JRR Tolkien's Message for the Modern World

The Daily Signal

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4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 6 September 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

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Summary

J.R.R. Tolkien, author of "The Lord of the Rings," calls us to be heroic and to sacrifice for one another, according to the author of a new book on Tolkien's "Sanctifying Myth." "I'm very glad when I look at the numbers of how many books of Tolkien's still sell and that almost anything that is publishable has been published by Tolkien," Bradley Birzer, a history professor and the Russell Amos Kirk chair in American studies at Hillsdale College, tells The Daily Signal. Birzer, who recently published a second edition of his book "J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-Earth," calls Tolkien's enduring popularity "a healthy sign in society." "I don't think society is healthy right now, but I think that's one of the healthier signs of society," he explains. "I think Tolkien teaches us to be ourselves in the best way, to be our authentic selves, to be made in the image of God, to do what we're meant to do. I think he calls upon our uniqueness, each of us made individually in the image of God, and I think he calls us to be heroic." "I think he calls us to sacrifice for one another, and that was as true in Tolkien's life as it was in his writing," the Hillsdale professor says. "I think one of the great things about Tolkien is, when we praise him, we can praise him as a person. There aren't real serious personal failings. He didn't own slaves. He didn't have all these other things that we can dismiss Thomas Jefferson for." Birzer addresses the "literary archaeology" of Tolkien and explains why he thinks "The Lord of the Rings" is "our great story of the modern world." The history professor also addresses his personal dislike for the Peter Jackson films, why Tolkien initially distrusted the very modern technology that led his books to become one of the most popular movie trilogies in existence, and how Tolkien addressed the world of Middle-earth. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Tolkien teaches us to be ourselves in the best way, to be our authentic selves, to be made in the image of God, to do what we're meant to do.
0:10.0	I think he calls upon our uniqueness, each of us made individually in the image of God, and I think he calls us to be heroic.
0:19.0	This is Tyler O'Neill with the Daily Signal podcast for Wednesday, September 6th.
0:29.0	That was Dr. Bradley Berzer, an old professor of mine.
0:35.0	He's the history professor and Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies at Hillsdale College.
0:42.0	I mean, he just has to love, I mean, as a Russell Kirk scholar, one of the many, many things that Dr. Berzer knows so well, he has to love that that's his chair at Hillsdale.
0:55.0	But Dr. Berzer and I sat down for a wonderful discussion about his new book.
1:01.0	It's actually a new addition to his first book, which is J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth.
1:09.0	It was a wonderful discussion we talked about.
1:12.0	The lessons that Tolkien has for heroism today, and what it means to be a hero, and how we should look at the world.
1:21.0	I think one of the things we often lose sight of is just the magic and the majesty of the Christian worldview.
1:31.0	In particular, Tolkien was Catholic, but I think there are a lot of lessons that he has for all sorts of Christians, if we would listen to the old master and read the wonderful stories that he wrote.
1:45.0	Specifically, the Lord the Rings, the Silmarillion.
1:49.0	Dr. Berzer has this wonderful way of taking you through it in his new book.
1:54.0	Everything about Tolkien's world just stands out.
1:57.0	It's shocked through with the Christian message, and God is everywhere in these stories, but he's never explicitly mentioned.
2:09.0	And it's just a wonderful way that Tolkien had of bringing myth to life.
2:17.0	So stand by for my discussion with Dr. Berzer after this.
2:25.0	For over 35 years, the Heritage Foundation Job Bank has been helping conservatives at all professional levels find employment in key positions in Washington, D.C. and across the country.
2:38.0	We can help you connect with positions in the administration on Capitol Hill, in public policy organizations, and in the private sector.
2:48.0	To learn more about the Heritage Foundation Job Bank, go to heritage.org slash job dash bank.
2:59.0	This is Tyler O'Neill, a managing editor at the daily signal, and I'm honored to be joined by Brad Berzer.
	...

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