Myth, Allegory, and Gospel: An Interpretation of JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, GK Chesterton, Chas Williams

by John Warwick Montgomery

If you are a "fan" of the fantasy books by Tolkien, C.S.Lewis, Charles Williams or Chesterton, then this is a book worth reading. It is a collection of essays by various authorities in literature, myth and theology. A couple of the contributors were acquainted with either Tolkien or Lewis. The central thesis running through this collection of essays is that mythic symbols found in folk-tales and religious rituals, all express a common, fundamental human yearning for healing and a return to a "lost paradise". The essayists draw on insights from religious phenomenology, Jungian analysis, Christian theology and literary interpretation to tease out the potent mythic symbols found in the writings of Tolkien, Lewis, Chesterton and Williams. Lewis, Williams and Tolkien were associated with one another as drinking partners in an informal literary club known as The Inklings. The essayists "test" their thesis about the power of myth to reveal our search for meaning through the novels of the Inklings. The essayists take us a step further to consider the Christian world-view that informed and shaped the writings of Tolkien, Lewis, Williams and Chesterton. Although a couple of the essays are slightly "dated", any one interested in fantasy literature would find the thesis very absorbing. It should be useful not merely to students of english literature but also to the general reader who might like to know more about the backdrop to The Lord of the Rings, Narnia, etc. Certainly a book to add to your list for reading if you enjoyed the novels!

160 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2015

About the author

John Warwick Montgomery was an American-born lawyer, academic, Lutheran theologian, and author. He was born in Warsaw, New York, United States. Montgomery maintained multiple citizenship in the United States, United Kingdom, and France. From 2014 to 2017, he was Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy at Concordia University, Wisconsin. He was Professor-At-Large, 1517: The Legacy Project. He was named Avocat honoraire, Barreau de Paris (2023), after 20 years in French legal practice. He continued to work as a barrister specializing in religious freedom cases in international Human Rights law until his death.
Montgomery was chiefly noted for his major contributions as a writer, lecturer, and public debater in the field of Christian apologetics.
From 1995 to 2007 he was a Professor in Law and Humanities at the University of Bedfordshire, England; and from 2007 to 2014, the Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy and Christian Thought at Patrick Henry College in Virginia, United States. He later became Emeritus Professor at the University of Bedfordshire. He was also the director of the International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism & Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, and was the editor of the theological online journal Global Journal of Classical Theology.

Reviews

[G. Salter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still intriguing decades later

Being a collection of pieces mostly from a 1960s conference on the Inklings, the language can be dated, as are some of the references ("when the Silmarillion will be published"). But there is enough gold here to make the book worth rereading years later.

[Adam Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Montgomery walks through the use of allegory to communicate the Gospel in Christ. While admirable, the book is too short to cover much ground so it only gets to the basics. The benefit is looking at the cherry picking of various passages from Tolkien, Lewis, and Chesterton (I do not think Williams' works are up to snuff, personally) to highlight how they bring out the Gospel. The negative is that this book only gets to the basics of the authors, but some people might like this as a resource.

[Erin Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this book as a resource for teaching Tolkien to Christian High School students. Got lots of good insight here!