Resources
Below is a collection of resources about George MacDonald’s theology in both his fiction and non-fiction works. To jump to a section, please select one of the following:
General Discussions of MacDonald's Theology
Books and Articles
Unsaying the Commonplace: George MacDonald and the Critique of Victorian Convention by Daniel Gabelman (Editor) and Amanda B Vernon (Editor)
“The believing faculty”: George MacDonald on Universal Salvation by Barbara Amell
Old MacDonald’s Dish: A Hearty Serving of George MacDonald’s Thoughts on the Imagination and its Relevance to Contemporary Apologetics, by Daniel Ray
George MacDonald against Hans Urs von Balthasar on Universal Salvation, by Jordan Daniel Wood, Ph.D.
Baptized Imagination: The Theology of George MacDonald, by Kerry Dearborn, Ashgate, 2008
“The imagination has been called, 'the principal organ for knowing and responding to disclosures of transcendent truth'. This book probes the theological sources of the imagination, which make it a vital tool for knowing and responding to such disclosures. Kerry Dearborn approaches areas of theology and imagination through a focus on the nineteenth century theologian and writer George MacDonald.”
Book Review of Baptized Imagination: The Theology of George MacDonald (by Kerry Dearborn), by P.H. Brazier
The C.S. Lewis Chronicle Vol. 7, No. 1, Hilary 2010
Riffing on Salvation: MacDonald, Wesley, and Athanasius, by Jess Lederman
George MacDonald, Universal Reconciliation, and Free Will: A Few Brief Thoughts
George MacDonald's Spiritual Vision and Transformational Theology, by Michael Phillips
The True “Good News”— There is No Darkness in God! by Michael Phillips
God's Signature Tune: The Eternal Symphony of Unity, by Michael Phillips
Articles from the North Wind Archive on MacDonald's Theology
NB: The North Wind Archive has many articles listed under the topic of Theology which are also listed in other sections of this website; however, for convenience, we have included all articles classified by North Wind as “theology” below.
“'The Day of All the Year': MacDonald's Christmas Aesthetic”, by Daniel Gabelman
“'Whence Came the Fantasia': The Good Dream in Lilith”, by Rolland Hein
“A Check List of Biblical Allusions in Lilith”, by Tim Martin
“A Reading of At the Back of the North Wind”, by Colin Manlove
“A Theologian's Dealings with the Fairies”, by Gwen Watkins
“Bridge over the River Why: The Imagination as a Way to Meaning”, by Kerry Dearborn
“Childhood and Faith in The Princess and the Goblin”, by Rebecca Long
“Children of God and or Justified Sinners: A New Look at MacDonald and the Theology of the Reformers”, by Thomas Gerold
“Crystal City: Sodom-Bulika-Jerusalem”, by Karl Kegler
“George MacDonald's Lilith: Whores in Babyland”, by Jennifer Sattaur
“George MacDonald: A Novelist for All Times”, by Georgette Lormant
“George MacDonald and Spiritual Development”, by John Pridmore
“George MacDonald and the Anthropology of Love”, by Robin Phillips
“George MacDonald and the Homiletics of Religious Imagination”, by Keith Waddle
“George MacDonald as the Forgotten Father”, by Bruce Hindmarsh
“George MacDonald at Blackfriars Chapel”, by David S. Robb
“George MacDonald on Pain and Suffering: An Unpublished Letter”, by Glenn Edward Sadler
“Images of Creation”, by Kathy Triggs
“Knowing God 'Other-wise': The Wise Old Woman Archetype”, by Katharine Bubel
“Lilith and Mysticism”, by Charles Beaucham
“Mariana Leaves the Moated Grange: The Social Revolutionary Ethics in Weighed and Wanting”, by Adelheid Kegler
“Outworn Liberal Humanism: MacDonald and 'The Right Relation to the Whole’”, by Roderick McGillis
“Poor Doubting Christian: MacDonald's Wingfold Trilogy”, by Miho Yamaguchi
“Preacher and Patriot: George MacDonald as a Scottish Novelist”, by Lorna Fergusson
“Reading Scripture in Crisis: The Victorian Crisis of Faith and MacDonald's Response to Coleridge”, by Gisela Kreglinger
“Riddled with Evil: Fantasy as Theodicy in Phantastes and Lilith”, by Courtney Salvey
“Shadows that Fall: The Immanence of Heaven in the Fiction of C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald”, by David Manley
“Tendering Greatness: George MacDonald's The Lost Princess and the Bible”, by Deborah Holm
“The Phenomenal as a Channel to the Real in MacDonald's Fantasy”, by Adrian Gunther
“The Poverty of Riches: A Victorian Approach Reconsidered”, by Kathy Triggs
“The Princess and the Goblin and The Princess and Curdie”, by Colin Manlove
“The Role of Nature in the Eschatology of George MacDonald's Unspoken Sermon”, by Joshua Wise
“The Ultimate Rite of Passage: Death and Beyond in 'The Golden Key' and At the Back of the North Wind”, by Marilyn Pemberton
“The Wise Woman or The Lost Princess: A Double Story: A Critique of Victorian Parenting”, by Osama Jarrar
“Theology for the Sake of God's Children: MacDonald's Theology in his Unspoken Sermons”, by Thomas Gerold
“This is (Not) a Horse: MacDonald's Theodicy in At the Back of the North Wind”, by G. St. John Scott
“Thoreau's Economy and George MacDonald's Lilith”, by John Pennington
“Two Notions of Hell”, by Gwen Watkins
YouTube Videos
Studies and Compilations of MacDonald's Theological Writings by Michael Phillips
For more extensive commentary on the following titles that “get at the gold” of MacDonald’s theological writings, please see this excerpt from the Preface to The Gospel According to George MacDonald.
Discovering the Character of God and Knowing the Heart of God
Following the enormous response to his updated editions of George MacDonald’s novels in the 1980s, Michael Phillips felt the need to introduce MacDonald’s fiction readers to the Scotsman’s poetry and theological perspectives as well. At the time none of MacDonald’s non-fiction writings or poetry was available. Phillips therefore compiled two anthologies of selections, topically arranged, from those writings. Almost thirty years later, the two volumes—Discovering the Character of God and Knowing the Heart of God—remain classics in the MacDonald bibliography that have helped multiple thousands probe their understanding of God more deeply. These two clearly organized and understandable illuminations of MacDonald’s wisdom distil the essence of MacDonald’s thought in manageable topical groupings suitable for devotional reading or more extensive study. Each chapter draws upon selections from the novels and poetry to further inform MacDonald’s vision of the infinitely loving and forgiving Fatherhood of God.
George MacDonald’s Transformational Theology of the Christian Faith
In what he considers one of his most significant contributions to the legacy of George MacDonald, Michael Phillips here presents the complete panorama of George MacDonald’s four books of sermons in a single volume. Climaxing a forty-year career making the writings of MacDonald accessible and understandable to the full spectrum of the Christian public—resulting in the publication of over eighty new editions of MacDonald’s books—Phillips sets this volume apart from all others, not only as his most ambitious, but perhaps his most important. Presenting twenty of MacDonald’s most influential sermons in their full original format, accompanied by his own edited and more understandable copy, Phillips highlights each entry with a concise “Central Thesis,” then adds an insightful introduction that illuminates the significant theological ground plowed by MacDonald’s pen that, Phillips believes, is destined in time to change how Christendom perceives the underpinings of its faith. What emerges is not only MacDonald’s wisdom, but Phillips’ own as he shrewdly and perceptively distills what he calls MacDonald’s “transformational theology of the Christian faith.” Added to the twenty complete sermons are condensed versions of the remaining twenty-nine—each again with a helpful “Central Thesis”—enabling the reader to mine the ore without laboring through dozens of pages of dense and incomprehensibly obscure word-thickets. The result is a massive tome of over 300,000 words comprising all forty-nine of George MacDonald’s sermons. It is a volume of incomparable value in understanding the Scotsman’s theological foundations.
George MacDonald’s Spiritual Vision: An Introductory Overview
Frequently asked through the years, “What did George MacDonald believe?” MacDonald biographer Michael Phillips has prepared this concise overview of MacDonald’s perspectives on the essence of true Christian belief. Introducing each of nine points of belief with a knowledgeable summary of MacDonald’s position, Phillips draws upon selections from MacDonald’s writings to illuminate and succinctly clarify MacDonald’s theological orientation on the Godhead, true and false gospels, salvation, the atonement, and other important topics of belief.
Your Life in Christ and The Truth in Jesus
In spite of a gradually expanding awareness of George MacDonald and his influence on the faith and writings of C.S. Lewis, most Lewis devotees, as well as many readers of MacDonald’s fantasies and fiction, remain largely unacquainted with the theological foundations of MacDonald’s corpus and its influence on Lewis’s spiritual development. When intrepid readers attempt to probe MacDonald’s sermons, however, most find the going extremely difficult. Expecting Lewis’s gift of straightforward clarity, many readers find MacDonald’s Victorian method and syntax daunting and impossible to decipher. Dense theological progressions, sentences of 100-200 words, and an archaic linguistic style, prevent MacDonald’s wisdom from shining through with clarity. In his two volumes Your Life in Christ and The Truth in Jesus, Michael Phillips addresses this difficulty with the same editorial expertise that distinguish his editions of MacDonald’s novels. Assisted by insightful introductions based on his extensive knowledge of MacDonald’s writings and thought, these two volumes provide an understandable entrée into the expansive world of George MacDonald’s theological writings.
As an unofficial spokesman for George MacDonald in the minds of thousands who have discovered Phillips’s editions of MacDonald’s writings since the 1980s, Michael Phillips has been sought out by men and women from around the world to shed light on the complex conundrum presented by the doctrine of eternal punishment. Seeking to address these inquiries in the least controversial way possible, in 1998 Phillips prepared a private compendium of quotes from writers through history, laying out scriptural evidence on both sides of the controversy. His motive was not to argue for or against any perspective, neither to persuade to a particular point of view, but to give information that would help hungry hearts objectively investigate the matter quietly and personally. Though not made public at the time, Phillips’s booklet proved helpful to so many that it is now made more widely available in this new edition. His subtitle aptly summarizes the book’s contents: “A selection of quotations by some Christian individuals of repute who have held to the doctrine of universal reconciliation and a list of scriptures upon which their beliefs are based.”
George MacDonald and the Late Great Hell Debate
One of the most enduring controversies surrounding the beliefs of George MacDonald for 150 years has been the question: Was George MacDonald a universalist? Though his own books contain hints of his theological perspectives on hell, the purpose of God’s fire, the atonement, and everlasting punishment, MacDonald stops short of clearly and concisely stating his doctrinal positions unambiguously and without room for misunderstanding. The controversy has therefore raged about what exactly MacDonald believed. MacDonald biographer, redactor, and publisher Michael Phillips at last tackles the “great hell debate” head on. With numerous quotes from MacDonald’s writings, amplified, interpreted, and understandably explained by his own insights and extensive knowledge of MacDonald’s work, Phillips blows the lid off the debate with a clear illumination of the full scope of MacDonald’s afterlife vision. This is surely one of the most significant studies of MacDonald’s theological perspectives written—a must-read for all serious students of George MacDonald.
George MacDonald and the Atonement
From the Introduction: “This is my attempt to shed light on what I believe what may represent a portion of what George MacDonald thought about the atonement. Even that, so to speak, is guesswork. MacDonald was vague about these things. I cannot categorically claim the ability to pinpoint with precision what he believed about every aspect of the atonement. Yet after more than forty years reading and studying his work, and seeking to know his heart, I am confident that most of what follows points in the general direction of what we can glean between the lines of his writings. Thus, I will make my best effort to illuminate what I think MacDonald believed. At the same time I will attempt to “interpret” his ideas by adding my own thoughts to the mix.”
The Gospel According to George MacDonald
From the Introduction: “The selections included in what follows are abridged from their originals and represent a thematic and sequential compilation from the most focused theological treatises among the huge corpus of MacDonald’s work. I have brought these selections together in an orderly exposition of what I call George MacDonald’s “gospel”—in other words, his perspective of what the “good news” of Jesus Christ actually is. Not all his non-fiction writings contribute to that purpose. They are valuable for other reasons, and those interested are encouraged to investigate the full wealth of his writings. For the purposes of this volume, I have chosen those writings and selections out of the whole of his corpus that specifically illuminate George MacDonald’s perspectives about the nature of God, Jesus’ work in the lives of believers, and God’s methods and purposes for accomplishing his will in eternity. This focus, it seems to me, most clearly reveals and illuminates the spiritual soil in which the faith of C.S. Lewis sent down its roots during Lewis’s formative years when he was absorbing the wisdom of his mentor.”
Blog: Theological Writings in the Spirit of George MacDonald
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Blog: Thomas Allin: Christ Triumphant
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I believe that George MacDonald is a wonderful ally and conversation partner--a trustworthy guide--who embodies and informs the best of what I try to articulate in Out of the Embers: Faith After the Great Deconstruction.