before the holiday activities kick in! There are teachable themes in the book, but I don’t really need to use this book to teach my kids about spirits–they’ve learned plenty about them from our Bible studies!
Sue
November 2, 2010 at 6:37 pm
labellavita
Participant
Nanci
Sue, EXACTLY! The bible has really all you will ever need to teach your children about things that are holy and are unclean, and it is the Word of God, not the interpretations of men (yes, I’m big on that, so many things I thought were true, like the ancient Israelites worshipping the golden calf are in fact FALSE, they weren’t worshipping the calf, they were worshipping God with the calf). So that is why I come from the perspective that I do. And that is exactly what I don’t worry about getting in all these books considered “classics” to teach my children character and wisdom. God already has it covered. If you don’t have time and that is your main concern, then I wouldn’t worry about it. I just thought by your question you were looking at it more from the angle of “is it appropriate” biblically and in teaching character.
Be blessed,
Ginnie
November 21, 2010 at 4:14 am
Sue
Participant
I thought I would let all of you who kindly replied to my original post know what decision I arrived at regarding “A Christmas Carol.” I have decided not to read it this year, and I will likely leave it to my children to choose whether to read it once they are much older. (Right now, they are 12, 11, and 10.)
I picked up a copy at the library, intending to borrow it for pre-reading, and I stood paging through the first chapter or so. I simply felt that I did not want to spend the rapidly-moving Christmas season on much other than perhaps a work of fiction that directly mentions or describes the events surrounding the Savior’s birth.
So, the Christmas carols in our house this year will be the melodious variety! Thanks to all for your kind, thoughtful replies.
Blessings,
Sue
November 21, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Sanveann
Member
What’s interesting to me is that this book was written in — and much loved in — a time where God’s word was considered much more important than it is by mainstream society today. Honestly, it’s hard to think of a more conservative society than Victorian-era England, where no one batted an eye at the book.
Of course, everyone has to use his or her own conscience in choosing books 🙂 But I do think that this emphasis on avoiding ANYTHING that mentions ghosts, witches, fairies, etc. is a very modern phenomenon and not one practiced by our Christian ancestors.
November 21, 2010 at 11:19 pm
Rachel White
Participant
From my perspective, as I stated above in my last paragraph, I treat each book individually in regard to the presentation of fairies, witches, and Roman/Greek thinkers of the past in deciding what to read or promote reading by my children. I don’t avoid all and I don’t accept all either; we’re reading Peter Pan and Stories of Plato right now, for example. But I have family members who have been drawn into paganism and away from believing G-d’s Word as Authority and G-d’s Design of Salvation by fantasy and science fiction, so, besides what Scripture lays out, my own personal experience lends itself to using strong discernment in this area.
However, objectively speaking and not trying to be argumentative, according to the history laid out in Scripture and many historical religious adherents in the centuries that followed after the Biblical canon was set, it is an inaccurate statement that the avoidance of the things you outlined is a modern phenomenon. Many denominations of Judeo-Christianity avoided practicing everything from Christmas (which wasn’t a National holiday until after the Civil War) and Halloween/Samhain to literature and other religious celebrations that they considered to contradict Scriptural teachings against superstition, witchcraft and paganism. One quick example is when “The Wizard of Oz” came out over a century ago, there were religious groups who spoke concerns about it.
You are correct at the “conservative” nature of the Era in which Dickens’ Christmas Fables were written. However, excepting the “radicals” calling for change, the Victorian-Era also didn’t bat an eye at relational, animal and societal abuses that G-d’s Word is explicitly against. So their acceptance of “A Christmas Carol” is no indication of it being reconciled to G-d’s Word, IMO.
That’s my 2 cents (don’t know if it’s worth that much, though),
Rachel
November 21, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Sanveann
Member
Oh, I’m certainly not implying that just because Victorians gave something the thumbs-up is not a reason to automatically say, “Well, it must be fine”! By that marker, child labor would still be fine and dandy. I do, however, think that where literature was concerned, sensibilities were much more refined (generally speaking) in that day and age, both as to value and as to religious content.
But I do think that in the past, the reservations about stories involving witches and the like seem to have been far lesser. For example, many of Shakespeare’s stories have ghosts or witches in them, and of course MANY (if not almost all) fairy tales have elements of the supernatural, as do Arthurian legends. There were, without a doubt, groups that shunned these works, but the fact that they’ve all survived and become classics certainly seems to signal that those groups were in the minority.
I’m not saying that we should blindly accept all stories that are considered classics — not by any means — just pointing out that some of these stories have been read and loved by Christians for centuries, and I think that’s worth reflecting on 🙂
November 23, 2010 at 1:18 am
Rachel White
Participant
Sue,
I sent you a PM; it’s not showing up on my screen that it exists, so I thought I’d post this to let you know.
Rachel
November 23, 2010 at 4:47 am
Sue
Participant
Yes, I did try to read it and all I see are blank boxes in all of my PM’s. (Well, there are only actually two….I’m not one of the popular kids in class….kind of shy, rather the bookworm type…..hey, that’s rather CM, don’t you think–being a bookworm?)
I posted to the techie part of the forum to see if they can be made visible again. I am awaiting your message patiently!
Sue