J.R.R. Tolkien - The Return of the King with Kirsten Sanders

Christians Reading Classics · Aug 21, 2025 · 46m · transcript

Nadya Williams talks with theologian Kirsten Sanders about J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, exploring its vision of good and evil, the tragic imagination, and the "faith of hobbits." They discuss why classics endure, the theological depth of Tolkien's world, the moral resonance of small acts of faithfulness, and the book's bittersweet ending.

Chapters

00:03 – Tolkien's life, The Hobbit, and the birth of The Lord of the Rings

02:44 – What makes a book a classic?

05:19 – A reluctant Tolkien reader finds unexpected resonance

10:53 – The quest, the ring, and the nature of evil

14:11 –…