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The Gospel According to Tolkien: Visions of the Kingdom in Middle-earth
Readers have repeatedly called The Lord of the Rings the most important book of our age--absorbing all 1,500 of its pages with an almost fanatical interest and seeing the Peter Jackson movies in unprecedented numbers. Readers from ages 8 to 80 keep turning to Tolkien because here, in this magical kingdom, they are immersed in depth after depth of significance and meaning--perceiving the Hope that can be found amidst despair, the Charity that overcomes vengeance, and the Faith that springs from the strange power of weakness. The Gospel According to Tolkien examines biblical and Christian themes that are found in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. Follow Ralph Wood as he takes us through the theological depths of Tolkien's literary legacy.
169 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 30, 2003
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1107 people want to read
About the author
Ralph C. Wood
21 books34 followersRalph C. Wood is a scholar of theology and English literature whose work focuses on Christian writers, particularly J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, Gerard Manley Hopkins, George Herbert, and Dorothy Sayers. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from East Texas State College in 1965 and his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1975. After teaching English at North Park College in Chicago, he held academic posts in religion at Wake Forest University, Samford University, Regent College in Vancouver, and Providence College in Rhode Island. In 1998 he became University Professor of Theology and Literature at Baylor University, where he continues to teach and write. Wood’s publications include The Gospel According to Tolkien and Tolkien among the Moderns. His awards include the Associated Church Press Award of Excellence (2010) and the Lionel Basney Award (2011). He is recognized as one of the most original Tolkien scholars on the religious dimensions of his work.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
July 6, 2008
It's been a few years since I read this book, and so I won't risk the sort of complete review the book deserves.
I used to hang out frequently in various online Tolkien fan communities to share my love of Tolkien's works with other geek. One thing that always struck me about the conversations which developed in this places was how much fuller, deeper, and well reasoned the arguments were than those I encountered in published works by literary critics and scholars. The average literary critic reading Tolkien is I think, by virtue of his training, left poorly prepared to deal with Tolkien's work, and employs a method of analysis which is wholly alien to the author's nature and technique. For example, Tolkien openly hated overt allegory and metaphor, and eshewed as much as he could employing anything like one to one metaphors between the elements of his text and some real world figure or event. Yet, most scholars persist in seeing simplistic metaphors in his story and build up the most elaborate towers of balderdash about what the books are about despite the fact that such arguments fall apart under even the most cursory scrutiny.
Of all of Tolkien's published critics, I think Wood by far comes the closest to 'getting it' and actually getting at the depths of the text. He's certainly the only one who I think would usefully contribute to a discussion between actual fans of the sort that read the book annually, or continually, or to the point of having lost count of the number of times they've read it. (You know who you are.) Maybe that is because Wood is a fan himself.
I used to hang out frequently in various online Tolkien fan communities to share my love of Tolkien's works with other geek. One thing that always struck me about the conversations which developed in this places was how much fuller, deeper, and well reasoned the arguments were than those I encountered in published works by literary critics and scholars. The average literary critic reading Tolkien is I think, by virtue of his training, left poorly prepared to deal with Tolkien's work, and employs a method of analysis which is wholly alien to the author's nature and technique. For example, Tolkien openly hated overt allegory and metaphor, and eshewed as much as he could employing anything like one to one metaphors between the elements of his text and some real world figure or event. Yet, most scholars persist in seeing simplistic metaphors in his story and build up the most elaborate towers of balderdash about what the books are about despite the fact that such arguments fall apart under even the most cursory scrutiny.
Of all of Tolkien's published critics, I think Wood by far comes the closest to 'getting it' and actually getting at the depths of the text. He's certainly the only one who I think would usefully contribute to a discussion between actual fans of the sort that read the book annually, or continually, or to the point of having lost count of the number of times they've read it. (You know who you are.) Maybe that is because Wood is a fan himself.
June 4, 2018
Too bad the highest rating allowed on Goodreads is only 5 stars. If you needed more reasons to love Tolkien, this book is the answer. Nothing is done without a purpose in his works. Unlike other writers, Tolkien does not make his Christianity blatantly obvious or shove it in your face. But the amazing thing is that it's still there, subtly, in everything. This book explains in good detail how Tolkien weaves it all in.
March 31, 2013
There is more going on in this book than merely showing the reader that J.R.R. Tolkien's Christianity is present in The Lord of the Rings. I read this book when it first came out in 2005. I think I may have read it one other time along the way. But I have just read it again in preparation for meeting the author, Ralph Wood, at a conference last week. This time I really liked the book.
The Gospel According to Tolkien brings together scripture, Christian history and doctrine and shows those things in The Lord of the Rings. Wood's presentation is not merely academic. He shows the attributes of Christian spiritual development and shows where to find those attributes in both the Bible and in The Lord of the Rings to show examples of what those attributes do for the character in the novel.
The best way to influence a person's thinking or to change behavior is by getting that person to have personal experiences leading to the change. A close second is to get the person to have the experiences vicariously through characters in a compelling story. Wood helps the reader by pointing to desirable Christian virtues and showing where they are in The Lord of the Rings in order to encourage thought within the reader to value and develop those virtues him or herself. Further, by giving concrete examples of the dramatization of Christan virtues within the work of Tolkien he is demonstrating that Tolkien's method for influencing people to a Christian way of thinking was by creating his compelling subcreation of all of his writing, but currently appreciated most in The Lord of the Rings.
Wood's book is very much in the order of Foster's Celebration of Discipline or The Parent You Want to Be because all three present desirable attributes for the reader to develop and discuss how to develop each as part of the reader's way of being. Wood's method is to present each of the Christian virtues and to get the reader to think about and experience its value through dramatic experience from the work of J.R.R. Tolkien.
The Gospel According to Tolkien brings together scripture, Christian history and doctrine and shows those things in The Lord of the Rings. Wood's presentation is not merely academic. He shows the attributes of Christian spiritual development and shows where to find those attributes in both the Bible and in The Lord of the Rings to show examples of what those attributes do for the character in the novel.
The best way to influence a person's thinking or to change behavior is by getting that person to have personal experiences leading to the change. A close second is to get the person to have the experiences vicariously through characters in a compelling story. Wood helps the reader by pointing to desirable Christian virtues and showing where they are in The Lord of the Rings in order to encourage thought within the reader to value and develop those virtues him or herself. Further, by giving concrete examples of the dramatization of Christan virtues within the work of Tolkien he is demonstrating that Tolkien's method for influencing people to a Christian way of thinking was by creating his compelling subcreation of all of his writing, but currently appreciated most in The Lord of the Rings.
Wood's book is very much in the order of Foster's Celebration of Discipline or The Parent You Want to Be because all three present desirable attributes for the reader to develop and discuss how to develop each as part of the reader's way of being. Wood's method is to present each of the Christian virtues and to get the reader to think about and experience its value through dramatic experience from the work of J.R.R. Tolkien.
March 29, 2023
Rereading - so good.
===============
Hey! I discovered the library has the audiobook and it is read by Nadia May. She is a fantastic narrator I can tell you after listening to the first CD.
I am also really enjoying this book. Some of the insights I already knew, but others are from things I didn't know referencing a larger literary view, Tolkien's past, history, and Christianity. Wood is a graceful and interesting writer.
FINAL
Simply fantastic. Though the audio was really good it was a bit more than I could absorb well without seeing it. (Just the way I'm made, I guess.)
I am going to get the print version so I can absorb it even better.
===============
Hey! I discovered the library has the audiobook and it is read by Nadia May. She is a fantastic narrator I can tell you after listening to the first CD.
I am also really enjoying this book. Some of the insights I already knew, but others are from things I didn't know referencing a larger literary view, Tolkien's past, history, and Christianity. Wood is a graceful and interesting writer.
FINAL
Simply fantastic. Though the audio was really good it was a bit more than I could absorb well without seeing it. (Just the way I'm made, I guess.)
I am going to get the print version so I can absorb it even better.
April 11, 2024
Re-read for a current essay project on Tolkien's use of pity in Return of the King. Even though it wasn't on topic, I especially appreciated the discussion of art helping with endurance in order to practice courage.
//
A thoughtful meditation on Tolkien's work that I heartily enjoyed. I listened to an audiobook, but definitely want to add a paperback to my library eventually. Highly recommend.
//
A thoughtful meditation on Tolkien's work that I heartily enjoyed. I listened to an audiobook, but definitely want to add a paperback to my library eventually. Highly recommend.
August 27, 2024
An incredible book chalk-full deep insight into the Christian depth of Tolkien's work, both wide-ranging and acute.
November 2, 2024
I cannot recommend this book enough! I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Ralph Wood at a conference years ago. As I approached him after attending his presentation on Flannery O'Connor, another lady had walked up at the same time. I waited as she introduced herself and shared all her degrees, titles, and accolades. I felt very beneath my approach, but it was too late to walk away. Sensing this, he told the lady it was nice to meet her, and then turned to me and asked my name, following with "and what do you do?" I told him my name and stumbled over the words "I'm just a homeschool mom," to which he replied, to my surprise, that I had the most important job in the world. Hearing this, I had never felt so cheered on. I felt uplifted again as I encountered his thoughts on the hobbits in The Gospel According to Tolkien..
"Just as powerful as the Valar can commit acts of horrific destruction, so can the lowliest hobbit -- like the lowliest and most ordinary person -- accomplish deeds of incomparable importance and worth."
We ended up staying in touch, as he was a professor at Baylor, only an hour away from where I live. He invited our book club to come visit at Baylor, and he gave us a grand tour and even treated us to the staff's lounge and a lunch, where he then shared a lesson on The River, also written by FOC. Not only was he wise, but so amazingly generous and kind. I'll treasure the memory of it all forever.
Reading this book has made me completely alter my plans on having a 'reading challenge' next year. I'm the type who wants to beat my previous goals and add more books every year. This book made me realize it has become more about checking off and consuming the list of books rather than enjoying them fully, slowing down to experience them like the Ents (the tree creatures 'who serve as an example of Tolkien's love for slowness'). Dr. Wood points out, "Repeatedly Tolkien stresses the importance of patience, the willingness to avoid the shortcut and the easy way, recommending instead the slow and arduous path that leads to every excellence. Anything worth doing well is worth doing slowly."
I also loved Dr. Wood's passage regarding The Call to the Life of the Quest, where he says, "Gandalf draws a fundamental distinction between a quest and an adventure. An adventure, he says, is a 'there-and-back-again' affair. One undertakes an adventure as a matter of one's own desires -- often from boredom and a lust for excitement. Once the treasure is found and the adventure is over, one returns essentially unchanged by the experience. An escapist culture lives for adventures. A Quest, by contrast, is never a matter of one's own desire but rather of one's calling. Over and again, Frodo asks why he has been chosen for his dreadful task. His summons not to find a treasure but to lose one."
I cannot wait to start LOTR after having read these delightful insights from such an admirable and genuine scholar.
"Just as powerful as the Valar can commit acts of horrific destruction, so can the lowliest hobbit -- like the lowliest and most ordinary person -- accomplish deeds of incomparable importance and worth."
We ended up staying in touch, as he was a professor at Baylor, only an hour away from where I live. He invited our book club to come visit at Baylor, and he gave us a grand tour and even treated us to the staff's lounge and a lunch, where he then shared a lesson on The River, also written by FOC. Not only was he wise, but so amazingly generous and kind. I'll treasure the memory of it all forever.
Reading this book has made me completely alter my plans on having a 'reading challenge' next year. I'm the type who wants to beat my previous goals and add more books every year. This book made me realize it has become more about checking off and consuming the list of books rather than enjoying them fully, slowing down to experience them like the Ents (the tree creatures 'who serve as an example of Tolkien's love for slowness'). Dr. Wood points out, "Repeatedly Tolkien stresses the importance of patience, the willingness to avoid the shortcut and the easy way, recommending instead the slow and arduous path that leads to every excellence. Anything worth doing well is worth doing slowly."
I also loved Dr. Wood's passage regarding The Call to the Life of the Quest, where he says, "Gandalf draws a fundamental distinction between a quest and an adventure. An adventure, he says, is a 'there-and-back-again' affair. One undertakes an adventure as a matter of one's own desires -- often from boredom and a lust for excitement. Once the treasure is found and the adventure is over, one returns essentially unchanged by the experience. An escapist culture lives for adventures. A Quest, by contrast, is never a matter of one's own desire but rather of one's calling. Over and again, Frodo asks why he has been chosen for his dreadful task. His summons not to find a treasure but to lose one."
I cannot wait to start LOTR after having read these delightful insights from such an admirable and genuine scholar.
December 31, 2021
I didn't think it was possible to love Lord of the Rings any more than I already do... (and trust me I love it a LOT) but this book was incredible. Every page enfolds how Tolkein's works, specifically the (amazing) three-part saga, Lord of the Rings, are completely full of and rich in Christian symbolism, virtues and ideas. There were countless references to Bible passages that almost directly correlated with sections in Lord of the Rings - things like the creation of Middle Earth/ the creation of Planet Earth etc. I often found myself cheering in my head (and out loud) as Woods explained Aragorn's kingship in light of the promise of hope; the friendship of Samwise and Frodo being similar to the friendship between Jonathan and David; the servant-like, selfless attitude of Samwise as he carried Frodo up the mountain; and the courage of the entire fellowship as they persevered through their seemingly hopeless quest.
There was absolutely nothing I didn't like about this book except that it ended. :)
I very much recommend it to anyone who, like me, is a (very big) fan of Tolkien's works - especially Lord of the Rings - and Middle Earth itself.
There was absolutely nothing I didn't like about this book except that it ended. :)
I very much recommend it to anyone who, like me, is a (very big) fan of Tolkien's works - especially Lord of the Rings - and Middle Earth itself.
December 15, 2020
This is a hard book to put in a category ~ a theological reflection of fantasy!
There is much to bring to a discussion after reading this book. His class must have been amazing!
Adds another level of depth to Lord of the Rings, though many of Tolkien's writings are also included.
There is much to bring to a discussion after reading this book. His class must have been amazing!
Adds another level of depth to Lord of the Rings, though many of Tolkien's writings are also included.
July 6, 2025
Excellent look at the Tolkien’s theological insights imbedded into The Lord of the Rings.
January 27, 2022
All Tolkien lovers - please read. I have no other words at this point. Still speechless. ❤❤
September 8, 2018
While I liked much of Wood's analysis of LOTR, I wish the organization of the book had been stronger. The grouping of themes didn't make sense to me, and it often felt like he was jumping from one point to the next in a haphazard fashion. The TOC could be more informative.
The book also seems to be stuck half-way between a commentary for the average reader and a scholarly work. As an average reader with a basic familiarity of LOTR, I would need more context for many of the illustrations and quotes. I think you have to have a pretty good familiarity with Tolkien in order to follow it. As an academic, I would need more textual and critic support. I found it odd that no other literary critics were mentioned.
Overall, the general analysis of seeing Christian themes in LOTR is ok, but it feels like the author could've done more with the organization and development.
The book also seems to be stuck half-way between a commentary for the average reader and a scholarly work. As an average reader with a basic familiarity of LOTR, I would need more context for many of the illustrations and quotes. I think you have to have a pretty good familiarity with Tolkien in order to follow it. As an academic, I would need more textual and critic support. I found it odd that no other literary critics were mentioned.
Overall, the general analysis of seeing Christian themes in LOTR is ok, but it feels like the author could've done more with the organization and development.
October 1, 2017
3.5 stars. A decent, general overview of themes in the Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion as viewed through the lens of Catholic theology. It goes beyond superficial comparisons in most cases, but wasn't as meaty as I was hoping.
July 9, 2013
Amazing.
March 13, 2017
Not a bad little book. I think the best thing about this book was that it got me thinking about the Lord of the Rings from a new perspective. I don't think the author's analysis is perfect, or even excellent, but it is eye opening. It causes one to think. And it got me excited to read the Lord of the Rings again!
Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
The hobbits' problem is, ironically, that they have no problems. They enjoy a virtually Edenic existenceso peaceful are their relations, so delightful are their pleasures, so just are their laws. The life of the Shire constitutes, in fact, Tolkien's vision of life as it is supposed to be lived. Hobbits were not meant to bear the burdens of the world, but rather to preserve a last unspoiled corner of Middle-earth as a haven of modest and exemplary life. Yet the hobbits have lived in safety and comfort for so long that they are threatened by complacency and selfsatisfaction. Since they have had no emergencies in recent memory, they assume that crises will never arise. Inward complacency and decay, Tolkien suggests, is altogether as threatening as out ward assault. Thus have the hobbits come to take for granted what should have been a perennial cause for both vigilance and thanksgiving-the protection provided them by many unknown friends outside the Shire: There in that pleasant corner of the world they plied their wellordered business of living, and they heeded less and less the world outside where dark things moved, until they came to think that peace and plenty were the rule in Middle-earth and the right of all sensible folk. They forgot or ignored what little they had ever known of the Guardians, and of the labours of those that made possible the long peace of the Shire. They were, in fact, sheltered, but they had ceased to remember it. (1.14) (p.99)
More importantly, he sees that Eowyn's love is romantic in the bad sense: it's an infatuation. She has no experience of Aragorn that would enable her truly to know and love him. She is enamored, instead, with his image. She seeks her own exaltation by partaking of his gallant persona. Hence Aragorn's prudential wisdom in making this confession to her brother Eomer: Few other griefs amid the ill chances of this world have more bitterness and shame for a man's heart than to behold the love of a lady so fair and brave that cannot be returned.... And yet, Eomer, I say to you that she loves you more truly than me; for you she loves and knows; but in me she loves only a shadow and a thought: a hope of glory and great deeds, and lands far from the fields of Rohan. (3.143) (p.90)
Most of the free creatures in Tolkien's world reverence the good creation with their craftsmanship. A craft requires lifelong discipline and laborious effort, unlike the instantaneous results of magic. Gandalf's fireworks, by contrast, are matters of skill and labor rather than sorcery-even if his wand seems to be a supernatural gift. Once Gandalf suspects that Bilbo has come into possession of the magical Ruling Ring, he spends many decades in his quest to confirm his hunch. Repeatedly Tolkien stresses the importance of patience, the willingness to avoid the shortcut and the easy way, recommending instead the slow and arduous path that leads to every excellence. Anything worth doing well is worth doing slowly. (p.32)
For Tolkien, the modern obsession with quantity rather than quality of life is the mark of our unbelief. To be obsessed with prolonging our existence well beyond the bounds of our allotted biblical years is to worship life rather than the God of life. Someone has said that, if asked about the chief purpose of human existence, many denizens of the modern West would reply, if they could muster the candor: "It is to stay alive, not to die, and the purpose of staying alive is to have a good time." (p.74)
Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
The hobbits' problem is, ironically, that they have no problems. They enjoy a virtually Edenic existenceso peaceful are their relations, so delightful are their pleasures, so just are their laws. The life of the Shire constitutes, in fact, Tolkien's vision of life as it is supposed to be lived. Hobbits were not meant to bear the burdens of the world, but rather to preserve a last unspoiled corner of Middle-earth as a haven of modest and exemplary life. Yet the hobbits have lived in safety and comfort for so long that they are threatened by complacency and selfsatisfaction. Since they have had no emergencies in recent memory, they assume that crises will never arise. Inward complacency and decay, Tolkien suggests, is altogether as threatening as out ward assault. Thus have the hobbits come to take for granted what should have been a perennial cause for both vigilance and thanksgiving-the protection provided them by many unknown friends outside the Shire: There in that pleasant corner of the world they plied their wellordered business of living, and they heeded less and less the world outside where dark things moved, until they came to think that peace and plenty were the rule in Middle-earth and the right of all sensible folk. They forgot or ignored what little they had ever known of the Guardians, and of the labours of those that made possible the long peace of the Shire. They were, in fact, sheltered, but they had ceased to remember it. (1.14) (p.99)
More importantly, he sees that Eowyn's love is romantic in the bad sense: it's an infatuation. She has no experience of Aragorn that would enable her truly to know and love him. She is enamored, instead, with his image. She seeks her own exaltation by partaking of his gallant persona. Hence Aragorn's prudential wisdom in making this confession to her brother Eomer: Few other griefs amid the ill chances of this world have more bitterness and shame for a man's heart than to behold the love of a lady so fair and brave that cannot be returned.... And yet, Eomer, I say to you that she loves you more truly than me; for you she loves and knows; but in me she loves only a shadow and a thought: a hope of glory and great deeds, and lands far from the fields of Rohan. (3.143) (p.90)
Most of the free creatures in Tolkien's world reverence the good creation with their craftsmanship. A craft requires lifelong discipline and laborious effort, unlike the instantaneous results of magic. Gandalf's fireworks, by contrast, are matters of skill and labor rather than sorcery-even if his wand seems to be a supernatural gift. Once Gandalf suspects that Bilbo has come into possession of the magical Ruling Ring, he spends many decades in his quest to confirm his hunch. Repeatedly Tolkien stresses the importance of patience, the willingness to avoid the shortcut and the easy way, recommending instead the slow and arduous path that leads to every excellence. Anything worth doing well is worth doing slowly. (p.32)
For Tolkien, the modern obsession with quantity rather than quality of life is the mark of our unbelief. To be obsessed with prolonging our existence well beyond the bounds of our allotted biblical years is to worship life rather than the God of life. Someone has said that, if asked about the chief purpose of human existence, many denizens of the modern West would reply, if they could muster the candor: "It is to stay alive, not to die, and the purpose of staying alive is to have a good time." (p.74)
December 10, 2022
Paperback. 3.7 stars
I envy a friend who was able to study great texts under Prof. Wood at Baylor - how wonderful must those Socratic seminars have been! This book was poignant and exposed a breadth of knowledge and wisdom about the Gospel and about literature which cut deep into the heart of anyone who loves Tolkien. As someone who loves the Lord of the Rings but can sometimes read a passage over and over trying to discern its meaning before hopelessly moving on, Raplh Wood has taken pains to read everything pertaining to demystifying the texts. With remarkable brevity, Wood is able to explain the deepest and central ideas of the Gospel and expose their essence everywhere within Tolkien's works. Here is just one example in Wood's assessment of Mercy and Forgiveness as the basis of the Love Tolkien displays in Bilbo's pitying Gollum when first finding the Ring:
"Tolkien captures the transcendent, even divine quality of real love by having it issue in a pity and pardon utterly unknown either to the warrior cultures of the ancient world or to our own equally merciless culture of competition - [such love] is the key to our own transformation." 155.
As he wrapped up the book, he provided this quote from Sam (aka the hero of the book) as offered it as the summation of a Christian's heart of servanthood amidst a broken world:
"I know we are going to take a very long road, into darkness; but I know I can't turn back . . . I don't rightly know that I want: but I have something to do before the end, and it lies ahead, not in the Shire. I must see it through sir." 163.
Read if you love the Creator of the Universe and the Lord of the Rings or are at least interested in those two.
I envy a friend who was able to study great texts under Prof. Wood at Baylor - how wonderful must those Socratic seminars have been! This book was poignant and exposed a breadth of knowledge and wisdom about the Gospel and about literature which cut deep into the heart of anyone who loves Tolkien. As someone who loves the Lord of the Rings but can sometimes read a passage over and over trying to discern its meaning before hopelessly moving on, Raplh Wood has taken pains to read everything pertaining to demystifying the texts. With remarkable brevity, Wood is able to explain the deepest and central ideas of the Gospel and expose their essence everywhere within Tolkien's works. Here is just one example in Wood's assessment of Mercy and Forgiveness as the basis of the Love Tolkien displays in Bilbo's pitying Gollum when first finding the Ring:
"Tolkien captures the transcendent, even divine quality of real love by having it issue in a pity and pardon utterly unknown either to the warrior cultures of the ancient world or to our own equally merciless culture of competition - [such love] is the key to our own transformation." 155.
As he wrapped up the book, he provided this quote from Sam (aka the hero of the book) as offered it as the summation of a Christian's heart of servanthood amidst a broken world:
"I know we are going to take a very long road, into darkness; but I know I can't turn back . . . I don't rightly know that I want: but I have something to do before the end, and it lies ahead, not in the Shire. I must see it through sir." 163.
Read if you love the Creator of the Universe and the Lord of the Rings or are at least interested in those two.
February 20, 2021
Been wanting to read this book for a while. It communicated a lot of ideas that I have read about or thought about previously, but it was good to see it all laid out logically and sequentially.
My favorite section was the one on how faith is displayed through friendships in LOTR. I also enjoyed many of the comparisons that Ralph points out that I had never connected, especially the bittersweet victory of LOTR that mirrors the end of the Christian story. I also liked the emphasis on how Tolkien viewed evil as always seeking to imitate and is never truly creative and pure in its invention.
Overall a good read if you have read LOTR at least once, know some additional background, and are familiar with Christianity. In general, this book is right up my alley but understand it is by no means for everyone.
My favorite section was the one on how faith is displayed through friendships in LOTR. I also enjoyed many of the comparisons that Ralph points out that I had never connected, especially the bittersweet victory of LOTR that mirrors the end of the Christian story. I also liked the emphasis on how Tolkien viewed evil as always seeking to imitate and is never truly creative and pure in its invention.
Overall a good read if you have read LOTR at least once, know some additional background, and are familiar with Christianity. In general, this book is right up my alley but understand it is by no means for everyone.
March 15, 2021
Beautiful! Many rich trails one can follow, many dense little passages one can expand on. The ideas are put into careful beautiful phrases, I could feel the love and delight for Tolkien’s work in them. There’s not much of an overall flow or structure, though, I have no big picture of the ideas covered, just a jumble of some of interesting thoughts that stood out for me.
Nevertheless, it was a delightul way to revisit / dwell on various passages and themes from Tolkien’s Legendarium.
Nevertheless, it was a delightul way to revisit / dwell on various passages and themes from Tolkien’s Legendarium.
September 11, 2022
Excellent little book. Wood deftly examines a comprehensive range of Tolkien's work to uncover his decidedly Christian vision of Middle-earth. Well written and well supported with compelling evidence from Tolkien's vast Legendarium and from Christian Scripture and tradition. Highly recommend this book!
August 2, 2023
A very rich and thorough reading of LOTR. Ralph Wood works to show the many connections between Scripture and the Lord of the Rings in order to present a compelling picture of Tolkien's narrative "in whose depths the gospel resounds."
December 21, 2023
HOLY COW. SO GOOD
May 10, 2025
I absolutely adored this book. It wasn’t as comprehensive or in depth as Tom Shippey’s works, but there was such a sincerity and love for Tolkien and the Gospel laid out. Makes me want to drop what I’m doing and reread Lord of the Rings and spend time in Middle-Earth.
May 16, 2018
probably 4.5, I found it quite insightful
March 18, 2017
No one could seriously deny that Tolkien’s Middle-earth resonates with the message and values of Christianity. Not only was Tolkien himself a devout Roman Catholic, but he was steeped in Old and Middle English literature, one of the oldest works of which, Crist, contains the lines that became the first inspiration for the world he, to use his own term, sub-created:
These words embedded within a poem about Christ were, for Tolkien, a powerful evocation of an earlier pagan story, now lost, ‘something very remote and strange and beautiful…if I could grasp it, far beyond ancient English’ (Carpenter, Tolkien, 64). Far more than the legendary ‘In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit’, with which so many are familiar, the words ‘éala Éarendel’ sparked the invention of a vast body of tales that have become in a very real sense a mythology many would wish to call their own, a mythology in which pagan and Christian resonate with each other. (Perhaps there’s a larger lesson to be learned there.) For, as Tolkien saw it and wrote it, all myths contain truth because they echo the Evangelium, the myth that was true.
On this showing we should expect to find that the ‘pagan’ or ‘non-Christian’ world of Middle-earth exists in harmonious counterpoint with the world of Christianity, with its perspectives and its values. This is especially so since Middle-earth is our world. The events of the legendarium took place in a ‘historical period [that] is imaginary’ (Letters, no. 183), a time so long ago that only snatches of the memory of those days, like the Éarendel of Crist, remain.
Professor Wood does a good job of detailing for us the ways in which we may find those perspectives and values woven into fabric of Tolkien’s tales. His is a worthy endeavor that provides the reader with much to think on, and it is important to bear in mind that he has ‘undertake[n] not a scholarly study so much as a theological meditation on The Lord of the Rings.’ For there are moments where Professor Wood seems to push the limits of applicability much too far, as when he says that in describing the relationship of Saruman and Wormtongue Tolkien is stating ‘one of the deepest of Christian truths: all love that is not ordered to the love of God turns to hatred.’ Now their relationship certainly ended in hatred, but I see no evidence that love of any kind ever existed between the two. Wood also at times mars the credibility of his own arguments by getting his facts wrong. He claims, for example, that Frodo sees ‘Sauron himself’ when he sees the Eye in Galadriel’s mirror. Not so, except perhaps in a metaphysical sense. The giant flaming eyeballs of filmdom aside, ‘Sauron himself’ has a physical form. Gollum says he has only ‘four fingers on the Black Hand, but they are enough’, and Pippin’s description of what he saw in the palantír points towards a human appearance. Wood also confuses the Witch-king with the Mouth of Sauron, and gets the ages of the four hobbits wrong while making a point precisely about their ages.
Where Professor Wood’s understanding of the facts of Middle-earth most fails the needs of his meditation is in his mistaken belief that Middle-earth and our world are not the same. In his final chapter he discusses The Athrabeth Finrod a Andreth, or, The Debate of Finrod and Andreth, which, among other things, raises the possibility that one day Ilúvatar himself will become incarnate within Arda in order to heal the harm that evil has done. Because of his misunderstanding, Wood does not see that Tolkien is talking about The Incarnation, not just an incarnation. But Middle-earth is not a parallel world like Narnia, with a unique incarnation of its own. The incarnation Finrod and Andreth anticipate is the evangelium itself.
éala Éarendel, engla beorhtast,
ofer middangeard monnum sended
Hail Earendel, brightest of angels,
Sent over middle-earth to men.
These words embedded within a poem about Christ were, for Tolkien, a powerful evocation of an earlier pagan story, now lost, ‘something very remote and strange and beautiful…if I could grasp it, far beyond ancient English’ (Carpenter, Tolkien, 64). Far more than the legendary ‘In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit’, with which so many are familiar, the words ‘éala Éarendel’ sparked the invention of a vast body of tales that have become in a very real sense a mythology many would wish to call their own, a mythology in which pagan and Christian resonate with each other. (Perhaps there’s a larger lesson to be learned there.) For, as Tolkien saw it and wrote it, all myths contain truth because they echo the Evangelium, the myth that was true.
The Evangelium has not abrogated legends; it has hallowed them, especially the “happy ending.” The Christian has still to work, with mind as well as body, to suffer, hope, and die; but he may now perceive that all his bents and faculties have a purpose, which can be redeemed.’ (On Fairy-stories, ¶ 103)
On this showing we should expect to find that the ‘pagan’ or ‘non-Christian’ world of Middle-earth exists in harmonious counterpoint with the world of Christianity, with its perspectives and its values. This is especially so since Middle-earth is our world. The events of the legendarium took place in a ‘historical period [that] is imaginary’ (Letters, no. 183), a time so long ago that only snatches of the memory of those days, like the Éarendel of Crist, remain.
Professor Wood does a good job of detailing for us the ways in which we may find those perspectives and values woven into fabric of Tolkien’s tales. His is a worthy endeavor that provides the reader with much to think on, and it is important to bear in mind that he has ‘undertake[n] not a scholarly study so much as a theological meditation on The Lord of the Rings.’ For there are moments where Professor Wood seems to push the limits of applicability much too far, as when he says that in describing the relationship of Saruman and Wormtongue Tolkien is stating ‘one of the deepest of Christian truths: all love that is not ordered to the love of God turns to hatred.’ Now their relationship certainly ended in hatred, but I see no evidence that love of any kind ever existed between the two. Wood also at times mars the credibility of his own arguments by getting his facts wrong. He claims, for example, that Frodo sees ‘Sauron himself’ when he sees the Eye in Galadriel’s mirror. Not so, except perhaps in a metaphysical sense. The giant flaming eyeballs of filmdom aside, ‘Sauron himself’ has a physical form. Gollum says he has only ‘four fingers on the Black Hand, but they are enough’, and Pippin’s description of what he saw in the palantír points towards a human appearance. Wood also confuses the Witch-king with the Mouth of Sauron, and gets the ages of the four hobbits wrong while making a point precisely about their ages.
Where Professor Wood’s understanding of the facts of Middle-earth most fails the needs of his meditation is in his mistaken belief that Middle-earth and our world are not the same. In his final chapter he discusses The Athrabeth Finrod a Andreth, or, The Debate of Finrod and Andreth, which, among other things, raises the possibility that one day Ilúvatar himself will become incarnate within Arda in order to heal the harm that evil has done. Because of his misunderstanding, Wood does not see that Tolkien is talking about The Incarnation, not just an incarnation. But Middle-earth is not a parallel world like Narnia, with a unique incarnation of its own. The incarnation Finrod and Andreth anticipate is the evangelium itself.
December 29, 2014
Amazing and incredibly insightful, especially for those of us who are fans and know and live the great story better (thanks, Dad!). Even if you're not a Lord of the Rings fan or aficionado, you can still appreciate the parallels between Tolkien's work and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, a former atheist converted to Christianity by Tolkien himself, merely scratch the surface. Just as Tolkien spent so much time creating a high-fantasy (detailed) world with its own functioning languages and cultures, he also spent a lot of effort putting in unmistakable Christian themes.
Ralph Wood does an excellent job of analyzing these themes with examples from Tolkien's books (not just the standard LOTR quad) and scripture. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church whose doctrine was restored to the Earth after the apostasy that happened after the Bible ended and lasted until the mid-1800s. Because of that, our understanding of Christianity differs slightly, but essentially, from many mainstream Christian faiths, but Wood has done an excellent job of staying to the truth of Christ's gospel in his study of Tolkien's books. I have a copy and would absolutely recommend this.
Ralph Wood does an excellent job of analyzing these themes with examples from Tolkien's books (not just the standard LOTR quad) and scripture. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church whose doctrine was restored to the Earth after the apostasy that happened after the Bible ended and lasted until the mid-1800s. Because of that, our understanding of Christianity differs slightly, but essentially, from many mainstream Christian faiths, but Wood has done an excellent job of staying to the truth of Christ's gospel in his study of Tolkien's books. I have a copy and would absolutely recommend this.
February 18, 2017
Okay, wow. This book was good all the way through - very thorough, plenty of Biblical quotes and analysis in conjunction with them. But then the end hypothesis... WOW. This needs to be a thing in Tolkien academia. *adds to my list of papers to write*
January 25, 2013
Far too sanctimonious and preachy for my taste.
May 28, 2015
Definitely gives you insight into the gospel themes and Christlike analogies found in Tolkein's writings!
June 24, 2020
There are many books out there that are trying to Christianize works of literature and popular media these days. I am sure you have seen them. Books that claim you can find Christ in Harry Potter, The Matrix, and Star Wars. I think we can agree that in most cases these books are really IMPOSING Christianity on these works. But J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" is different. In "Letters", page 243, Tolkien himself states that the "Lord of the Rings" is a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work." These are Tolkien's very own words. He confirms the Christianity of his epic yet again on page 172 of "Letters" when he states that "The religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism." So, right of the bat "The Gospel according to Tolkien" is set apart from other books of the genre. Ralph Wood is not imposing Christianity on "The Lord of the Rings", he is exploring the Christianity that Tolkien himself integrated into his great work of literature.
Ralph Wood's book is a very good introduction to the Christianity of the "Lord of the Rings." He makes it clear that reading the "Lord of the Rings" with the eyes of faith will greatly enhance ones understanding of what Tolkien was doing in writing his great epic. The only problem for me is that Ralph Wood decided to write his book from an ecumenical perspective. The themes he explores in his book are those that are shared by all Christians. Now I realize that one can view this as a very good thing. But Tolkien was a Catholic, and the "Lord of the Rings" was deeply affected by his Catholic faith. So if one explores the Christianity of the "Lord of the Rings" without exploring the Catholicism of it, I feel we are left with a somewhat incomplete study. Ralph Woods touches on the Catholic aspect only briefly now and then. He does state that the Elven "Lembas" bread is highly reminiscent of the Eucharist. Ralph Wood also mentions that the Vala Elbereth parallels the Catholic view of the Virgin Mary. But, to my recollection that is the limit of Wood's exploration of the specifically Catholic elements of the "Lord of the Rings." This is why I stated that Ralph Wood's book is a good INTRODUCTION to the Christianity of Tolkien's books. There are many books out there that explore the full religiosity of the "Lord of the Rings" in a complete manner. Still, I would recommend you read "The Gospel According to Tolkien" first before going deeper into the Theology of Middle-Earth.
Ralph Wood's book is a very good introduction to the Christianity of the "Lord of the Rings." He makes it clear that reading the "Lord of the Rings" with the eyes of faith will greatly enhance ones understanding of what Tolkien was doing in writing his great epic. The only problem for me is that Ralph Wood decided to write his book from an ecumenical perspective. The themes he explores in his book are those that are shared by all Christians. Now I realize that one can view this as a very good thing. But Tolkien was a Catholic, and the "Lord of the Rings" was deeply affected by his Catholic faith. So if one explores the Christianity of the "Lord of the Rings" without exploring the Catholicism of it, I feel we are left with a somewhat incomplete study. Ralph Woods touches on the Catholic aspect only briefly now and then. He does state that the Elven "Lembas" bread is highly reminiscent of the Eucharist. Ralph Wood also mentions that the Vala Elbereth parallels the Catholic view of the Virgin Mary. But, to my recollection that is the limit of Wood's exploration of the specifically Catholic elements of the "Lord of the Rings." This is why I stated that Ralph Wood's book is a good INTRODUCTION to the Christianity of Tolkien's books. There are many books out there that explore the full religiosity of the "Lord of the Rings" in a complete manner. Still, I would recommend you read "The Gospel According to Tolkien" first before going deeper into the Theology of Middle-Earth.
July 7, 2025
I think my core disliking for this book stems from my preferred form of integration. When integrating two things, such as Tolkien and explicitly Christian values, I like to see how each informs the other. Wood’s approach, however, is merely to inform Tolkien through a Christian lens. In other words, the sense I got was that Wood did not explore what Tolkien might teach us about certain Christian ideas, and instead repeatedly argues that Tolkien’s world and characters illustrate Christian ideas. Sam has nothing new to teach us: he’s only an illustration of Christian faithfulness.
This is my best explanation as for why I couldn’t shake the juvenile feeling of this book. I do not mean to insult Prof. Wood in saying this—I don’t doubt his intelligence. When I say juvenile, I mean this book reads to me like an overly long undergrad essay exploring a moderately deep theme. In fact, I think the last chapter makes for an excellent and profound essay on Tolkien’s eschatology. I’d also be disingenuous to ignore the moments of profundity throughout the book, albeit too far and few between. The meat of the book, however, is a repetitive back-and-forth between a Christian idea with which I am almost alway familiar and an illustration of this idea in Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Here’s the Christian notion of faithfulness, and here are the ways Tolkien’s characters exhibit faithfulness. Substitute the word “faithfulness” for other Christian concepts, like love, temperance, or sin, and you’ve got the basic structure of the book. And it never goes deeper than, “This is how X exemplifies Y.” Wood’s theology, though, is what I found profound on occasion, such as his proclamation that evil is a nonentity, and this is why it can’t be understood. Aside from that, however, I found the book to be repetitive and, thus, boring, and I do not think it meaningfully contributed to my understanding of Tolkien. Of course, this is only my opinion, and I hope this detracts neither from the book, nor your opinions thereof.
This is my best explanation as for why I couldn’t shake the juvenile feeling of this book. I do not mean to insult Prof. Wood in saying this—I don’t doubt his intelligence. When I say juvenile, I mean this book reads to me like an overly long undergrad essay exploring a moderately deep theme. In fact, I think the last chapter makes for an excellent and profound essay on Tolkien’s eschatology. I’d also be disingenuous to ignore the moments of profundity throughout the book, albeit too far and few between. The meat of the book, however, is a repetitive back-and-forth between a Christian idea with which I am almost alway familiar and an illustration of this idea in Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Here’s the Christian notion of faithfulness, and here are the ways Tolkien’s characters exhibit faithfulness. Substitute the word “faithfulness” for other Christian concepts, like love, temperance, or sin, and you’ve got the basic structure of the book. And it never goes deeper than, “This is how X exemplifies Y.” Wood’s theology, though, is what I found profound on occasion, such as his proclamation that evil is a nonentity, and this is why it can’t be understood. Aside from that, however, I found the book to be repetitive and, thus, boring, and I do not think it meaningfully contributed to my understanding of Tolkien. Of course, this is only my opinion, and I hope this detracts neither from the book, nor your opinions thereof.
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