157 Tolkien's Magic Tree
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157 Tolkien's Magic Tree
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About this listen
Was the world of Middle Earth, created by JRR Tolkien, Christian? Would it help answering that question to know that Tolkien’s initials were actually JRPRT, and that the “P” was for Phillip, more specifically his patron saint, Philip Neri? Or that Tolkien studied under Father Morgan at the Birmingham Oratory, who studied under St. John Henry Newman? “So Tolkien was Catholic, so what? He just wrote a fantasy story about magic based on old Norse mythology,” you might say. But you also might wonder if Christianity itself, or Catholicism in particular is just magical superstition. Ironically, if you did think this you would be in the company of the pagan Romans and later Arians, which, doubly ironically, was pointed out in a book written by St. John Henry Newman, “On the Development of Christian Doctrine.” You see, Tolkien had a spiritual family ancestry as impressive as Aragorn’s royal ancestry. Join us as we discuss Tolkien’s spiritual fiction and whether it was based on his magical upbringing in the Oratory, and let us know what you think in the comments! —Streamed January 9, 2026