J.R.R. Tolkien received early training in the classics under Robert Cary Gilson when he studied at King Edward’s, an independent secondary school in Birmingham. According to Tolkien’s official biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, “Gilson also encouraged his pupils to make a detailed study of classical linguistics. This was entirely in keeping with Tolkien’s inclinations; and, partly as […]
Donald T. Williams. Ninety-Five Theses for a New Reformation: A Road Map for Post-Evangelical Christianity. Toccoa Falls, GA: Semper Reformanda Publications, 2021. 485 pp. In 1517, Martin Luther nailed a list of ninety-five theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany, suggesting ways in which the Catholic Church needed reform. Over 500 years […]
Disability is a term that is difficult to define, but much like G.K. Chesterton said of the term eugenics, “I know that it means very different things to different people; but that is only because evil always takes advantage of ambiguity.”[1] The eugenics movement utilized any ambiguity in its own name to systematically, and legally, […]
“I didn’t want to kill them all. I didn’t want to kill anybody! I’m not a killer!”[1] Ender Wiggin could not believe what he had done. While fighting what he thought was a simulated, training war, he annihilated an entire race of aliens, derogatorily called buggers. When faced with what he had done, his mentor […]
Many people have complaints about the storyline and acting, but it has not prevented the Star Wars movies from becoming embedded in our hearts. George Lucas’s universe of Jedi Knights and Sith Lords is held together by the mystical Force. While the Force resembles a type of pantheism, it is also a kind of supernatural […]
Much has been written about the influence of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Christian faith on The Lord of the Rings and the entire canon of Middle-earth literature, so it may seem that there is very little left to be said. However, Donald T. Williams brings a fresh perspective to five different themes that echo throughout […]
“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”[1]Just as it was not good for Adam to be alone, it is not good for any of us to be alone. Community, belonging, and companionship are not just luxuries; they are foundational human […]
G.K. Chesterton cherished human freedom; however, he did not believe that freedom ought to be exercised to fulfill all human desires. Rather, a man should willingly submit to moral law, established by God for the benefit of humanity, as a way to experience the true freedom that God intended. A lover of paradox, it is […]
Despite the modern commitment to avoid suffering and embrace pleasure at any cost, our world remains infatuated with dystopian tales that are specifically designed to show us a world permeated by suffering, injustice, pain, and hopelessness. While we are horrified when we hear about child abuse on the news, we spend millions of dollars to […]
Perhaps one of the most obvious characteristics of our world is that evil and suffering exist. No matter how hard we try to improve our condition, the forces of darkness seem to be right behind us, plotting our imminent demise. Yet despite this reality, there is something human about hope. We desire triumph, and we […]
