Philosophical and Theological Themes in Tolkien
In this episode, Dr. Smith and John Carswell discuss the philosophical and theological themes of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and related writings. Mr. Carswell is the creator and host of The Tolkien Road, a weekly podcast on the writings of Tolkien. The podcasts and John’s other writings can be found at truemyths.org. John is an expert on the writings of Tolkien and graduated from Belmont University with a Master of Arts degree in Literature. In this episode we discuss:
– The nature of evil
– The void, possibility, the soul, autonomy
– Pride, domination, and the temptation of power
– Pre-Christian insights and values
– Hope, despair, and humility
– Creativity, artistic creation, and beauty
– Art as “sub-creation”
– Christian art
