Theology, Fantasy, and the 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.

• 1. Introduction: Theology, Fantasy, and the ImaginationAndrew D. Thrasher and Austin M. FreemanPart I: Invocations2. The Old MagicNicholas AdamsPart II: Classical Christian Fantasy: Renewing Christian Imagination3. Sins of the Imagination Austin M. Freeman4. C.S. Lewis, Apologetics, and the Imagination: Breaking the Spell of Secularism Alison Milbank5. Between Tolkien and the Philosophers: Greek and Scholastic Theories of Phantasia Giovanni Carmine CostabilePart III: Post-Christian Fantasy: Opening the Door Beyond6. Why Theology Should Always Be Fantasy: Imagination, Fantasy, and Science-Fictional Messianism in the Writings of Rabbi Shagar Levi Morrow7. Theology in Shadow: Sin and Redemption in Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea Oliver D. Crisp8. Cosmology as Agnostic Self-Actualization in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld U-Wen Low9. Fantastic Inter-Religious Resourcement in Robert Jordan and David Eddings Andrew D. Thrasher10. The Hero as God: An E

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!