Dickens, Christianity and 'The Life of Our Lord': Humble Veneration, Profound Conviction

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While Dickens's religion and religious thought is recognized as a significant component of his work, no study of Dickens's religion has carefully considered his often ignored, yet crucially relevant, The Life of Our Lord.
Written by a biblical studies scholar, this study brings the insights of a theological approach to bear on The Life of Our Lord and on Dickens's other writing. Colledge argues that Dickens intended The Life Of Our Lord as a serious and deliberate expression of his religious thought and his understanding of Christianity based on evidences for his reasons for writing, what he reveals, and the unique genre in which he writes.
Using The Life of Our Lord as a definitive source for our understanding of Dickens's Christian worldview, the book explores Dickens's Christian voice in his fiction, journalism, and letters. As it seeks to situate him in the context of nineteenth-century popular religionincluding his interest in Unitarianismthis study presents fresh insight into his churchmanship and reminds us, as Orwell observed, that Dickens "was always preaching a sermon".

Reviews

"Gary Colledge provides an exemplary introduction to this neglected work for children by Charles Dickens. Deftly situating The Life of Our Lord in the context of early-nineteenth-century Anglicanism, Gary Colledge reveals the strong, orthodox roots of Dickens's Christian belief and makes illuminating connections with the imagining of death, heaven, judgement and hell in Dickens's other novels. The book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the relationships between narrative and religion in nineteenth-century English literature." - Dr Jane Stabler, School of English, University of St Andrews, UK.
"No mere digest of a lesser-known Dickensian curiosity, Colledge's book offers a thoughtful, sustained interpretation of Dickens 'the great Christian writer'. We meet a man of his time, unremarkable in many of his middle-class Anglican sympathies, but whose own compassion and care reflect an ever-constant concern to imitate Jesus. We meet, too, a contemporary, at once compelled by Jesus and nervous about his church. This is moral Christianity at its most beautiful, its most tender." - Matt Jenson, Assistant Professor of Theology, Biola University, USA.
This volume is a delightful and accessible read that brings a fresh perspective to one of the most beloved and researched figures of Western literature. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Dickens or popular Christianity in late Victorian England. -- Caroline Hamilton-Arnold, Claremont School of Theology * Religious Studies Review *

Author Bio

Gary Colledge has spent over twenty years as a pastor and teacher. He recently completed his PhD at the University of St. Andrews, UK.