Fantasy Historical Revisionism - Loconte's Manipulation of Middle-Earth, Narnia, and the New Testament

For some time I've received recommendations of Joseph Loconte's 'The War for Middle-Earth: JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis Confront the Gathering Storm, 1933-1945'. I was dubious, and so when I was recently in a Barnes and Noble and saw the book, I picked it up and spent some time perusing it. It was what I had feared, a Right-wing attempt to hijack these authors and appropriate them to contemporary political struggle. It immediately reminded my of the kind of skewed historical work produced by Eric Metaxas, most famously with his Bonhoeffer biography which despite being discredited, continues to sell.

Loconte it would seem never bothered to read Tolkien's forward to 'The Fellowship of the Ring' nor the fact that Tolkien's whole focus is really expressed in the posthumously published 'The Silmarillion' - which is high fantasy that includes many elements that cannot be tied to the context of the World Wars. The Lord of the Rings was but one small component of a larger set of stories that Tolkien wished to write. The problem was he was too slow and would have needed to live past 200 years to have been able to accomplish his literary goals. He explicitly states in the forward that the stories were not allegories connected to World War II. Loconte pays lip service to this but then promptly ignores it and seeks to tease out such applications, something he apparently has been doing for some time before the publication of this latest work published in the fall of 2025.

Further he does not deal with Tolkien's appreciation for Franco and Spanish Fascism which took on a particularly Roman Catholic hue. It's an issue that complicates the whole discussion as well as Tolkien's relationship with CS Lewis and the latter's understanding of Britain's rather Protestant Empire.

Encounter sections with headings like 'D-Day and the Downfall of Mordor', I found myself all but groaning over this gross manipulation of Tolkien and Lewis - which also ignores the more subtle aspects of conflict within their works. The lines are not always so clear cut. Even if one wished to argue that this is how Tolkien and Lewis saw things, from a Biblical perspective this is even more problematic. The truth is it was the Soviet Union that defeated Nazi Germany on the battlefield - not the D-Day invasions or the Battle of the Bulge. Secondly, from a Christian standpoint the British, French, and American Empires were also great evils - hardly consonant with either Numenor, Gondor, or Narnia.

I would argue that in the Space Trilogy, Lewis is not concerned about fascism but rather modernity and the loss of supernaturalism. That Hideous Strength is as much a critique of modern Enlightenment Britain as anything else. As much as I appreciate Lewis and Tolkien, I do not share their celebration of Christendom though I can appreciate much of what Lewis has to say about modernity and Tolkien's appreciation of living mythology. And contrary to the some on the Right who wish to appropriate Tolkien (and yet completely ignore one of the central lessons in the Lord of the Rings), I laud his message regarding the corruption and dangers of power.

For the record I also reject the Libertarian attempts to appropriate Tolkien. The Shire was certainly a reflection of Merrie Olde England, but this is not at all the same as Libertarianism in a modern industrial context, nor was it ever actually real, nor is it applicable to Loconte's World War II framing.

Loconte weaves in Churchill and Eisenhower and a distorted presentation of the West and its empires - especially in the 20th century. I found myself disagreeing with almost everything I encountered. He gets Lewis and Tolkien wrong. He gets history wrong and he certainly (and most important of all) gets Christianity wrong.

Who is this person I found myself asking? I literally guffawed when I discovered that Loconte is associated with Grove City College and the Heritage Foundation. As such his gross misrepresentations of history are to be expected. Grove City looms large in the Christian community, especially in Pennsylvania. I've written before about how the college is within easy striking distance of where I live and yet I never entertained sending any of my kids there.

When one looks at the Christian Right (and the values, ethics, and affiliations of Grove City College), one is struck by the fact that in the Old Testament it was not Assyria or Babylon that were the main threat to God's people but rather the false prophets, idolatry, and false worship (as represented by the Dan and Bethel shrines) as well as the numerous occasions when idols were set up in the Jerusalem Temple. Likewise in the New Testament we find dire warnings and exhortations as well as predictions of coming apostasy. The apostles (even John in Revelation) are not greatly concerned (if at all) by Rome and its power or its hostility to the Church. The threat is from within - from counterfeit forms of Christianity that seek to manipulate the message and pervert it.

Though seemingly few understand this, the message is clear - Pseudo-Christianity is far more dangerous than Anti-Christianity. While Stalin and Hitler could destroy the body, they could not destroy the soul. The real threat for Christians in Germany was the pro-Nazi Church. Likewise in Britain it was the Churches that supported and effectively baptised the British Empire.

And in today's America it's the churches, teachers, and institutions that have sold out the Church to not just the Christian Right of Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Billy Graham, but now to the vile filth that is Trumpism and MAGA. Franklin Graham thinks someone a Judas if they don't stand by Trump but it is Graham himself and myriad others who are the Judases - who have sold out Christ and sought to replace him with a feeble-minded, moral degenerate, would-be Messiah.

Institutions like Grove City College have played no small role in this and thus it shouldn't surprise us that its star is rising and there are many teachers associated with that school that are putting out the same kind of tripe in the realms of not just history, but politics, law, economics, and more. And many serve double-duty as elders in area churches.
The Heritage Foundation evokes many responses. On the one hand it's a joke, a propaganda mill that should not be taken seriously. It's deceitful materials that arrive in my mail box testify to that. It testifies to the fact that it's neither scholarly nor honest and thus I question the integrity of anyone working there. They can't be taken seriously. But in another respect it's purely evil as it has been a significant and influential platform - a dark citadel where the architects of modern Right-wing policy have laboured to steer presidential administrations, jurisprudence, and foreign policy. The Heritage Foundation has been a force for great evil as it promotes war, theft, and deceit. Sadly (it would seem) a good number of its fellows and employees profess to be Christians. As such it is a hallmark expression of contemporary American apostasy.

Loconte is a hack whose task is to distort the historical record and appropriate the legacy of these authors who remain popular and in high standing in Christian circles. At every turn (it would seem) Loconte desires to promote war and militarism and is happy to manipulate history and literature to that end in support of these causes. I'm sure his books sell very well and I have no doubt his star will continue to rise. So it is in these times of pseudo-Christianity, these Last Days when many have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.