I always learn things from my learned and dear friend Gina. In her review of Gary Colledge's new book "God and Charles Dickens: Recovering the Christian Voice of a Classic Author," she relates how rumors have caused most people to assume Dickens wasn't a Christian.

Until a year or so ago, I was one of those very people.

You see, I'd read various essays about Charles Dickens's life and beliefs over the years, and absorbed the idea that Dickens wasn't "a man of faith." Rather, I believed his books merely reflected the reality that during his lifetime, most people were steeped in biblical lore.

While I read a number of his books, I didn't read any of his letters. Her review reminds me of one thing: We must be careful and, when possible, read original sources like Dickens' letters before judging the merits of this or that opinion.

Here's my two-cent opinion: Gina is becoming a Dickens scholar in her own right.