Walking with Frodo: A Devotional Journey Through the Lord of the Rings

by Sarah Arthur

Tolkien's epic tale The Lord of the Rings has long captivated readers with its allegorical parallels to biblical themes. And now, Sarah Arthur takes a fresh look at these biblical themes in the Tolkien's classic trilogy with her devotional book Walking with Frodo. The 18 devotions note the certain vices and virtues displayed by characters in The Lord of the Rings, such as deception vs. honesty, or light vs. darkness, or even good vs. evil, and brings to light what the Bible has to say about such themes. Walking with Frodo is a must-have for longtime and newcomers to the series.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Devotional, Religion, Christianity, Spirituality, Christian Living

87 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Sarah Arthur is a fun-loving speaker, Christy Award finalist, and author of numerous books for teens and adults, including the bestselling ONCE A QUEEN, the first in her acclaimed Carrick Hall Novels. Among other nerdy adventures, she has served as preliminary fiction judge for Christianity Today’s Book Awards, was a founding board member of the annual C. S. Lewis Festival in northern Michigan, and co-directs the Madeleine L’Engle Writing Retreats. She lives in Lansing, Michigan with her husband and two preteen sons.

Reviews

[Cat Carstairs · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5 stars

This was a fun read! The author makes an analysis of some popular Lord of the Rings characters and their arcs and explains how they relate to themes in the Bible. While reading I realized some important things both about my faith and the LOTR books. I wasn't able to discern what the intended audience for this one was, but it was a quick read and I enjoyed it!

[Kelly Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suppose I should start off by saying that this book is not exactly what I had expected it to be. I was anticipating something similar to Frodo's Journey which breaks down the underlying spiritual meanings in The Lord of the Rings series. This is more of relating one's own spiritual journey to those of specific characters from LotR and backing up some of Tolkien's messages with Scriptural quotes; a DIY retreat of sorts.

I can tell this book is geared toward teenage readers, but still found many passages thought-provoking and witty, applicable for any age. It certainly is an easy read and overall quite interesting; though there are a few passages that describe, at length, metaphors that require no explanation.

Examples include but are not limited to: walking on thin ice, a pot not watched boiling over, and more about neglected things falling into ruin.

Okay I don't usually nitpick things like this in books, but it stood out and seemed worthy of mention. I know the drawn-out explanations are probably there to emphasize the points, but still, pretty dull to read.

I wasn't too big a fan of the discussion questions either. While they do include topics to contemplate self-improvement, some of them seem to direct the focus on faults in others. I mean, they are pretty specific:
"Who among your friends and family is ignoring this reality, [the presence of evil in the world]?"
"When have you felt betrayed by a friend?"
"Whom do you know who lives in bondage to sin or fear?" "How does that affect his or her ability to act in meaningful ways?"
Yeahhh...

But I'm not just going to sit here complaining about a book that I'm giving 4 stars. It remains an insightful read. There are amusing parts too of course. Namely, the authoress' humor and way of explaining things. Here's an example:

"Those are not Orcs approaching us in the cafeteria, telling us we're sitting at their table. They're just big guys in jerseys whose grandmothers probably love them dearly..."

I could quote nearly the whole book with examples, but that should do for present.

So overall it really is a fun read and successfully connects many of the messages within the LotR story to specific Bible passages and Christian teaching. Because this is the main focus of the book, I found it fairly enjoyable.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cool! I learned so much more about the Lord of the Rings characters and how I can apply lessons from the books to my own life.

Sarah Arthur uses a lot of cool Bible verses that work really well with the character traits she writes about. For each week she presents a negative and a positive character trait and what the Bible and the characters of the Lord of the Rings say about it.

[Ivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I like about this book (besides the fact that it is about LOTR) is that the author doesn't say, THIS is exactly what Tolkien meant when he was writing. I find that a lot of people do believe that Tolkien put in all these 'symbols' and 'conections' on purpose. I'm sure he put some in there, but really you can make a symbol out of anything. Overall it is a good book for stumbling upon at Goodwill! :)

[Moriah Leech · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWE-SOME book! Can't wait to get "Walking With Bilbo"! Such a great Bible study for LOTR fans! Really opened my eyes to the power of some scripture verses that really didn't stand out to me much prior to reading this book. I will definitely be lending and recommending this book to all of my LOTR loving friends!

[Richard Bicknase · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I checked the book out from the library, I was thinking it would be more of a literary analysis than it actually is or tries to be. I've read a number of analysis books (coming from a Christian perspective) on Narnia, and I thought this book would be along those lines. It is a much lighter read than I expected. This is more a problem with my lack of research into the book than with the book itself. If you are looking for a light devotional using The Lord of the Rings as the prompt for devotional reflection, which is what this book is trying to be, this serves that purpose decently well.

[Cathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The language of this book is written for an audience of teens or college students, but the traits discussed are applicable to all ages. If you are an adult and don’t mind reading YA, I think you’d enjoy these devotions. The format was different than her Bilbo book, but effective in showing the good versus bad character traits. Funny, as I read these, I was reminded of just how much I was on the wrong path during this time of my life. So, these devotions brought gratefulness to my heart for the redemption and forgiveness given to me by my Savior.

[Crystal Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Christian who loves Lord of the Rings should read this book! So good. The topics were very relatable and relevant, as well as eye-opening. A great resource for deepening your walk with God.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

really for teens, but my mother gave it to because I like the author and of course am a LOTR fan. recommended for its intended audience :-)

[Kiah Nordgren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept was there, but I couldn’t get past the mischaracterization of literally all of the characters and in real life people as well.

[Nick Imrie]

I thought I would learn something about Christianity, and maybe get some interesting insight into LOTR. Unfortunately, this book has nothing insightful to say about either Lord of the Rings or Christianity.

Using popular movies to make kids think about basic morality is all well and good, so there is definitely an audience for this book, it just wasn't me.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely done

Walking With Frodo: A Devotional Journey Through the Lord of the Rings is aimed at middle school through college students. It takes the LOTR trilogy (movie or books) and demonstrates that the struggles in the books are often our own struggles, although perhaps not as dramatic as a battle with the Balrog...

Sarah Arthur uses LOTR "to drive home timeless truths about life."(p. xii) Tolkein's Christian worldview does come out from time to time in the books (who cannot help but to make an analogy between Gandalf sacrificing himself to defeat the Balrog and the despair of his companions afterwards with Jesus dying on the cross and the behavior of the disciples immediately afterwards?)

The book has 9 pairs of devotionals based on decisions or situations in LOTR (bondage vs. freedom and choosing despair vs. choosing hope, for example). There are a few relevant Bible verses thrown in for good measure. A strong group leader could make this a powerful Bible study. Or, it can be quickly devoured by someone like me in about an hour because I skipped the discussion questions. Now, I'm inspired to pull out the DVDs and watch the trilogy all over again with a new angle to watch for.

http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/

[A.C. Bauch · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, the most enjoyable aspect of this book is its LOTR connection. In absence of that, I find the spiritual (i.e., devotional) aspects of it somewhat lacking. However, I also feel that the author was writing this book with a younger audience in mind (I'm thinking college-aged and younger), so I could understand that the material isn't as deep as what might be intended for an older audience. Nevertheless, having taught high school Sunday school classes and having been involved in my church's youth programs, I think that age group can handle more depth than some people give it credit for.

[Susan Snodgrass · Rating 5 out of 5]

J.R.R. Tolkien was a devout Christian who truly wove his faith into his books, I believe. I see it all through them and the movies. We see the fight against darkness throughout the books and the light overcoming it. His characterizations are profound and never leave you once you've read them. I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan and these devotions are incredibly well written. This book will serve a devotion that begs to be read over and over again. Highly recommended.

[Brandon H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful little devotional book for Christian fans of Lord of the Rings.

While the target audience of this book is young teens through college age people, this book is full of helpful insights that the older audiences can appreciate. I was surprised at how much I gleaned from the author's insights into both the Lord of the Rings and the Christian life. I'm not a huge fan of devotional books but I would recommend this one without hesitation.

[Rissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book!! It really convicted me as well as taught me, and now everytime I think of a lotr Character, I have a biblical lesson that goes with it/them/him/her! I thought it very good that she covered not only good guys, but the vilans as well, and the humor is great! A book that EVERY LotR jukie needs to read!

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though Tolkien did not intend to have this tale as 'allegory' it was obvious that many elements of his faith showed through his writing.
This book is a brilliant look through the Lord of the Rings from a Biblical perspective, focusing more on character nature and applications than strictly symbolism. Very insightful all in all.

[Elizabeth Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy devotionals, and this "Lord of the Rings" linked one was a pop-culture pleasure. Generally pretty lightweight, but with some thought provoking questions here and there, and suggested Biblical references for further exploration.

[katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a very good book. i loved how she showed the relationship between lotr and the Lord.

[Linda Horn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Its actually a devotional type book that ties biblical themes to the story of Frodo's journey. It's fun and helpful.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has got to be my favorite devotional-type book! I now have a strong urge to go back and re-read the Lord of the Rings. :)

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, but I thought it was targeted at a younger reader. Might be good to do with your teens or in a middle or high school Sunday School or youth group.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't the target audience for this, so I found some of the devotions hard to relate to. A few I disagreed with in parts.

For example, in Week 8: Part 1, the author admits that most of us are not guilty of the outright betrayal of Saruman, but she does say we like to manipulate our friends and family to get them to do what we want.

Controlling others out of fear or insecurity is much more common than controlling them purely to take advantage of them. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. For the most part, I don't have ulterior motives when speaking to others, and I assume the same thing of them. I don't think about what I can get from them, not consciously, anyway. Perhaps I am just blind to it.

Still, the verse that is used in this devotion (Luke 11:43) says that Jesus "has harsh words for such behavior". The verse talks about the Pharisees' love of social status (this is my interpretation, which is different from the author's). That's not the same thing as the examples of us taking advantage of our friends and family. Once or twice I found myself saying about the verses given (even the ones you had to look up): "That's not the same thing at all." It seemed that some scriptures were used to confirm the author's argument, even when those verses were a bit of a stretch.

[Mikel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't quite what I expected it to be. It is a lot of surface information. It references the movies as much (if not more) than it does the books. I was looking for something a little deeper. A book that brought in a little more of Tolkien's histories and the long battles between good and evil. I thought we would get a little more about the mythology and how it reflected Christianity and the Bible. It does show that Gandalf and Aragorn were Christlike figures but it wasn't long enough to go into any great detail.

Overall, it was a good book but not very deep.

[Liwen Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun an inspiring

I really like how this book connects the story of the Lord of the Rings to our spiritual journey. It helps me to get further insights into various characters in the story, and help us to reflect on ourselves with practical and thoughtful questions to apply the truth we learned from the book.

[Audrey Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored every moment of this devotional. It made reading the Bible so fun and really helped me get a feel for some of the stand-out verses of the Bible. Some of the verses I recognized but a lot of them I had never read before! I already knew I wished I was Aragorn but this book convinced me AGAIN THAT I WISH I WAS ARAGORN.
Delightful. Great before-bed book :)

[Jeffrey K. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frodo's Journey Our Encouragement

Who knew it, that a Hobbit could give a 21st century pilgrim so much hope.
Sarah Arthur has given us a treasure of encouragement for difficult times. I gleaned so much from her work.

[Dianne Bright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been so fun. As a LOR nerd, I couldn’t have found a better book combing literature and faith. The target audience seems to be youth, but as a mom and as a writer, I fully enjoyed this. PS—I’m also a Wheatie! :)

[Sarah Allerding · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I didn't agree with everything in the book, I liked the application of Bible passages to situations in the Lord of the Rings.

[T.]

An interesting read, It wouldn't be my first pick for a devotion but nonetheless it had some interesting points.