Lecture 1: Overview of Tolkien’s Life Introduction: Tolkien had a problem, along with Lewis, and as we should, with sentences that begin like this. But he also had a problem with people who tried to understand works of literature as simple extension of biography. At the same time, we cannot simply dismiss the outline of …
Tolkien and Lewis
Lecture 2: Tolkien and Lewis Introduction: Without a doubt, Lewis was Tolkien’s closest friend over the course of his lifetime. When they met, neither were strangers to the world of close emotional and intellectual friendships, but at the same time, they were particularly suited to one another. Because of this, we can learn a great …
Myth and Reality
Lecture 3: Myth and Reality Introduction: Both Lewis and Tolkien have been greatly misunderstood because people have assumed that they know what the men were attempting to do. But if you put a work of fiction into the wrong category, a lot of confusion can result, and in this case, has. The Problem of Allegory: …
Northernness
Lecture 4: Northernness Northernness: C.S. Lewis described this as a longing or Sehnsucht (Surprised by Joy, p. 7) – as he develops it, it should be understood as a creaturely longing for eternity. Considered from another angle it is autumn as an idea (p. 16). A third term for it is northernness, and this may …
The Lord of the Rings
Lecture 5: The Lord of the Rings Introduction: An initial Christian understanding of The Lord of the Rings should be structured around certain key concepts in the Christian faith. God: Part of the problem that Tolkien had with the Arthurian stories is that they were explicitly set within the Christian era, and this made the …
The Lord of the Rings II
Lecture 6: The Lord of the Rings Introduction: In conclusion, we can look to some of the larger themes, as well as perhaps some of the lesser. Escapism: No virtue (or fault) is found in a transitive verb. We do not know if someone is virtuous simply because they “love.” What do they love? Or …
The Lord of the Rings: The Movies
#Lecture 7: The Lord of the Rings: The Movies Introduction: Of course, we cannot really talk about the Lord of the Rings anymore without talking about the movies. Irritations: Maybe it was because they couldn’t find the appropriate place in New Zealand, but the plains of Rohan were way too rocky. Many of you who …
Justification and Hamas
It would be foolish to assume that the Israelis are incapable of perpetrating atrocities on Palestinian civilians. We know the sinfulness of man, and so let us assume it to be so for a moment. How can we take this as part of the evidence that the Israelis are, in terms of public demeanor, the righteous party …
How This Thing Works
Welcome to dougwils.com. What sort of postings might one expect here? Lord willing, and the creeks don’t rise, this is how things will go. Each day of the week will have a regular and recurring posting. Sunday will have the parable that is presented as part of the call to worship at Christ Church. Monday …
Lonely Soulism
Some time ago in Credenda (15/3), I wrote something about blogs and blogging which excited some comment in the blogging world at the time. Now that I have my very own blog, I expect those words to be thrown back at me, much like what happened to H.L. Mencken when he got married after he …