As a serious expression of Dickens’s religious thought, TLOL plays a central role in helping us to understand the larger body of his work. I do not mean by that, of course, that it is somehow an esoteric key without which the meaning of Dickens’s novels is impenetra- ble. Rather, I mean that TLOL acts as an index of sorts, a reference point, that provides a clarifying voice with regard to the nature and substance of the Christian character of Dick- ens’s own religious thought and emergent worldview. As such, TLOL can help us to see in his novels a unity and coherence in what is often perceived as disparate fragments of a rather inconsistent Christian worldview. When TLOL is allowed to illuminate the novels, a rather reasoned and coherent worldview is revealed.
It seems natural that this should be so. As a narrative of the life of Jesus, TLOL pre- sents a statement of the ideology that defines and undergirds Dickens’s Christian worldview.
An Easy Account of the New Testament • 23 In TLOL, Dickens has afforded us a unique opportunity to observe with relative transpar- ency the elements that compose that worldview and the way in which they cohere. If we al- low TLOL to lead us into Dickens’s novels to clarify and act as an arbiter, we can begin to see a consistent worldview emerging from the narrative worlds of his novels. TLOL becomes the means, then, by which we can see in his novels the parts of Dickens’s religious thought become a consistent whole. In this way, TLOL is not only a definitive source, but it also be- comes a bridge to a fuller understanding of Dickens’s Christian worldview.
An outline of the worldview that emerges from TLOL will prove a useful tool in helping to demonstrate how TLOL, as an index or a reference point, can be used to bring clarity to aspects of Dickens’s work that are typically seen as inconsistent, ambiguous, and, at times, contradictory. The following outline will identify the six fundamental elements that represent that worldview.
In the first place, implicit in TLOL is God, the heavenly Father, who providentially looks to the affairs of the lives of men and women, who has established a moral world of right and wrong, and who holds men and women morally accountable to Himself and His established moral standard. Second, in such a moral world of right and wrong, inasmuch as men and women are moral beings, it is incumbent upon them to do what is right. Moreo- ver, they are to do the right not simply because doing so brings the reward of heaven after death, but more importantly because doing what is right is an end in itself. Third, in such a moral world, men and women sometimes do wrong, some only on occasion, others as a per- sistent habit of life. Those who would desire to be rid of the guilt and consequences of this wrongdoing, or sin, must seek the forgiveness of God and, whenever it is applicable, the for- giveness of the person wronged. Judgment awaits those who obstinately refuse to seek for- giveness and otherwise violate the standards of good and right in God’s moral world.
An Easy Account of the New Testament • 24 Fourth, inasmuch as men and women are accountable to God and His moral standard, they have in Jesus the exemplar through whom they observe how to discharge their moral respon- sibility and to do the right. Not only are they to seek to be guided by the teaching of Jesus, but also more importantly, they are to imitate Him in his moral and relational example.
A fifth element specifically relates to Jesus as a relational example. Jesus is the pattern for the basic attitudes and behavior of human beings toward one another. One of Jesus’ out- standing character traits in TLOL is his concern for and attendance upon the needs of his fellows. As such, he is the exemplar of how human beings are to act toward one another. They should be humble, unassuming, and ready to lend a hand; the true mark of duty and loyalty to God is the degree to which human beings fulfill their duty toward their fellow creatures.
The sixth element in the worldview of TLOL concerns the supernatural and the spiritual. God’s world is a locus of supernatural events and influence. Healings are per- formed, evil spirits are cast out, the dead are raised, and other miraculous events occur. More pointedly, Jesus effects the salvation of humanity by dying on the Cross, is raised from the dead in order to sit at God’s right hand, beseeching His pardon for sinners, and ulti- mately will return to judge the world.
Such a worldview, represented as it is in TLOL, captures the character of Dickens’s religious thought and is that which undergirds Dickens’s conception of the life of faith. And if we continue to bear in mind that, 1) TLOL was written expressly to instruct; 2) that it was written with serious intent and was expected to be taken seriously by his audience; and, most importantly, 3) that it was intended to articulate the basis of what Dickens believed to be a Christian worldview and the heart of the life of faith, we can begin to appreciate its value as a point of reference for a clearer understanding of the expression of Dickens’s
An Easy Account of the New Testament • 25 Christian thought in his other work. More precisely, we can better see how TLOL may il- luminate the novels and be arbiter in terms of bringing clarity to and revealing consistency in the Christian thought expressed in them. A few examples will serve to illustrate.
We might consider first, for instance, the question of judgment in Dickens, particu- larly judgment upon perpetrators of evil and wrong.28 On the one hand, it is assumed or
implied by some that an eschatological judgment in which, after death, men and women stand before God and are judged according to their deeds played no part in Dickens’s worldview. Michael Piret argues that, “He [Dickens] was more inclined to think of judge- ment in temporal terms, even as an inward matter” (127). He points to the fates of Bill Sikes and Jonas Chuzzlewit as specific examples of those whose judgment and punishment were purely temporal, sometimes even psychological. We could certainly add to his list the likes of James Carker, Rigaud and Quilp. Thus, for Piret, and others like him, Dickens’s view of judgment is “earth-bound” and “temporal” with any “otherworldly dimension” eliminated (129-30).
On the other hand, we are confronted, both in A Tale of Two Cities (331, 344) and
Barnaby Rudge (145, 339), for example, with the notion of an eschatological Day of Judg- ment in which men and women are called to account for their actions. Such references as these would seem to stand in tension with the view represented by Piret above. Employing the general principle, then, that the more “difficult” reading may be determinative, it would seem reasonable to assume that the more extreme scenario, i.e., an eschatological Day of Judgment, would represent Dickens’s thought. The matter seems to become more precisely settled, however, when TLOL is appealed to as a reference point. For, in TLOL, we find
28 I will deal in some detail with Dickens understanding of Judgment and Evil below. Here, I simply mean to use this example to help establish the centrality of TLOL.
An Easy Account of the New Testament • 26 clear reference not only to an eschatological Day of Judgment when Jesus will return to judge the world (122), but also to a warning of sure judgment and punishment in the after- life awaiting those who lack generosity and compassion for the poor (74).29 In both in-
stances, there is clearly a recognition of eschatological judgment, the former which emphasizes Jesus as eschatological judge and the latter which points to past deeds as the basis upon which judgment is passed. Thus, TLOL presents in two distinct narrative episodes theologically nuanced material that brings needed commentary to bear, in this case, on the question of judgment and the apparent contradictions in Dickens’s view of judgment.
Here, TLOL has brought clarity to seemingly conflicting voices, and it has done so by doing two things. First, it has functioned as arbiter, providing through its established doctrinal standard the resolution of apparent theological discrepancies. TLOL supplies a ref- erence point here, and, as an expression of Dickens theological thought, allows the recon- ciliation of two apparently inconsonant views. Second, and importantly, TLOL allows us to gain greater clarity regarding Dickens’s understanding of judgment by broadening the cate- gories of our thinking to accommodate Dickens’s considerations of various facets of the dy- namics and workings of God’s judgment. From one perspective, evil is dealt with temporally; from another, ultimate judgment is yet to come. Sometimes in Dickens, judg- ment comes in a temporal or even psychological manifestation (narratively, more often than not, for the sake of closure for the reader), and it is accurate to reckon it so; but such in- stances by no means preclude a judgment beyond the temporal. So, it is not uncommon to see in Dickens references to an eschatological Day of Judgment. God, who has established moral accountability, will have the last word, to be sure.
29 Piret unconvincingly dismisses both of these citations in TLOL, the first as “hasty and unexplained” (119) and the second only as a “dramatic location for the socially edifying tale of Lazarus and the rich man”(117). I discuss both of these passages in more detail below.
An Easy Account of the New Testament • 27 A second example of TLOL’s clarifying function deals with Dickens’s understanding of sin and forgiveness. It is sometimes alleged that Dickens had no real concept of or frame- work for personal sin. House has remarked that, in Dickens, “wickedness is not regarded as an offence against a personal God” (All in Due Time 183-4). Yet, we do find in the novels what appear to be at least intimations of personal sin and the need of forgiveness from God, whether at the deathbed or just in the course of daily life. When Harriet Carker reads “the blessed history” to Alice Marwood, the words “fallen,” “shame,” and “error” (DS 871) couched in the larger description leave the impression that more than crimes are addressed here. Similarly, the nocturnal rendezvous between David, Mr. Pegotty and Martha (DC
652) as well as the charged exchanges between Mary Rudge and her estranged husband (BR
109-10; 445-6) include dialogue suggestive of sin and forgiveness beyond just a temporal or human plane. Nevertheless, in most cases, it is left to the individual interpreter, and depends to a large degree on his or her own personal view of Dickens’s religious orientation, to de- cide just how to understand such language and dialogue.
If we again allow TLOL as a reference point, however, a clearer picture emerges. Sin, as articulated in TLOL, is a besetting obstacle that stands between a person and heaven (61). In TLOL, sin can refer to criminal activity, but it is not so limited. Sin can also include any general wrongdoing from hard-heartedness to lying to immorality, or it can be simply “not minding [one’s] duty towards God” (20-3; 69). In order to have the sin (and the obstacle) removed, forgiveness from God is necessary. As a deliberate and serious expression of Dick- ens’s Christian thought, TLOL is clear concerning sin and forgiveness in both implicit teaching and overt declaration.
If, in fact, Dickens conceived of sin and forgiveness in such terms as I have outlined here, it is quite likely that those occasions from the novels to which I have alluded above are
An Easy Account of the New Testament • 28 grounded in this conceptual framework. I am not suggesting, by any means, that Dickens has any intent here other than to tell his story. I am suggesting, however, that here we find one more example of the consistency of his Christian worldview brought to light by the theological insight provided by TLOL. The fundamental theology that emerges from TLOL
finds a consistent expression in the narrative worlds of his novels.
On a broader scale, it is TLOL that highlights the larger significance of the role of Dickens’s Christian worldview and of his understanding of the life of faith in his novels. So often, his overarching concern for the poor, for children, for inhumane social conditions, and his general concern for justice and right are seen often only as humanitarian compassion quite removed from any real Christian conviction. In other words, some would suggest that Christianity in Dickens is irrelevant. With or without it, nothing would really change. Nei- ther the presence nor absence of Christianity would change his narrative worlds or his worldview. However, seen in terms of the faith statement articulated in TLOL, the hu- manitarian compassion that so characterizes Dickens is a genuine compassion and a concern grounded firmly in and emerging from his understanding of the message of the Gospels and in the life and teaching of Jesus. Dickens’s words to Macrae are noteworthy in this regard:
With a deep sense of my great responsibility always upon me when I exercise my art, one of my most constant and most earnest endeavours has been to exhibit in all my good people some faint reflections of the teachings of our great Master, and unostentatiously to lead the reader up to those teachings as the great source of all moral goodness. All my strongest illustrations are derived from the New Testament; all my social abuses are shown as departures from its spirit […]. (127)
Here, Dickens was protesting against the view that his work, while treating hypoc- risy as it deserved, did not adequately represent genuine and heartfelt Christianity. In re- sponse, he tried to remind his critic of the orientation from which his work arose. In doing so, he revealed that important aspect of his writing to which I am seeking to draw attention: that it emerged from a consistent and substantial Christian worldview that he unapologeti-
An Easy Account of the New Testament • 29 cally embraced and which is deliberately outlined in TLOL. It is from this point of view, then, that his stories emerge and upon which his humanitarian compassion is based. Once more, TLOL plays an important role in providing a clearer understanding of Dickens’s faith in the larger body of his work.
In a similar fashion, his characters, some who seem a bit over-idealized at times, can be understood more readily through the lens of TLOL. Dickens believed that his good char- acters were in fact, representations of what a genuine Christian should be. In the letter to Macrae already cited, Dickens continued:
All my good people are humble, charitable, faithful, and forgiving. Over and over again, I claim them in express words as disciples of the Founder of our religion; but I must admit that to a man (or woman) they all arise and wash their faces, and do not appear unto men to fast (127).
TLOL, of course, articulated the precise details of that. So, we are not left wondering at the characterization of Esther Summerson or Amy Dorrit or even Little Nell. In Dickens’s mind they are heroes and heroic because he understands them to be “true disciples of the Founder of our religion.” In that way, they may be over-idealized but they are so because they repre- sent what Dickens supposes a true disciple to be. It is Dickens’s way of showing us in con- crete terms what it means to be a Christian.
While by no means exhaustive, the above survey indicates some of the ways in which
TLOL, as an index, serves to reveal a unity and coherence in Dickens’s worldview as it emerges from the novels. It is quite true, as Walder points out, that “Dickens was not a re- ligious novelist” (15), and my purpose here is not to attempt to make him one. However, Dickens would have thought of himself as a Christian who writes novels, and the thorough- going Christian worldview that is articulated in TLOL would unavoidably surface not only in the novels, but also in the rest of his writing. As the direct expression of that Christian worldview, TLOL provides an indispensable point of reference from which to examine
An Easy Account of the New Testament • 30 Dickens’s work and gain an even greater appreciation for his understanding of Christianity and the life of faith.