Joseph Loconte

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How J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918

A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War

For fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, discover the story behind their unique friendship forged in the darkness of World War II and how it inspired the stories of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity. In a world devastated by the cataclysm of war, two extraordinary authors and friends, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, delivered a bracing vision of the human story: a path back to goodness, beauty, and faith. How did they do it? For the first time, historian Joseph Loconte explains how the catastrophe of World War II trans­formed the lives and literary imagination of Tolkien and Lewis. The mechanized slaughter of the First World War had created a storm of disillusionment with the political and religious ideals of Western civilization. The new ideologies of Modernism, communism, Nazism, and totalitarianism rushed to fill the vacuum. At stake was a contest between civilization and barbarism. Tolkien and Lewis sought each other out in friendship and threw themselves into the struggle. The War for Middle-earth explores how their most beloved works—The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Chron­icles of Narnia, Mere Christianity—were conceived in the shadow of the most devastating and dehumanizing war in history. Like no other authors of their age, Tolkien and Lewis used their imagi­nation to reclaim for their generation—and for ours—those deeds of valor and virtue and love that have always kept a lamp burning, even in the deepest darkness. In The War for Middle-earth you will: Be inspired by Tolkien's and Lewis's Christian imagination, which even today has the power to transform hearts desperate for hope and truth Find encouragement and strength to resist evil in our own day Discover how a biblical view of truth and beauty can light the path out of the deepest darkness Combining a careful study of history and compelling storytelling, The War for Middle-earth reveals the remarkable achievement of these authors and friends: a recovery of heroism and faith despite deep sorrow and suffering. Here are enduring lessons for today's cultural moment and essential reading if you want to discover how great stories can reveal great truths.

J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933–1945

The War for Middle-earth

Never before had they known such hope. In a world drenched in violence and oppression, here was a man armed with a message of peace and freedom. Into lives nearly overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, he brought compassion and healing and the deepest joy. To people who felt like outcasts and aliens, he showed the way home. And then, in one devastating night, all their hopes collapsed. This is where our story begins—in the valley of despair. It is a tale of two friends, a stranger, and a search for truth in a world gone mad with doubt. Historian Joseph Loconte unlocks the meaning of their exchange, set in the chaotic days following the execution of Jesus of Nazareth. Drawing from literature, film, philosophy, history, and politics, Loconte shows how this biblical drama is an integral part of our own story. Sooner or later, we will find ourselves among the searchers.

A Quest for Faith in the Valley of Doubt

The Searchers

“I no sooner perceived myself in the world,” wrote English philosopher John Locke, “than I found myself in a storm.” The storm of which Locke spoke was the maelstrom of religious fanaticism and intolerance that was tearing apart the social fabric of European society. His response was A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689), arguably the most important defense of religious freedom in the Western tradition. In God, Locke, and Liberty: The Struggle for Religious Freedom in the West, historian Joseph Loconte offers a groundbreaking study of Locke’s Letter, challenging the notion that decisive arguments for freedom of conscience appeared only after the onset of the secular Enlightenment. Loconte argues that Locke’s vision of a tolerant and pluralistic society was based on a radical reinterpretation of the life and teachings of Jesus. In this, Locke drew great strength from an earlier religious reform movement, namely, the Christian humanist tradition. Like no thinker before him, Locke forged an alliance between liberal political theory and a gospel of divine mercy. God, Locke, and Liberty suggests how a better understanding of Locke’s political theology could calm the storms of religious violence that once again threaten international peace and security. To read an interview with the author about the book on Patheos.com, see here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2015/01/10/under-locke-and-key/

The Struggle for Religious Freedom in the West

God, Locke, and Liberty

God, Locke, and Liberty argues that John Locke based his most famous defense of religious freedom on a radical reinterpretation of the life and teachings of Jesus. In a fresh and provocative analysis of Locke s A Letter Concerning Toleration, this new intellectual history examines the importance of the spiritual reform movement known as Christian humanism to Locke s bracing vision of a tolerant and pluralistic society."

Joseph Loconte

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