He is a ghost, not a musician, old Jacob Marley, but his message, though less prominent on Google is more important to our times. Jacob Marley confronts a materialist comforted by his materialism. Scrooge lives in little world, one where death ends everything. Nobody is keeping score and so if Scrooge believes he is winner, then he wins. Marley finds him hard to convince, as even his senses will not break his materialist fantasy. Ebenezer Scrooge cannot afford Jacob Marley,... Read more
Recently, I have been asked why I do not just admit my “views” on any number of sexual issues are doomed. My short response is that morality always seems doomed, but prevails. Fortunately, “my” views are not based on my preference, desires, or convenience. When discussing the slavery issue, Abraham Lincoln argued that the heart of the issue was morality. Defenders of slavery believed it to be moral and opponents immoral. One view or the other must prevail. Slavery could... Read more
The Christmas classic Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer invents an Island of Misfit Toys. These rejects garner sympathy and eventually Rudolph prevails on Santa to give them to children. This was cruel of Rudolph. The “misfit” toys are in toy classes: some are just different, but others are broken. A “jelly squirt gun” might be clever, but a train with square wheels is going to be disappointing. If Rudolph were kind, he would have the Elves whittle down the wheels of the square-wheeled... Read more
Dickens made me love the biffen so much I named a cat after the apple. His description of a grocer still makes me happy and has changed how I view my own grocery store: sometimes I just marvel at it. One virtue of Christmas Carol is how normal the vices and virtues in it are. Many of us don’t feel too wicked, because we are unlikely to be Hitler or to destroy Alderaan. Instead, we are just average and average means... Read more
I like giving gifts and I like receiving them. This must be understood or nothing wonderful can come of this post. Film versions add them, but gifts are not central to A Christmas Carol . . . feasting is. Mr. Scrooge gives turkey, a bowl of punch, and the pleasure of his company . . . and charity for the poor. Movie versions add it, but since Dickens helped “invent” Christmas one wonders about “gift giving.” The Magi gave the Christ... Read more
What to avoid feeling like Scrooge? Recall all the tax money you paying to help the poor and you will feel generous, but be Scrooge. Why? When confronted with the demand for charity, Ebenezer Scrooge points out that his tax money goes to maintain government programs for the poor. Dickens was so successful in showing the horrors of these workhouses and “poor laws” that we sometimes forget the good motives behind them. Good people wanted to help the poor, to... Read more
Your favorite television show must do an episode based on it. It will not be good. There are numerous movie versions of it: the one with the Muppets is best. And then there is the short story that started it all: A Christmas Carol. I have read it more times than I can count, because it is very good. One read is for the plot, every read thereafter is a lesson is English, history, and theology. What more can you want?... Read more
When confronted with a life story to make an argument it helps if the life is longer than twenty-nine years. I was asked to think about the “testimony” of the Christian life . . . one that I generally found uplifting and good, but had to respond that I thought it better to wait until the man was older than twenty-nine. I did not despise his youth, I just wanted to account for it! A good of technology is that... Read more
Moans about the election from the conservative community are understandable. Losing stings, but for me the time for sorrow must end. Why? It is distinctly against the conservative grain to care that much about government. My church is flourishing, my family has needs, and my University has aggressive plans for the future. They all need my full attention and for now my representatives do not. We are republic, because we elect people to go and muddle through for us when... Read more
May the just warriors be happy today and may the saints amongst the soldiers rejoice in the Kingdom of God. Jesus often used “hard sayings” to stir his audience. Two thousand years after his life we sometimes do not hear his hard sayings, because we have “over-learned” the lesson. When Jesus said it was hard for the rich to be saved, he was speaking in a culture that thought virtue and wealth always went together. They do not, but neither... Read more
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