In many homes across the country, it’s not Christmas without sitting down to watch an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. But according to Hillsdale College professor of English Dwight Lindley, many of the film versions fail to relay the full, rich message Dickens sought to portray in the 1843 novel. 

A Christmas Carol is “actually about the incarnation of Christ,” Lindley says. Dickens, according to Lindley, takes Scrooge on a journey of becoming more childlike so that he can come to a place “where he can meet God.” 

The story intends to call to mind the biblical passage in Mark 9 that says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me, but the one who sent me.” 

Lindley explains that the invitation in the novel is for Scrooge to receive Tiny Tim, and in so doing, receive Christ. 

Lindley joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the history of why Dickens wrote the novel, and the rich biblical themes woven through “A Christmas Carol.”

Listen to the podcast below: 

Virginia Allen is a senior news producer and podcast host for The Daily Signal. She is the co-host of “The Daily Signal Podcast” and “Problematic Women.”