Theology and Tolkien
Practical Theology
Theology and Tolkien
Practical Theology
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Hardback
£73.00
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Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN: 9781978712669
Number of Pages: 292
Published: 22/08/2023
Width: 15.8 cm
Height: 23.6 cm
The works of J.R.R. Tolkien have not only redefined a genre of literature but also had a far-reaching impact on culture in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Tolkien’s name has joined the ranks of authors such as Shakespeare, Milton, Dostoevsky, Donne, and Dickens who make us think differently about the world. In Theology and Tolkien: Practical Theology, an international group of scholars consider what Tolkien’s works (and Jackson’s film interpretations) can teach us about living out our theology in the world. From essays on Tolkien’s insights into community, what we can learn about our spiritual senses from encounters with the Nazgûl, the pastoral wisdom of Treebeard, to the theological value of food—including second breakfasts—we invite you to journey with us through Middle-earth as we engage the applicability of Tolkien’s works for theology and our world.
Part One: The Shire
1 Koinonia in The Lord of the Rings
Philip Ryken
2 Searching for Home in Middle-earth
J. Collin Huber
3 Love at the Burning Edge of Doom: Friendship and Biblical Theology in The Lord of the Rings
Chris Bruno and Mark Brians
4 “Her Heart Changed, or at Least She Understood It”
Christine Falk Dalessio
Part Two: Osgiliath
5 Gandalf Grey, Apostle to Men and Elves
Douglas Estes
6 Reading Barth on Jackson’s Set: Threefold Salvation in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Jerome Van Kuiken
7 Art and Sub-Creation: Tolkien’s Theology of Art
Miguel Benitez, Jr.
8 The Culture Wars and The Lord of the Rings: Models of Christian Engagement
Alex Sosler
9 Theodicies in The Lord of the Rings
Rodrigo Follis, Fábio Augusto Darius, and Ismael Silva
Part Three: The Greenway
10 A Nutritious Reading: A Theological View of Food in Tolkien’s Writing
Federico Maria Rossi
11 Nazgûl and the Perversion of Spiritual Senses
Trevor B. Williams
12 “Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost”: Greed and Power in
Estes has done a great service for scholars and fans of Middle-earth alike who want to dig deeper into such key Tolkien themes as friendship and fellowship, death and immortality, salvation and sub-creation, theodicy and the corruption of the senses, the art of power and the power of art, and even home and food. All the writers balance a critical eye with a robust love of the legendarium and a desire to be changed, theoretically and practically, by their interaction with Tolkien. I was particularly glad to see several of the contributors analyze Jackson's films alongside Tolkien's epic in a positive and fruitful way. -- Louis Markos, Houston Christian University; author of Tolkien for Beginners and On the Shoulders of Hobbits
