
Theology and Tolkien
Constructive Theology
Douglas Estes(Editor)
Lexington Books/Fortress Academic (Publisher)
Published on 15. September 2024
Book
Hardback
354 pages
978-1-9787-1263-8 (ISBN)
Description
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 Ainulindale, 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.
Reviews / Votes
The depth and subtlety of many of the essays in this book tilt the balance to the influential. * Choice * The two-volume Theology and Tolkien joined the ranks of deeply rigorous, beautifully crafted scholarly collections ... Every essay in these two volumes is meticulously crafted, and together they showcase the depth of Tolkien's legacy as a theological and literary treasure trove-one that continues to inspire new generations of scholars to play in his universe in ways similar to cinematographers and gamers. * Christian Century * 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 Ainulindale. 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 <i>Tolkien's Faith: A Spiritual Biography</i> 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 SeminaryMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
729 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-9787-1263-8 (9781978712638)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Theology and Tolkien
Constructive Theology
E-Book
08/2024
1st Edition
Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
€112.99
Available for download
Persons
Douglas Estes is associate professor of Religion at New College of Florida.
Content
Introduction
Douglas Estes
Part I: Aman
Chapter 1: Freedom and Fidelity: Improvisation in the Ainulindale
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 Joao 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 Jurickova
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
Douglas Estes
Part I: Aman
Chapter 1: Freedom and Fidelity: Improvisation in the Ainulindale
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 Joao 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 Jurickova
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