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AN ENCOURAGING THOUGHT: The Christian Worldview in the Writings of J. R. R. Tolkien
Donald T. Williams learned a lot about the Christian worldview from Francis Schaeffer and CS Lewis, but it was actually Tolkien who first showed him that such a thing exists and is an essential component of maturing faith. Not only do explicitly Christian themes underlie the plot structure of The Lord of the Rings, but in essays such as "On Fairie Stories" Tolkien shows that he did not only believe the Gospel on Sunday but treated it as true of the rest of the week and used his commitment to that truth as the key to further insights in his work as a student of literature. "You can do that?" Williams thought as a young man not yet exposed to any Christian who was a serious thinker. "I want to do that!" His hope is that his readers will catch that same vision from this book. An Encouraging Thought elucidates the ways in which Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are informed by and communicate to a biblical worldview. This book will help readers appreciate the ways in which a biblical worldview reports Tolkien's work, to the end that their faith may be confirmed in strength, focused in understanding, deepened in joy, and honed in its ability to communicate the Gospel.
154 pages, Paperback
Published February 16, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 16, 2020
In this splendid, slim but rather densely-packed (in a good way) volume, Dr. Donald T. Williams, Ph.D., sheds considerable illumination – as gleams from the Phial of Galadriel! – on the thoroughly Christian worldview embedded in and embodied by J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth legendarium: The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, and The Silmarillion.
That this is so should come as no surprise to those who know of Tolkien's devout Catholic faith; but it may jar a bit for those who are prepared to see in his works the influence of pagan Germanic mythology. Indeed, the influences of Germanic (and to a lesser extent, Celtic) Europe in Tolkien's sub-created world are profound in linguistic and cultural terms, but this can obscure the fact that the underlying mythos is not pagan, but Christian.
While a bit outside the scope of this review, or the book being reviewed, Tolkien, like C.S. Lewis, appears to have viewed pre-Christian Germano-Celtic paganism – a field in which he was well-versed as a scholar – as a type of preparatio evangelica, preparing the ground for the seeds of faith to be sown by Christian missionaries: not surprising if one views the world, as Tolkien did and as Williams does (and, in the interests of full disclosure, as I do), as the creation of an all-knowing Creator... but I digress.
My few minor quibbles with this volume were mostly at the formatting, rather than the content: the san serif typeface was far from unreadable, but a serif font would have been easier on the eyes; the arrangement of the title and copyright pages (the two-page spread on pp. ii and iii) was a bit jarring, being reversed from the expected standard; and the double-spacing of the included poems made them a bit tougher to read than necessary, I thought. Your mileage may vary, however!
In more substantive terms, I thought his critique of the Peter Jackson movies was square-on, and in fact he actually cut Jackson more slack than I would have, in his place: not so much for things subtracted (that is inevitable), but for things added. But that's about it for quibbles. On to the positive, of which there is much more!
Williams lends interest to his treatment of Tolkien's Christian worldview, I think, by relating it to his own experience of discovering this feature of The Professor's work, and his at-first startled discovery that a) such a thing as a Christian worldview – what Williams calls "thinking Christianly about the world" – is even possible, and b) that it can be woven into stories set in a deep and rich "sub-created" world.
(Tolkien's doctrine of "sub-creation" states that "We make... because we are made: and not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker": "On Faerie Stories," quoted in An Encouraging Thought on p. 39.)
The implications of this, both for literature and (more importantly still) for life, are – as Williams points out – profound. Tolkien's writings, William asserts, thus form "a set of corrective lenses that help to bring our world into clearer focus." Indeed, he affirms (quite correctly, in my view), that
In other words, as I mentioned above, the significance of Tolkien's Christian worldview is not merely as a tool for understanding his writings more deeply – although of course it is that – but also for understanding our own world more deeply, as well. For his perceptivity, and his deft and sympathetic touch in pointing this out, to Mr. Williams I say,
Elen síla lúmenn' omentielmo – A star shines upon the hour of our meeting!
That this is so should come as no surprise to those who know of Tolkien's devout Catholic faith; but it may jar a bit for those who are prepared to see in his works the influence of pagan Germanic mythology. Indeed, the influences of Germanic (and to a lesser extent, Celtic) Europe in Tolkien's sub-created world are profound in linguistic and cultural terms, but this can obscure the fact that the underlying mythos is not pagan, but Christian.
While a bit outside the scope of this review, or the book being reviewed, Tolkien, like C.S. Lewis, appears to have viewed pre-Christian Germano-Celtic paganism – a field in which he was well-versed as a scholar – as a type of preparatio evangelica, preparing the ground for the seeds of faith to be sown by Christian missionaries: not surprising if one views the world, as Tolkien did and as Williams does (and, in the interests of full disclosure, as I do), as the creation of an all-knowing Creator... but I digress.
My few minor quibbles with this volume were mostly at the formatting, rather than the content: the san serif typeface was far from unreadable, but a serif font would have been easier on the eyes; the arrangement of the title and copyright pages (the two-page spread on pp. ii and iii) was a bit jarring, being reversed from the expected standard; and the double-spacing of the included poems made them a bit tougher to read than necessary, I thought. Your mileage may vary, however!
In more substantive terms, I thought his critique of the Peter Jackson movies was square-on, and in fact he actually cut Jackson more slack than I would have, in his place: not so much for things subtracted (that is inevitable), but for things added. But that's about it for quibbles. On to the positive, of which there is much more!
Williams lends interest to his treatment of Tolkien's Christian worldview, I think, by relating it to his own experience of discovering this feature of The Professor's work, and his at-first startled discovery that a) such a thing as a Christian worldview – what Williams calls "thinking Christianly about the world" – is even possible, and b) that it can be woven into stories set in a deep and rich "sub-created" world.
(Tolkien's doctrine of "sub-creation" states that "We make... because we are made: and not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker": "On Faerie Stories," quoted in An Encouraging Thought on p. 39.)
The implications of this, both for literature and (more importantly still) for life, are – as Williams points out – profound. Tolkien's writings, William asserts, thus form "a set of corrective lenses that help to bring our world into clearer focus." Indeed, he affirms (quite correctly, in my view), that
"Middle Earth is our world interpreted mythically in terms of its deep past... We are thus able to experience the universe anew as a world of purposeful creation that allows darkness and light, the strength of dedicated weakness, significant sacrifice, personal providence, and Christlike heroes to have meaning again. Middle Earth becomes a lens through which we learn to see such things even in the contemporary world we inhabit."
In other words, as I mentioned above, the significance of Tolkien's Christian worldview is not merely as a tool for understanding his writings more deeply – although of course it is that – but also for understanding our own world more deeply, as well. For his perceptivity, and his deft and sympathetic touch in pointing this out, to Mr. Williams I say,
Elen síla lúmenn' omentielmo – A star shines upon the hour of our meeting!
March 3, 2018
Insight to the Imagination of Tolkien
Williams is well-versed in Tolkienese. He brings in depth perspective to the underlying treasures of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings writing and Tolkien himself. Williams does not make this a revealing of the deep mysteries within but the nature of the overall content. The how and why of Tolkien and his method to the wonderful world of Middle Earth is communicated. If you enjoyed the film adaptation of Peter Jackson's the criticism is rather strong. Jackson did take some liberties with the storyline that should be reconsidered. Nonetheless, Williams does attribute to Jackson the credit for a good representation of the Middle Earth realm and many of the differing entities. Overall Williams does not spoil the allure and mystique of The Lord of the Rings without bringing greater insight. He leaves great for a healthy exercise of the imagination of Tolkien's cosmos. A must for all serious Tolkien readers, a great aid for those just familiarizing themselves with Middle Earth.
Williams is well-versed in Tolkienese. He brings in depth perspective to the underlying treasures of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings writing and Tolkien himself. Williams does not make this a revealing of the deep mysteries within but the nature of the overall content. The how and why of Tolkien and his method to the wonderful world of Middle Earth is communicated. If you enjoyed the film adaptation of Peter Jackson's the criticism is rather strong. Jackson did take some liberties with the storyline that should be reconsidered. Nonetheless, Williams does attribute to Jackson the credit for a good representation of the Middle Earth realm and many of the differing entities. Overall Williams does not spoil the allure and mystique of The Lord of the Rings without bringing greater insight. He leaves great for a healthy exercise of the imagination of Tolkien's cosmos. A must for all serious Tolkien readers, a great aid for those just familiarizing themselves with Middle Earth.
January 23, 2026
As a fan and a reader, and collector of J R R Tolkien's books for many years, I found this little tome of Donald Williams a delight to read and very insightful. I highly recommend it to get and have on your bookshelves. The author not only did an excellent job in outlining and delving into Tolkien's Christian worldview into Middle Earth (The Hobbit and "The Lord of the Rings" series); but his chapter on Peter Jackson's understanding of Tolkien's writings in regard to his films is worth the price of the book in itself. I started reading Tolkien in Junior High School and read his works many times over the years and I must say that although I enjoyed both "The Hobbit" films and "The Lord of the Rings" series of films I too was put off by some of the scenes in the movies that were not true to the books themselves. Williams in my opinion stated the case against Peter Jackson's portrayal the best of anything I have read so far.
May 30, 2021
This is an accessible book about Tolkien's Christian worldview in his Middle Earth legendarium. Although Williams includes several digressions, sometimes into personal musings or into secondary and tertiary issues, he does raise several helpful and well-supported points about the prominence of Christianity in defining the reality of Tolkien's subcreated cosmos. The book is written in a friendly and colloquial manner, reflecting the heart of a bonafide educator who wishes to teach his readers with absolute (and sometimes excessive) clarity.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews