Dear
Reader,
This issue of Beyond the Test is dedicated to literature, in particular to the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. The twentieth century produced many great Catholic novelists, such as Chesterton, O’Connor, Waugh. But Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and other works stand out for their power and for the way in which a Catholic understanding and sensibility pervades the whole work.
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LORD OF THE RINGS AND CATHOLIC EDUCATION
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Developing the Human Person
For classical educators, developing the human person is the primary goal, and the cultural treasures of the past are the principal means to that goal. Making the thoughts, words, stories and beauty of Christian civilization a living part of students gives them standards and ideals that direct their maturation into adults who help shape their world.
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THE ROLE OF MYTH IN AWAKENING THE SOUL
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Excerpts from J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle Earth
In this excerpt from his introduction to J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle Earth, Brad Birzer explains Tolkien’s understanding of the important role that fairy stories and myths play in awakening the soul to “beauty, truth and excellence.”
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