Faith Journey Through Fantasy Lands : A Christian Dialogue with Harry Potter, Star Wars, and The Lord of the Rings

by Dalton, Russell W.

• ISBN13: 9780806645711
• ISBN10: 0806645717
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-01
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Pub

Summary

Faith Journey through Fantasy Lands engages popular culture in the hugely successful stories of Harry Potter, Star Wars, and The Lord of the Rings. Russell W. Dalton guides the reader through these contemporary fantasy stories and illuminates them with light from the Christian faith journey. The book opens doors to faith-sharing, promotes faith-focused interaction with popular culture, and includes reflection questions for individual or group use. The concluding section offers insights into important issues within the stories that have led some Christians to reject them. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Dr. Russell W. Dalton is director of the Master of Arts in Religious Communication at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction: Christian Approaches to Fantasy and Fiction	1	(10)
1. A Whole New World	11	(17)
2. A Call to Journey	28	(16)
3. Learning the Way: Education and Training for the Journey	44	(10)
4. Travel Provisions: God Gives Us What We Need for the Journey	54	(6)
5. Traveling Companions: Friendship and Fellowship	60
6. Staying on the Right Path (and Our Potential to Stray from It)	34	(48)
7. Road Signs: Virtues in the Fantasy Lands	82	(17)
8. Creatures of the Dark: Vices in the Fantasy Lands	99	(12)
9. Rough Roads Ahead: Hope and Hard Times	111	(10)
10. The Trail of Trials: Our Internal and External Battles	121	(17)
11. The Way of Christ: Images of Christ and Sacrifice	138	(11)
12. There and Back Again: Celebrating and Returning from the Journey	149	(7)
Special Section: Dangers along the Path: Cautions and Concerns	156	(16)
Notes	172	(4)
Fantasy Land Index	176	(2)
Scripture Index	178