Oxford, 6/19/08

Don June 20th, 2008

Today Dr. Bauman finished his discussion of Reflections on the Psalms and I started talking about Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings. Though the word God never appears in the entire trilogy, the Christian worldview permeates it, though in a more subtle and deeply buried way than it does in the Narnia books. This is especially evident if you have read the creation story for Middle Earth in The Silmarillion, but it is there even without that.

Tolkien embeds the Christian worldview in his world by making innocent-sounding statements that raise unavoidable questions for those who think about what they are reading. Gandalf or other characters are constantly making statements like, “We must deal with the time we were given,” or “Another power was at work,” or “Bilbo was meant to find the Ring . . . and that is an encouraging thought.” The time we were “given,” not the time in which we find ourselves: so who “gave” it to us? If Bilbo was “meant” to find the Ring, who “meant” it? And why is this an encouraging thought? Elrond says that the Fellowship was “called” to his Council, though he did not call them. Then who did? A secular worldview, the belief that only atoms exist, will not let you say such things meaningfully. You cannot write this way without being either a Christian, confused, or dishonest; and Tolkien was neither confused nor dishonest. Living in Middle Earth raises questions to which only the Christian worldview has answers.

I also talked about Lewis as a poet. His chief ambition was to be a great poet. He was not a great poet, but he was a very good one, a careful craftsman who creates narratives full of longing and hope.

In a few minutes we leave for Stratford on Avon to visit Shakespeare’ s home town and see “The Taming of the Shrew” at the National Shakespeare Company. So I must away. More tomorrow, Deo volente.

From the Dreaming Spires,

Don

Donald T. Williams, PhD, Co-Director
Summit Oxford Summer Studies Program

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