Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination [Hardcover]

Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination offers analyses of the theological, philosophical, and religious imagination found in fantasy literature, the theological imagination, and table-top games. Part I offers an invocation to the study through a theological reflection of the old magic. Part II analyzes classical Christian fantasyranging from dogmatic theological reflection on the fantastic imagination to analyses of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Part III analyzes the post-Christian turn in fantasy after about 1960 through todayfeaturing methodological, theological, and philosophical essays that reflect a movement beyond Christianity in the fantasy literature and writings of Rabbi Shagar, Ursula le Guin, Terry Pratchett, Robert Jordan and David Eddings, and Brandon Sanderson and Orson Scott Card. Part IV closes with two analyses of the religious and philosophical dimensions of table-top games, including Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: the Gathering. Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination offers astute analyses of how theological fantasy actually is by articulating the religious, philosophical, and theological dimensions of the fantastic imagination.

Andrew D. Thrasher teaches religious studies at George Mason University and in the Virginia Community College System.
Austin M. Freeman is the author of Tolkien Dogmatics and the editor of several collections of fantasy criticism. He teaches at Houston Christian University.

We are quite accustomed to approaching theology from the front, with reason and intellect. Only rarely do we approach from behind, with imagination. And rarer still is theological engagement that takes imagination seriously on its own terms. Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination uses examples from the fantastic to show us insights into theology that can only be imagined, and in doing so, greatly strengthens our overall theological engagement. And, it's a lot of fun! Douglas Estes, editor of Theology and Tolkien

1. Introduction: Theollã²