A miserly old man who hates Christmas is Charles Dicken's classic story that has been made into a myriad of film, stage and TV adaptations. But the narrative of Ebenezer Scrooge's redemption is filled with Christian symbolism that most versions miss or just cut out. Pastor Cheryl Kincaid shares the details of her research for her book, "Hearing the Gospel Through Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol" showing the biblical meaning of Scrooge's first name, Tiny Tim's illness as a social commentary, and how the three ghosts who visit Scrooge on Christmas Eve animate the Church's Advent Lessons about the true meaning of Christmas. Scholars have debated whether Charles Dickens was really a Christian, but Kincaid lays that controversy to rest. She also talks about how it was Tiny Tim's words that helped her after a car accident rendered her partially paralyzed. She says, "He thought it might be pleasant if people saw him in church, that they might remember who made the lame people walk and blind people see. And it touched my heart because he wasn't asking to be healed. He was asking for God to use him where he was at." It was those words that sent her on a journey to discovering the hidden meaning of "A Christmas Carol."
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