Tolkien Got This Right (Eucatastrophe)
A reflection on grief, a hangout invitation & worldviews about God
Hello friends and happy Monday! I don’t know about you, but this weekend was our first taste on the east coast of Spring. 70 degrees and clear skies. I went and played some golf in Pinehurst, where my Dad lived. Maybe two months ago I did a short essay here about Dad’s passing and J.R.R. Tolkien’s concept of “eucatasrophe”. Those words were on my mind again, and so I sat down to deliver a similar message with a video.
I mentioned to you all that I was diving into writing a “Worldview Journal” inspired by the work of
. This mode of journaling invites you to write out answers to at least 7 questions that inform most every existential question and philosophical debate you’ll encounter in daily life.Is there a God….What is truth…Where did the universe come from?….What’s wrong with the world and is there hope?……
One of our Geeky Stoics community members, Dave Brown, wrote out his answers to these questions. Check them out!
When we debate (or discuss) political, religious and societal issues with other people, we are usually drawing on a pre-existing set of assumptions and convictions that inform what we say. These convictions can be somewhat we were taught, or something we intuited from an early age. Some will call them mere “feelings”, especially when there’s no hard evidence to back up the belief, but these feelings (or intuitions) are key to understanding our own nature.
What is Truth really tripped me up. You think you have an answer for that until you have to write it down.
Two things.
It’s time for Geeky Stoics to resume video hangouts and the community component of this Substack. I invite you all to join me on Sunday, March 9, 6 pm EST to discuss Worldviews and to share your thoughts on these prompts. I think we’ll learn a lot from one another. Add this invitation to your Calendar ← click the link
Drumroll, please! Here is my entry on “Is There A God?” This question can include observations that fall within the question, such as describing God’s nature and attempting to explain what this power is or isn’t.
I’ll transcribe these below so you don’t HAVE to read my chicken scratch.
This question has always felt obvious to me. My mind cannot comprehend the randomosity needed to birth this world and the human body without a designer of Life itself. God is a joyful entity, able to assume any form that advances His purpose. While most dexfribe God as an old man in the clouds, I prefer to think of God as a child filled with wonder and imagination. Discerning, quiet, full of humor and energy. A painter, Lego builder and steward of animals. Thought in my fear I characterize God as a vengeful parent, I feel more deeply that He’s unassuming and gentle. I think of God as disembodied by default, but assuming forms whenever, wherever and in many places at once. A singular consciousness stretched across an infinite plain. God once was angry with his creations for betraying their nature. He renewed his bond with creation in Christ, an extension of his Being that is attached and detached simultaneously. He hurts like a parent hurts when their child is in tears. He wants to hold you, but has lost so many of us to darkness and pride. He wants us to see him, but we don’t. He is sad. But finds joy in writing to us in the stars and course of daily life.
Stephen Kent, February 10, 2025
I must admit…reading this entry over again pains me. I am a writer, analyzer, and debater, and I could poke 100 holes in everything I myself said about God and His nature - COME ON STEPHEN, EXPLAIN THE USE OF THE MASCULINE AND TRY TO SEPARATE THAT OUT FROM PATRIARCHAL ASSUMPTIONS OF BLA BLA BLA.
See?
One place from which I know I derived a childlike idea about God is my friend,
of . He sent me this passage by G.K. Chesterton a while back, and when I read it, it felt very much like my own subconscious notions about God.