If it has become offensive to reference Christianity in classic literature, then I suppose no one is ever going to read a single piece of literature again? There are around 2.5 billion Christians in the world, LOL! That’s a LOT of books we’ll need to ignore.

In studying languages of antiquity, I have spent a great deal of time studying the religion of Islam and Judaism, both of which are tremendously important when reading works that are inspired by said religions. The same goes for Christianity.

Anyway, the works of Dickens are timeless, and I was particularly pleased to see mention of the brilliant way in which Dickens uses names to create a complexity to the character. I’m currently writing my own novel and am using a lot of what I have learnt from his example into the naming of my characters and places. My favourite names by Dickens are “Uriah Heep”, “Mr. Pumblechook”, “Thomas Gradgrind” (a brilliant one, set in the aptly-named “Hard Times”), “Mr. Micawber” and “Sir Leceister Dedlock”, who thinks that “the world might get on without hills, but would be done up without Dedlocks.” What a master of characterization and imagery!

That’s exactly why I loved this post and all of your writing. You’re awesome!!!

Hey, I am not a priest and I respect all belief systems. My favorite series is Herbert’s Dune primarily because I studied Islam for my degree. Without the context of Islam, you lose SO many layers to the story.

There are a lot of works that when viewed through the lens of faith (used by the author) give us a richness. We don’t have to convert to appreciate it. Even simple things.

For instance, in the movie “Point Break” the antagonist’s name is Bodhi. That is short for Bodhisattva which (in Buddhism) is an enlightened being who has made a choice to help others attain enlightenment A Bodhisattva (if I recall correctly) is there to act as a mentor and a guide to aide in the evolution and working out karma so that the others may attain enlightenment as well.

Without THAT knowledge, then Bodhi just sounds like a surfer name and the entire point of WHY he is robbing banks and leading a band of young men to do the same to fund this adrenalin-high life is utterly lost.

Now, I do not feel threatened by Buddhism to know this extra layer.

But I am happy most of you enjoyed this and no, I won’t apologize for who I am and what I believe and PC can pound sand. It has no place on my blog.

If anyone wants to know more about A Christmas Carol’s major impact on our Christmas traditions, I wrote a free report on it called 7 Ways A Christmas Carol Changed Christmas Forever. You can get it now at http://achristmascarolreport.com