Overview

The Lord of the Rings and other works of J.R.R. Tolkien have had a far-reaching impact on culture in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In print and on film, Tolkien’s works seem to be incredible epics, but religious aspects are less obvious. Yet Tolkien himself stated in his letters that the chief conflicts of his epic works were “about God, and His sole right to divine Honour,” and whether Sauron can wrest and destroy all that is good in Middle-earth. It is from this that readers awaken to the theological truths that imbue Tolkien’s works. In Theology and Tolkien: Constructive Theology, an international group of scholars consider how Tolkien’s works (and Jackson’s interpretations) can help us build better theologies for use in our world today. From essays on the music of creation in the Ainulindalë, to angels, demons, and Balrogs, to Tolkien’s theology of God, providence, evil, and love, to the eschatology of the Final Chord of the Great Music, this book invites the reader to journey through Middle-earth as the contributors engage the theology of Tolkien’s works and its impact on the world.

Full Product Details

Author:   Douglas Estes ,  João Fernando O. Barboza ,  Bradley K. Broadhead ,  Douglas Estes
Publisher:   Rowman & Littlefield
Imprint:   Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.60cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.649kg
ISBN:  

9781978712638

ISBN 10:   1978712634
Pages:   354
Publication Date:   15 September 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Introduction Douglas Estes Part I: Aman Chapter 1: Freedom and Fidelity: Improvisation in the Ainulindalë Bradley K. Broadhead Chapter 2: “When Things Are in Danger, Someone Must Give Them Up”: Redemption and Ecology in Tolkien’s Legendarium Alison Milbank Chapter 3:Critiquing Tolkien’s Theology Austin M. Freeman Chapter 4: In the Brilliant Darkness of a Hidden Silence: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Apophatic Tendencies Douglas Estes Chapter 5: Gandalf, Sauron, Melian, and the Balrog as Angels: A Study of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Maiar in the Context of Biblical Angelology Charlie Trimm Part II: Erebor Chapter 6: The Marian Valkyrie: Tolkien’s Theology of the Heroic Feminine Lisa Coutras Chapter 7: Songs of Light and Darkness: Theological Imagination and Metaphor in J.R.R. Tolkien Beth M. Stovell Chapter 8: Christianity and Paganism in The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings: A Typology Based on Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture Allan M. de Novaes, Milton L. Torres, and João Fernando O. Barboza Chapter 9: Perceiving the Material and Immaterial in Middle-earth Adam B. Shaeffer Chapter 10: A Chance for Metanarrative to Prove its Quality Jeremy M. Rios Part III: Ithilien Chapter 11: “An Encouraging Thought”: The Interplay of Providence and Free Will in Middle-earth Devin Brown Chapter 12: The Redemptive Power of Love: Arwen as the Anti-Eve in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Julie Loveland Swanstrom Chapter 13: Spiritual Sloth and Diligence in Tolkien’s Work Martina Juričková Chapter 14:Evil and the Fall into Violence in Tolkien’s Mythopoesis John C. McDowell Chapter 15: A Far Green Country: The Eschatology of Tolkien’s Middle-earth Donald T. Williams About the Contributors

Reviews

By grace and good fortune, I've been reading J.R.R. Tolkien since 1977 (age 10 for me), and I was first introduced to the great man by reading and re-reading incessantly the opening chapter to The Silmarillion, a gift given to my oldest brother in September of that year. To this day, I cannot read the first three chapters of Genesis without thinking of the Ainulindal�. Despite decades of meditation on this, I have found a multitude of new and fresh insights on Tolkien's thought in this extraordinary new collection, Theology and Tolkien, expertly edited by Douglas Estes. A variety of brilliant voices here--from Austin Freeman to Lisa Coutras to Donald Williams, among twelve others--speak clearly and persuasively about Tolkien's deep and abiding Catholic faith as well as his inspired and providential admiration for many pagan mythologies. A huge bravo to Tolkien and Estes! --Bradley J. Birzer, Hillsdale College

Douglas Estes has done commendable work in assembling this substantial and useful volume, which takes an appropriately nuanced approach to exploring theological ideas in Tolkien's work. The contributors draw helpfully not just from The Lord of the Rings but also from Tolkien's larger legendarium, and gain insights from placing his writings in dialogue with various theological approaches. --Holly Ordway, Houston Christian University, author of Tolkien's Faith: A Spiritual Biography By grace and good fortune, I've been reading J.R.R. Tolkien since 1977 (age 10 for me), and I was first introduced to the great man by reading and re-reading incessantly the opening chapter to The Silmarillion, a gift given to my oldest brother in September of that year. To this day, I cannot read the first three chapters of Genesis without thinking of the Ainulindal�. Despite decades of meditation on this, I have found a multitude of new and fresh insights on Tolkien's thought in this extraordinary new collection, Theology and Tolkien, expertly edited by Douglas Estes. A variety of brilliant voices here--from Austin Freeman to Lisa Coutras to Donald Williams, among twelve others--speak clearly and persuasively about Tolkien's deep and abiding Catholic faith as well as his inspired and providential admiration for many pagan mythologies. A huge bravo to Tolkien and Estes! --Bradley J. Birzer, Hillsdale College

Each of the fine essays in this collection both reflects and refracts the divine light so many have encountered through Tolkien's mythos. A must for any theologically minded Tolkien reader! --Joel Scandrett, Trinity Anglican Seminary Douglas Estes has done commendable work in assembling this substantial and useful volume, which takes an appropriately nuanced approach to exploring theological ideas in Tolkien's work. The contributors draw helpfully not just from The Lord of the Rings but also from Tolkien's larger legendarium, and gain insights from placing his writings in dialogue with various theological approaches. --Holly Ordway, Houston Christian University, author of Tolkien's Faith: A Spiritual Biography By grace and good fortune, I've been reading J.R.R. Tolkien since 1977 (age 10 for me), and I was first introduced to the great man by reading and re-reading incessantly the opening chapter to The Silmarillion, a gift given to my oldest brother in September of that year. To this day, I cannot read the first three chapters of Genesis without thinking of the Ainulindal�. Despite decades of meditation on this, I have found a multitude of new and fresh insights on Tolkien's thought in this extraordinary new collection, Theology and Tolkien, expertly edited by Douglas Estes. A variety of brilliant voices here--from Austin Freeman to Lisa Coutras to Donald Williams, among twelve others--speak clearly and persuasively about Tolkien's deep and abiding Catholic faith as well as his inspired and providential admiration for many pagan mythologies. A huge bravo to Tolkien and Estes! --Bradley J. Birzer, Hillsdale College

Author Information

Douglas Estes is associate professor of Religion at New College of Florida.

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