Tolkein on Catholicism? book?

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Are there any books by Tolkein that deal with his Catholicism?

I’m just curious; this is the kind of thing I can get someone for Christmas.
 
I asked my husband, who is a big Tolkien fan, and he does not know of anything written by Tolkien specifically about Catholicism. However, I did a search and found some sites that I thought you might be interested in.

J. R. R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-Earth (amazon.com/Tolkiens-Sanctifying-Myth-Understanding-Middle-Earth/dp/1882926846
The Philosophy of Tolkien, The Worldview Behind The Lord of the Rings (livingcatholicism.com/archives/2006/08/book_review_the_1.html
treasuresofgrace.com/tolkien
bigbrother.net/~mugwump/tolkien
catholicqanda.com/LOTR.html
crisismagazine.com/november2001/feature7.htm
adherents.com/people/pt/JRR_Tolkien.html
nd.edu/~ndethics/events/ccs/fall05.shtml
 
I can personally recommend Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth. It’s very good.

Tolkien poured a lot of his ideas about faith and Catholicism into his fiction, so I think the best thing to read is The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion for that.

His letters have also been complied into an anthology called “The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien”

Tolkien was also greatly influenced by G.K. Chesterton, so it is probably worth considering Chesterton’s writings as well.
 
Maxply said:
Are there any books by Tolkein that deal with his Catholicism?

I’m just curious; this is the kind of thing I can get someone for Christmas.
Click to expand...
If you can find a copy (even used) check out “England and Always” by Jared Lobdell. It is an excellent collection of essays, including one called “The Timeless Moment: Christian Doctrine in a Pre-Christian Age”.

Also, “The Tolkien Reader” and “The Tolkien Miscellany” both contain his essay “On Fairy Stories” which tells a great deal about his faith, at least as far as his understanding of the genre of the fairy story.

Also, “Tolkien: The Authorized Biography” by Humphrey Carpenter deals extensively with his faith, and his influence on the conversion of CS Lewis.

Also (although this is getting VERY technical – Tolkien geeks (like me) only! ) “Morgoth’s Ring” vol. 10 in Christopher Tolkien’s “The History of Middle-Earth” contains a very long short story/dialogue which would have fit into “The Silmarillion” immediately prior to “Of Beren and Luthien” which concerns the Fall and possible implications for the Incarnation.

Also (as someone else pointed out) “The Letters of JRR Tolkien”. Several – quite a few, actually, deal with his faith – and with his great love of the Eucharist.

Hope that this helps . . .

Blessings,
 
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