Tolkein and Lewis

As I prepare our lesson plans for this week, a few things have come to mind. You know, Austin has been reading through the Lord of the Rings. He has read these before,( and to say that he LOVES them would not be stating it too strongly) but this time it is required reading for lessons. He is having to go through them analytically. To pick them apart, and try to judge what the author is getting at, and how that relates to his worldview. He must learn about the time in which the author wrote as well, and how that colors his outlook. What is the author trying to make him, the reader, believe? And figure out if, indeed he DOES believe it.

One of the first things that came up in analyzing these books, was the comparison/contrast with C.S. Lewis' "Chronilcles of Narnia".

I won't go through all of our discussion, here, but I became incredibly grateful that my world is a C.S. Lewis(who was a Protestant Christian) world. One in which I, (the poor and pathetic Edmund) have nothing to give. There is nothing in my hand, I am worthless, and deserve the punishment of death. But it was Grace. A most precious sacrificial GIFT, that I could never have attained on my own. Grace was Given.

In Tolkein's world, (who was a Catholic Christian) Grace isn't really seen. Frodo works against the forces of evil and ultimately climbs Mt. Doom to destroy it. (However, spending a little time in Middle Earth certainly makes us think more about how we treat others, and reminds us to be more charitable in our thoughts and dealings).

So, I guess that while both worlds are definitely Christian places, it's that the picture of the mighty Aslan being slain for a pathetic Edmund, is just such an amazing picture of God's Grace.

I am so thankful for this literature, for the Christian men who wrote it and for being able to search it with my children. I can see the lights turning on in their minds as they begin to look through the eyes of those who lived long ago, enabling them to see their own world with a much clearer vision. It is my sincere desire that rather than running and hiding from sin, (which is of course, impossible), that they would search and learn the way in which God would have them to DEAL with it. To FIGHT evil, SLAY it, rather than hide in their own little hut and hope it doesn't come looking for them.

Good lessons. Good for us all.
G'night,
Melissa