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A Common Word?’ Reflections On Christian-Muslim Dialogue, Larry Poston Apr 2008

A Common Word?’ Reflections On Christian-Muslim Dialogue, Larry Poston

Bible & Religion Educator Scholarship

On September 13, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI addressed an audience at the University of Regensburgon the topic of “Faith, Reason, and the University.” While his message focused on the necessity of maintaining a religious faith based upon and commensurate with Reason, a quotation early in the speech from the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus (1350-1425) produced a highly negative reaction from Muslims around the world. In a discussion with a Persian scholar on the subject of Christianity’s relationship to Islam, the emperor had challenged his Muslim colleague to “show … just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you …


The Presence Of Divine Providence In The Absence Of “God”: The Role Of Providence, Fate, And Free Will In Tolkien Mythology, Christin Ivey Jan 2008

The Presence Of Divine Providence In The Absence Of “God”: The Role Of Providence, Fate, And Free Will In Tolkien Mythology, Christin Ivey

The Corinthian

Close examination of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic mythologically driven Faerie literature reveals an implicit allusion to Christian theology, undoubtedly deriving from Tolkien’s devote practice of Roman Catholicism. However, unlike his friend and counterpart C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien insisted on distancing his faerie mythos from any explicit Christian allegorical connotations. Yet theological themes regarding divine providence, fate, chance and free will consistently manifest within Tolkien’s literature, notably in The Silmarillion and his epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. In order to assimilate theology and mythology in a more universal manner, Tolkien turned to Boethius’s philosophy regarding the role of providence, …