The Gospel According to Tolkien: Visions of the Kingdom in Middle-earth

This book summarizes part of The Lord of the Rings (and other Tolkien work) and draws comparisons with Christian thought and mythology. It tries to draw direct connections between the characters and situations in TOLR and classic Christian stories from the bible and church history. It examines portions of the stories and compares them to classic Christian thought and literature.While I do not agree with some of the author's allusions, I find his drawing of the connections to at least be interesting and, at times, thought provoking. The book gives a different way of looking at parts of the story that one may not have considered before. Most Tolkien fans will tell you that there is not supposed to be any one-to-one relations of things in TOLR and things elsewhere. I would grudgingly concede that there may be connections that Tolkien did not intend to be there, but are there if you are looking at them with a certain lense as this author is.I would recommend this book to anyone who is a TOLR fan as well of other Tolkien works. It gives you things to think about the next time you are reading the trilogy or The Hobbit or The Simarilion. I would caution the reader to not take this book as gospel and to leave some room for doubt and for making your own conclusions. It is an enjoyable read and is well worth the time spent reading it.

This is a most excellent, well researched and well written book; well worth buying and reading carefully. My only criticism is that Prof. Wood does not delve deeply enough into the specifics of the Roman Catholic mysticism which permeate all of Tolkien's truly brilliant works. Nevertheless, Professor Wood very eloquently and specifically demonstrates how Tolkien's works are indeed filled with Truth: Christian ideas and virtues. Furthermore, Prof. Wood looks into several key examples of lives in Tolkien who triumph through virtue and grace, to rise above the sin and death of Middle-earth (and thus of our world), as well as highlight those poor creatures, great and small, who succumb to the allure of pride, dominion, lust for power and greed. He likewise explores those characters who fall prey to great evil; who foolishly give up hope and sadly sink into despondency, with its resulting outcomes.It helps a great deal if Wood's readers are already quite familiar with all the great works of Tolkien, not merely the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Yet, it could be said that this book might for some new readers, act as a springboard into the brilliance and extreme depth of Tolkien; those perhaps only familiar with the films and want a explore the vastly richer world of Tolkien's actual writings. Likewise, Prof. Wood's book can arm the new reader of Tolkien, or even experienced ones, with insights which will make reading (or deeply re-reading) Tolkien's great works a much more interesting, insightful and valuable experience.Professor Wood gave an excellent lecture at Gordon College on Lord of the Rings specifically, and on Tolkien and his Roman Catholicism generally (it's only about an hour long). Below is the link to view this must-see lecture, on You Tube [...]"Ralph Wood - On Tolkien--The Lord of the Rings--A Book for our Time"[...]

I like this book. It isn't perfect, but few books are. Let me get the quibbles out of the way first. The first issue I have is on page 5; the author implies that Tolkien suggested the Ring of Sauron as potentially suggestive of the atomic bomb. Tolkien didn't suggest this, and Tolkien began writing the background for book well before the atomic bomb existed. The second issue of contention - the author dramatically understates the impact of pagan and polytheist religion in the book. Richard Purtill's book "J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality and Religion"  The J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and Religion  should be read as a corrective here. Ok - negative part said. Apart from that, I think the author is a very concise and eloquent writer, who has explained the moral and religious themes of The Lord of the Rings quite well. The Christian themes are very apparent, the Tolkien fan will be well-rewarded. It does help to have some knowledge of Tolkien (including the Silmarillion) to understand this book thoroughly. That said, I think the language is clear and concise enough, much may be grasped even without that. This is a good book on the religion of Tolkien, I just recommend reading the Purtill book as well to enhance and fill out your view of Tolkien.

I highly recommend this book to any Christian interested in Tolkien. The book is easy to read and contains many references that will surely crack those Tolkien editions open again.Another reviewer criticized Wood's work as overreaching, but i believe the criticism to be misplaced. The history of Tolkien is one of presenting the Gospel at every turn, from drawing C.S. Lewis to Christianity to producing an overtly Christian literature. It's true that he was fascinated by paganism, but so was Chesterton, who was an influence upon Tolkien as well as a Christian apologist. It should not come as a surprise that Tolkien's work begins with a creation myth story and contain fallen angels, good angels, and a battle for the redemption of humanity that can only compare with Milton's Paradise series (in fact, i'd argue, rising above it). It is far more difficult to claim the epic to be thoroughly pagan than to claim it thoroughly Christian. The critic is the one overreaching.Dr. Wood's examination is revealing, and i believe one could probe even deeper to uncover even more Christian themes that this volume could not cover. Why does Frodo, a normal powerless hobbit, shine and regain such strength when he bravely confronts Smeagol as he is about to arrive at Mt. Doom if there is no underlining spiritual message? Why does mere bread revitalize when it is thin and tasteless? Lord of the Rings is incredibly and obviously buried in Christian doctrine, though one has to be familiar with the themes to recognize them.

I have read and re read The Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion many times and have had a growing awareness each time that Tolkien was subtlely coding references to the Holy Bible. I was intrigued to find out if this was the case, or merely my interpretation as a Christian. Mr Wood's book is a very clear that Tolkien's Roman Catholic faith along with his massive knowledge of the Classics and Medieval literature informed these epics and was a key message in them. This is a very well argued book and non preachy. It is a valuable book for any Tolkien fan.