Tolkien and Lewis


ARTICLES Articles on Tolkien \| Articles on C.S. Lewis

Articles on J.R.R. Tolkien	THE TEMPTATION OF THE EARTHLY CITY: J.R.R. Tolkien's Augustinian Vision by José Yulo J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic, The Lord of the Rings, has for generations captured the minds and hearts of readers with themes and characters that embody the steadfast quality of what can today, and what was in the distant past, be best described as virtue... CONTINUE READING WHY FANTASY? From the introduction to Lord of the Elves and Eldils by Richard Purtill Those who enjoy reading and discussing Lewis and Tolkien often encounter an impatient, even irritated, reaction from friends or acquaintances. Why read fantasies or fairy stories? Aren't such things for children? Shouldn't grown-ups read about "real life"? CONTINUE READING TOLKIEN: MAN AND MYTH: A review of Joseph Pearce's biography by Jill Kriegel In his "attempt to unravel the mystery surrounding this most misunderstood of men", Joseph Pearce indeed sheds light on Tolkien's work as a subcreator who, via divine grace, manifests to us the one Light through his mythic world... CONTINUE READING LADIES OF THE RING by Sandra Miesel In an era that doesn't prize traditionally feminine virtues, Tolkien's work stands out for its idealized view of women. He highly honors their traditional roles... CONTINUE READING TOLKIEN'S FAITH: An Interview with Paul E. Kerry, editor of The Ring and the Cross: Christianity and The Lord of the Rings by Sean McGuire "Tolkien was a devout Catholic who believed in the truth, beauty, majesty, and salvific power of the Roman Catholic Church. The question is to what extend did Catholicism inform his fictional writings, particularly The Lord of the Rings, his masterpiece." CONTINUE READING THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST IN THE LORD OF THE RINGS by Peter Kreeft J. R. R. Tolkien, like most Catholics, saw pagan myths not as wholly mistaken (as most Protestants do), but as confused precursors of Christianity... CONTINUE READING

Articles on C.S. Lewis	THE THOUGHT AND WORK OF C.S. LEWIS by Carl E. Olson However impressive his learning and skills, there is a much more mysterious quality behind the distinctive features of Lewis’s writing and thinking – the reality of Joy. It is for good reason that Lewis’s account of his formative years was titled Surprised By Joy since the elusive experience of "Joy" powerfully shaped his life and thought, as he indicated in many of his writings... CONTINUE READING THE RELEVANCE AND CHALLENGE OF C.S. LEWIS by Mark Brumley Mere Christianity sat innocently on the bookrack at a neighborhood bookstore, right next to end times prognosticator Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth. The author of Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis, was unknown to me. I confused him with Lewis Carroll of Alice in Wonderland fame. What could a weaver of children’s tales teach me about Christ? CONTINUE READING FILMS THAT TREAD INTO NARNIA by David C. Downing There are several reasons it took so long for the books to be adapted into films. Lewis himself considered the cinema an ugly art form, "disagreeable to the eye—crowded, unrestful, inharmonious." He wondered if the main reason people went to movie theaters was to keep warm on a cold, damp night. (Collected Letters 3, 105). Lewis was also strongly opposed to the idea of live-action film versions of the Narnia stories... CONTINUE READING LOOKING FOR AN INKLINGS ADVENTURE: An Interview with Dr. David C. Downing "I first read both Lewis and Tolkien during my college years. Someone recommended the Narnia Chronicles to me in high school, but I thought I was far too sophisticated and mature at the age of eighteen to be reading 'kid stuff'! When I finally dipped into The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe one summer, I was so enthralled I read all seven Chronicles in a month. Then I sat down and re-read all seven of them again the next month..." CONTINUE READING PAGANISM AND THE CONVERSION OF C.S. LEWIS by Clothilde Morhan "Nearly all that I loved I believed to be imaginary; nearly all that I believed to be real I thought grim and meaningless." With these words C.S. Lewis, the great Christian apologist who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, described the early years of his life. The story of his pre-conversion self, however, is much more than the autobiography of one 20th-century Englishman. It depicts the spiritual torpor of modern man, namely post-Christian man... CONTINUE READING AN HOUR AND A LIFETIME WITH C.S. LEWIS: An Interview with Thomas Howard "Lewis’s popularity derived, I am sure, from the remorseless clarity of everything he wrote, plus his glorious imagination, plus his splendid mastery of the English language..." CONTINUE READING C.S. LEWIS'S CASE FOR CHRISTIANITY: An Interview with Richard Purtill by Gord Wilson "I’m a convert. When I converted in my ‘teens, it was largely due to reading Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters and a lot of works by G.K. Chesterton. So Chesterton and Lewis sort of guided me into the Catholic Church, even though Lewis wasn’t a Catholic..." CONTINUE READING