November Teaching Series: Fantasy Literature and the Reality of God's Kingdom

Christian Formation in November
9:15 am

Classrooms A & B
Presented by
Douglas Burger, Professor Emeritus, CU Department of English

How can fantasy stories, ironically, give us a sharper sense of reality – including the amazing Realities of God?
For four Sundays in November we will explore answers to this question. By looking at a range of fantastic narratives, but primarily C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, we will plunge into the Christian truths that these wonderful stories convey.
For example, how does Lewis’s portraying Christ as a gigantic lion crack open our clichéd notions of Jesus? What does Frodo’s trek to destroy a master-ring tell us about the nature of Christian heroism? How is the natural world of God’s Creation made more visible in stories set in other worlds?
Please join us in November for these sessions, suitable for all ages, especially us world-weary adults. It should be, well, fantastic.

November 1 Christian fantasy in general: an exploration of the values and functions

November 8 C.S.Lewis, Narnia with a focus on "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"

November 15 J.R.R.Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, Evil and the Great Ring of Power

November 22 Tolkien , God's creation, and the implications for our relationships with one another