Make-Belief Translation: Fictive Truths and World-Building from The Lord of the Rings to Theological Institutions

This article explores the relationship of truth and fiction through three case studies of imagined translation used to construct worlds. The first is The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, who presents the work as a translation of an ancient text. The second and third are both theological metaph...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Godin, Mark (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Oxford University Press [2021]
In: Literature and theology
Year: 2021, Volume: 35, Issue: 1, Pages: 55-78
IxTheo Classification:AX Inter-religious relations
CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations
CD Christianity and Culture
VA Philosophy
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Summary:This article explores the relationship of truth and fiction through three case studies of imagined translation used to construct worlds. The first is The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, who presents the work as a translation of an ancient text. The second and third are both theological metaphors: imagining teaching as translation, and offering translation as a model for inter-religious dialogue. Comparing these cases extends the theory of world-building—most commonly associated with fantasy and science fiction—into a tool for reflecting on institutions and their structures. The case studies offer insights on negotiating relationships across difference, and on the fabrication of difference itself.
ISSN:1477-4623
Contains:Enthalten in: Literature and theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1093/litthe/fraa037