One of the most charming moments of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Hobbit takes place at Beorn’s farm when Gandalf tells his host their tale. By twos and threes, the dwarves intrude, interrupting Gandalf’s narrative. In part, this is intended to soften the blow of fourteen unexpected visitors arriving all at once. Yet for a moment, one might wonder if … Continue reading Tolkien on How to Tell (Interrupt) a Story
Stories are so much more than spoonfuls of sugar which help the moral medicine go down. Because all of God’s activity has the structure of narrative, stories are the habitat in which ethical realities exist. As water is to fish, so is narrative to ethics. For this reason, stories play an integral role in our moral education, and … Continue reading Well Wrought Stories and Moral Judgment
We have begun to organize an online journal at NCF. At first, it was thought we might try to post several articles a week, much in the style of a college newspaper. But as we took a closer look at our resources, it became clear that such a publishing schedule would be exhausting and promote … Continue reading How Can I Tell: Beginnings of a College Journal
