Kurt Bruner also wrote the Introduction. ( )

Not bad, but I didn't gain a lot from it either, either in a deeper understanding of Tolkien or the Bible. ( )

I really liked this book despite its flaws. This is a devotional book for Christians to look at a significant work of literary fiction and discover related Biblical themes that should be edifying. Other reviewers have remarked that this purported goal is accomplished only partially. I would have to agree, however I still liked reading this.
Bruner says in the Intro that "Tolkien was telling a story, not proclaiming a message. His Christian worldview pushed itself up of its own accord. It is not our goal to declare Tolkien's intentions, but rather to explore the inference of his imagination, an imagination that could not help but reflect Christian themes." Of course this a simple self-contradiction or Bruner has never had a serious discussion about literary themes or authorial intent. These questions can be answered and all great writers have solved the issue in their works, for the most part. Tolkien has also done that in a straightforward way but it seems that Bruner feels Tolkien can only be understood in Judeo-Christian terms without ever explicitly mentioning Biblical figures. Bruner seems to think that this a great achievement by Tolkien.
Anyway, the final chapter has Bruner revisiting his initial position and giving another completely different answer. He says that Tolkien has told a "true story" meaning a fantasy tale which has ultimate correspondence to reality or the way God intends things. He then uses as evidence a point made by C.S. Lewis (actually Aristotle) that creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. The Lord of the Rings ends with happy conclusion as does the Triumph of the Lamb at the wedding feast in the Book of Revelation. This is a circular argument or "proof-texting" when arguing with someone who might fall outside of the Judeo-Christian worldview. So be it. This is my only qualm with the book which is actually more inspirational than literary. The book is actually categorized under "Spiritual Life" which is accurate.
Bruner makes a few flippant remarks to show his grasp of scripture for example, "[Jesus] a village carpenter with dirty fingernails, a convicted criminal." Jesus was a carpenter's son, not a carpenter himself. jesus was a Rabbi. He may have had dirty fingers since the Pharisees looked down on him for not rigorously performing the ritual washings as prescribed by recent juridical traditions. Jesus was not a convicted criminal. Pilate put him to death knowing he was innocent which was the reason for the hypocritical hand washing to release Barabbas. Jesus did die the death of a slave or common criminal. In another place Bruner says, "Abraham was an aging Nomad with no hope of having children...Joseph was an obnoxious, spoiled brat." These are obvious smears to show that early on in their careers these men had little promise for great success. Actually Joseph was victimized by his jealous brothers and Abraham had an 80 year long deep friendship with Yahweh that never mentioned the need for Sarah to bear a child. The issue of children only can up when God promised to make him a father to many nations. Abraham was downcast since he had no progeny to speak of so the blessing would die with Abraham. God would fix that after the mistake over the Hagar affair. As far as we know Abraham and Sarah were the deepest human friendships God ever had until Mary and Jesus of Nazareth. These are minor issues because someone who spent so much time looking at The Lord of the Rings deserves my respect. Tolkien spent much of his life away from teaching writing drafts to this great fantasy for which I am grateful. Literary trilogies are commonplace now but The Lord of the Rings was the first one I ever read. ( )

This book is an excellent look into the biblical meaning behind the epic. I highly recommend it to any youth pastor who is looking for something that teens would enjoy. I would also recommend it as a daily devotional. ( )

The author discusses how he beleives Tolkien's faith is revealed in his epic work of fantasy.