Kurt Bruner

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 show more 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. show less

This novel imagines a future in which present-day trends come to sinister fruition. The year is 2042...

The collected interviews and experiences of the author as he speaks with people who do not believe in Christianity regarding their reasons for unbelief along with research of the author into various people, historic and present, who have written against the Christian faith.

The author does well at exposing a lot of the fictions believers accept regarding why others do not believe. He also does well to show believers a lot of the challenges that they pose because of their attitudes and show more conduct.

The author is Evangelical and is perhaps a bit too free in his "judgments" regarding what he does and does not like about what God has revealed (although the honesty is refreshing). Sometimes his statements are a bit too simplistic and buy a little too much into Western post-Enlightenment rationalism. His story regarding "Lucifer" may be doctrinally suspect, as the referents in Isaiah and Ezekiel may refer to human characters.

On the whole, however, a good introductory investigation for a believer regarding the feelings and experiences of unbelievers. show less

3.4 stars

Broken into three parts, the middle section held the best portion. Part One defines archetypal stories, their relation to the divine drama and why we yearn for those "Once Upon a Time" and "Happily Ever After" tales. Part two crystallizes God's love letter to us (i.e. the Bible) as a twenty page four act play/outline. Dramatic reflections dig deeper into the substance behind the outline and provide the source glimmers. Part three encourages us to play our part in the divine drama, show more not out of pride or self-centeredness or aggrandizement, but according to the Author's vision.

A quick very enjoyable read which will leave you thinking about what stories work well and why they resonate strongly for you and others.

This book could be given to a seeker easily as it's not overly preachy. show less