The Lewis-Tolkien Friendship

C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien first met at the Oxford English School on May 11, 1926 where Lewis was a Fellow at the Magdalen College and Tolkien was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon. Soon thereafter, they both found they had a love for an older view of learning that had its roots in an earlier age. By 1929 Lewis would support Tolkien's efforts to change the syllabus to put more emphasis on earlier literature and less on modern literature.

By 1929, Lewis, who had been an atheist, started coming around to theism. Tolkien, a Catholic, encouraged Lewis to view the Gospel similar to the myths that Lewis loved, but with the difference that it was historically true. The imaginative story element that God could become a humble man - and then as a servant go to the cross and die for mankind - and then raise himself from the dead - captivated the imagination of Lewis - and soon lead to his conversion.

The Eagle and Child Pub

Lewis, who called Tolkien "Tollers," began to attend Tolkien's literary group - the Coalbiters. Later Tolkien attended the Inklings - a literary group mostly gathered around Lewis - who met at the Eagle and Child Pub. Besides reading various works of literature, the members of these groups read aloud various works they were writing, and offered each other essential feedback.

Tolkien wanted to rescue fairy tales out of the nursery room and restore it as an essential adult means of understanding the world. Tolkien gave a lecture, "On Fairy Tales," at St. Andrews University in Scotland in March of 1939 at the annual Andrew Lang lecture. His work eventually led to the Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), the definitive adult fairy tale, backed by a complete imaginative world set forth in the Silmarillion (1977), published only after his death in 1973.  (Tolkein first wrote his children's fairy tale The Hobbit - 1937, before both those works were published, though he began writing the latter during World War I.) Tolkien said he only completed this monumental work because of the constant and faithful encouragement of his good friend, C. S. Lewis. He dedicated it "To the Inklings."

Lewis completely backed his friends efforts at restoring fairy tales. He wrote his own adult fairy tale in the space trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet (1938), Prelandra (1943), and That Hideous Strength (1945). Tolkien, who had listened to Lewis read chapters to the Inklings, described it as "an exciting serial."  (Lewis later wrote his children's fairy tale, The Chronicles of Narnia (7 books) between 1949 and 1954, starting with the first, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.)

Tolkien pushed to have Lewis appointed to a full professorship at Cambridge, where Tolkien had moved on to. Then he talked Lewis into accepting the position after Lewis was initially reluctant to do so. Though their friendship cooled at times, it generated a zest for giving the world a lasting imaginative legacy. As Christians, they creatively employed their literary gifts to engage the world and thereby enrichen it.

The Hobbit - (the book) - Tolkien - 1937
Out of the Silent Planet - Lewis - 1938
Perelandra - Lewis - 1943
That Hideous Strength - Lewis - 1945
The Great Divorce - Lewis -1945
The Fellowship of the Ring - Tolkien - 1954
The Two Towers - Tolkien - 1954

Deeper Meaning and Purpose

As I thought about my last blog (see Meaning and Purpose post on 9/22/08), I thought some might question why God might make a difference with meaning and purpose. I mean there might be some who might ask, "Even if there is a God, why does that give meaning and purpose?"

The fundamental difference is between a personal and an impersonal universe. If there is no God, then the universe is essentially and eventually cold, dark, and indifferent about everything, and especially about you and your life. Within this impersonal view of the universe, the fact that there are human beings who love, reason, create and think there is purpose to life is completely incompatible and at odds with the ultimate reality of the universe. Within this impersonal view, most human beings cannot cope with this ultimate bleak view of reality, so those who hold to this impersonal view say people invent concepts like religion, marriage, causes, morals, in order to cope. Or those who hold to this impersonal view invent an irrational subjective meaning and purpose, as in existentialism, in order to find a subjective meaning and purpose - even though it is at odds with the rational objective meaning of the cold uncaring meaningless universe.

In contrast, if you begin with a personal God as described in the Bible, you have an entirely different view of the universe. This personal view begins with a personal God who designed the universe with purpose. Within this personal view, we are designed to enjoy the universe he created forever. Therefore, within this personal view, all our notions of love, reason, meaning, creativity, and purpose, fit within the order of the universe as it is.

Many people would love to accept this personal view of the universe, but think it is irrational, unscientific, or too simple to be true - or they want proof before they believe. However, the origins of the universe, as well as the existence of God, is beyond the powers of the scientific methodology to prove one way or the other. It is only irrational if you give creedence to the overblown pretension that science can give the answers to all of life's questions. Though there is no final proof that can ultimately prove God, the evidence is all around us - the marvel of the universe, the world, and nature - everyday it pours forth the proclamation that God, and not mere chance and lots of time, made all the wonderous things around us.

This is the deeper meaning and purpose of the universe - much as in Narnia, the Lion spoke of the deeper magic that upheld the wonderous reality of that world.