J.R.R. Tolkien Issue 78 | 2003 Click here to order the downloadable audio version

ARTICLE TOOLS

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By the 1960s, "miracle" had been co-opted to sell mayonnaise, "spirit" came from bottles or pep bands, and "Passion" referred only to the national obsession with sex. Into this materialistic, secularized decade came a wondrous visitor: J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (see p. 42).

This fantasy trilogy opened the world of myth and mystery to a generation disenchanted with the soulless corporate culture around them. The tale came from a man with a profoundly Christian imagination. Though many readers didn't (and don't) notice this fact, Tolkien has awakened at least some to the gospel. As one respondent to our recent Tolkien web poll put it:

"I read the Hobbit and the Trilogy many times as a young teen and into my twenties. I was not born again at that time, and in fact struggled through some awful rebellion and darkness. But the stories developed in me a deep sense of the unseen reality of forces I did not understand, and a commitment to not let evil win out. … Tolkien's beautiful models of lordship, devotion, sacrifice, commitment, and the quest for truth and honor were new to me, but spoke to something inside me that responded naturally. God is full of Wonder and the Bible is replete with awesome and fantastical happenings. My mind and heart can receive and lovingly accept this 'magic' because of carefully crafted fantasy literature from faithful Christian authors like Tolkien."

As I've learned more about this fascinating man, I've become convinced that he would be excited—but not altogether surprised—by that reader's response. He, too, felt God was "full of Wonder," and he treasured the Mysteries of the faith (see p. 23). A lover of trees and mountains, he read God's handiwork in nature. A proud ...