Paul Faber: Surgeon. Chapters 1 - 9

In his novels George MacDonald is primarily concerned with leading his readers into a knowledge of the true nature of God and how he works in the lives of individual people.  He saw in his day an increasing neglect in the general public of these subjects, and he felt deeply that a proper understanding of, and a right response to, these issues was of vital importance for each reader, both for time and eternity. 

In his day–long before the cinema and television–the novel was a widespread source of entertainment and, having a love of and a gift for telling stories, he strove to use it as a means of expressing these concerns and propagating his understanding of them.  Thus in Paul Faber: Surgeon, we have an array of personality types and our minds are focused on how God is working in the lives of each.  Various passages in our novel may seem like sermonizing, but they are among the most insightful that he wrote in his long career and extremely helpful in bringing us into a fuller understanding of these vital issues. This first reading introduces us to the main characters.

In the first chapter we meet Rev. Bevis, a rector, and Paul Faber, a surgeon.  A rector in the Church of England has administrative charge of a parish and presides over curates, who do the visitation and preaching.  Faber is a very popular village doctor, quite knowledgeable as to the state of scientific knowledge of his day–but freely bleeding patients for almost all ailments was a standard practice.  He is an outspoken atheist, and a thorough-going materialist. He is, we soon learn, extremely proud of his own integrity and his dedicated service to others.

We meet next Rev. Drake, a retired minister of a dissenting congregation, in many ways an admirable man, but one who in his self-righteousness is reluctant to receive help from the atheistic doctor, one whom he suspects to be a “general in the armies of the Antichrist.”  His refusal to accept Faber’s kind offer to help him illustrates what MacDonald sees as a severe short-coming in so many self-proclaimed Christians, one which he works hard to expose.  They claim to be saved by believing in Christ, yet are possessed by attitudes that are antithetical to those of true followers of Christ.

As Bevis visits Mrs. Ramshorn, he receives an extremely negative evaluation of the ministry of his curate, Thomas Wingfold, and is made aware that Wingfold  has sharply divided his congregation into, on the one hand, loyal and appreciative followers, and, on the other, vehement antagonists.  

  Chapters IV and V give us examples of whole-hearted service to others, that of Helen Wingfold, of Mr. Drew, and of Paul Faber.   The brief glimpse of life in the parsonage, and of the self-abasing acts of Mr Drew, both illustrate the Christian ideal of service to others.  But Faber is shown as being completely dedicated to the service of other s as well, thus surpassing the great majority of self-identified Christians in doing the will of God.  His complete dedication to serving others is aptly illustrated when he comes upon Juliet Meredith in a near-death condition and desperately gives her an transfusion from his own veins.  

IS NOT HIS ACT COMPLETELY ADMIRABLE? (RECOGNIZING,  OF COURSE, THAT THE PRACTICE OF BLEEDING WAS COMMON THEN)   DOES IT IN ANY WAY DIFFER FROM CHRISTIAN ALTRUISTIC ACTS?  IF SO, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

The text then presents Wingfold in his pulpit delivering a sermon on Christ’s saying, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24).  In it he boldly states ”money is not mammon; it is God’s invention; it is good and the gift of God. . . . It is powerful for good when divinely used.”  But he is unflinching in denouncing all who possess wrong attitudes toward it. 

WHAT REALLY IS MAMMON.  CAN YOU DEFINE IT IN SO MANY WORDS?

After hearing Wingfold’s sermon, Bevis visits first Mrs Ramshorn, then his curate.  He is increasingly ill at ease, not agreeing with Mrs Ramshorn’s tirade against Wingfold, and increasingly aware that, even thought he was a rector, he could not say that he personally loved God or conscientiously undertook to obey the behests of Christ.