Thanks for all the kind feedback on yesterday’s launch of Seasons of Sorrow. As you read it, please consider leaving a review at Amazon.

Westminster Books has deals on some new and noteworthy books.
(Yesterday on the blog: A New Song: In the Valley (Bless the Lord))
An Insight Into Influencers
“Who are the most influential people in the lives of teenagers? Most of the potential answers to that question probably haven’t changed much across centuries and cultures: parents, siblings, wider family, friends and educators. But now, in the 21st century, we have to add to that list YouTubers and social media content creators.”
Did Jesus Send Us Looking for ‘Persons of Peace’?
You’ve probably heard of the missions strategy of seeking out a “person of peace.” This article explains why this isn’t necessary.
Let’s Make Sure We Are Preaching The Gospel Of Grace Not A Gospel Of Works
This is important: “In the immediate aftermath of her death, it is inevitable and right that we celebrate her life. A degree of hagiographic overstatement is to be expected as we pay our respects. However, as gospel ministers, we need to be careful that, at this very moment at which the Christian faith and its fruits are in the public eye, we do not inadvertently create the impression that the Christian faith is a works religion, with eternal life secured by a good life of sacrificial service.”
How to have an Elders’s Retreat
Clint Humfrey: “If you’re a pastor, have you thought of having a retreat day with your elders? Likely it’s because you see the need to develop camaraderie, common vision, and to simply take a step back from the ministry of the church and evaluate together. For all of these reasons, a retreat can be a good idea. Here are six suggestions for putting on an elders retreat.”
Everyone Is Guilty, but Anyone Can Be Pardoned
“If a man kills another man, and neither of them put their trust in Jesus, how is it just that they both end up in Hell? It makes sense that the murderer is punished. The victim, however, was unjustly killed. Why should he be punished, as well?” This article answers well.
What Does “Vanity” Mean in Ecclesiastes?
This is quite an interesting take on some possible meanings for the “vanity” of Ecclesiastes.
Flashback: 7 Books To Help You Understand the Times
A new worldview based around a very particular conception of social justice is quickly gaining traction. Traditional understandings of sex and gender are being overthrown. New words and new ideas have suddenly sprung into our common parlance.

The lowest laborer who has grace and fears God, is a nobler being in the eyes of his Creator than the King, ruler, or statesman, whose first aim it is to please the people. —J.C. Ryle

My book Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God is now available. And so, too, is the song that was inspired by it. “In the Valley (Bless the Lord)” was written by CityAlight and features Sandra McCracken. It is (or soon will be) available wherever good music is sold or streamed. You can listen to it on YouTube right here and right now:

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Song Story
Some time ago, the songwriters for CityAlight reached out to ask if I would like to collaborate on a song. Intrigued by the idea, I suggested they read the manuscript for Seasons of Sorrow to see if it might inspire a song. My great wish, I told them, is that it would be a song suitable for congregational singing. Over the months that followed we did some back-and-forth and the result is a lovely song titled “In the Valley (Bless the Lord).” Every song has a story and the story of this song is one of sorrow and loss, a story of passing through a dark valley. But it is also a story of God’s sweet comfort and of his people blessing his name even in the darkness. I trust that it will give words to your heart as it has to mine.
We sang the song at the book’s launch event and have sung it once congregationally at my church. In both cases I was struck by how easy it is to sing and how easily even very untrained singers can pick it up. I recommend trying it!
Lyrics
Verse 1When the path that I fearedIs the way He has setAnd I long to give in and retreatStill to Jesus I holdAs I face every stepFor the Lord he will give me His peace
Chorus 1Bless the Lord, He will give me His peaceBless the Lord, He will give me His peaceAnd if I should remain in the valley todayBless the Lord, He will give me His peace
Verse 2When the road that I treadFills my heart with despairAnd it seems like my grief has no endStill to Jesus I holdWho will walk with me thereAnd the Lord he will give me His strength
Chorus 2Bless the Lord, He will give me His strengthBless the Lord, He will give me His strengthAnd if I should remain in the valley todayBless the Lord, He will give me His strength
Verse 3On the road that You walkedWith the weight of the crossAll my pain and my sorrow You heldSo to You I shall holdYou redeem every lossFor my Lord You have given Yourself
Chorus 3Bless the Lord, for He gives me HimselfBless the Lord, for He gives me HimselfAnd if I should remain in the valley todayBless the Lord, for He gives me Himself

Today is the day: Seasons of Sorrow is now officially available. If you pre-ordered a copy, you should already have it or it should already be on its way. If you didn’t pre-order a copy, then you can order it right now and it will be shipped immediately.

Seasons of Sorrow is an honest look at grief and fears, faith and hope. Combining personal narrative, sound theology, and the best writing I am capable of, this is a book for anyone who has loved and lost, for anyone who has endured suffering and sorrow.
The background is probably familiar to most of you. On November 3, 2020, Aileen and I received the shocking news that our son Nick had died. A twenty-year-old student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, he had been participating in a school activity with his fiancée, sister, and friends, when he fell unconscious and collapsed to the ground.
Neither students nor a passing doctor nor paramedics were able to revive him. We received the news at our home in Toronto and immediately departed for Louisville to be together as a family. While on the plane, I began to process my loss through writing. In Seasons of Sorrow, I share real-time reflections from the first year of grief—through the seasons from fall to summer.
It is my sincere hope that Seasons of Sorrow will benefit both those that are working through sorrow and those who may be attempting to bring comfort to others. I mean for it to show people how God is sovereign over loss and that he is good in loss, to help them see how they can pass through times of grief while keeping and even strengthening their faith, to learn how biblical doctrine can work itself out even in life’s most difficult situations, and to understand how it is possible to love God more after loss than you loved him before.
I would be honored and delighted if you would buy it and read it—or perhaps buy it and give it to someone who would benefit from it.

I have prepared a couple of additional resources that may prove helpful:

A Letter to Parents – This is a letter I have prepared addressed to parents who have lost a child. If you plan to give bereaved parents a copy of Seasons of Sorrow, you may like to print this and include it with the book.
Helpful Things To Say To Grieving Parents – If you are walking through the loss of a child with a friend or family member, this article will help you know how you can best serve them in their darkest hour.

Endorsements

‘If ever there was a book Tim Challies needed to write, it’s this one. And it’s a book I needed to read. Within these pages, you will do more than enter Tim’s story of enormous loss; you will come out on the other side having gained a softer heart and a renewed courage to persevere through your own dark seasons of affliction.’ — Joni Eareckson Tada, founder of the Joni and Friends International Disability Center
‘Seasons of Sorrow is a beautiful book. Reading it is like holding a precious gift, like standing on holy ground.’ — Paul David Tripp, pastor, speaker, author of New Morning Mercies and Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense
‘Seasons of Sorrow cut straight to my soul. I read it within a few weeks of the unexpected deaths of two close friends and while my wife struggles bravely with stage 4 cancer. Tim’s heartfelt pain and Christ-centered perspective spoke to both my heart and my head.’ — Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven and If God Is Good
‘Tim Challies has taken us into his confidence by writing with such self-searching honesty. It is a painful pleasure to be invited into these sacred moments of grief and to be helped by the reminder that God is too kind ever to be cruel and too wise ever to make a mistake.’ — Alistair Begg, senior pastor, Parkside Church, and host of the Truth for Life radio program
‘Believers need this book, and only Tim Challies could have written it. I am so thankful that Nick was a student at Boyce College, and his influence as a young Christian was remarkable.’ — Albert and Mary Mohler
‘In the pages of this book, grieving people will find companionship, insight, and genuine encouragement for the journey.’ — Nancy Guthrie, author of Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow and cohost of Respite Retreats for grieving parents
‘This book is brilliant, not because of Tim Challies’s eloquence, but because of his tears! The buoyancy of faith that shines from every page often left me teary-eyed, thanking God for his grace to his people during their darkest times. What priceless grace!’ — Conrad Mbewe, pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church and founding chancellor of the African Christian University
‘If you have lost a loved one to death, as everyone has, or if you have buried a child, as many have, Tim Challies is your friend. Your brother. Your lifeline.’ — Robert and Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, bestselling authors

My book Seasons of Sorrow releases today. Thanks so all who have purchased it already or who will do so today or in the days ahead. It is my prayer that the Lord will use it to bless and strengthen his people.

Today’s Kindle deals include a number of interesting titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: Are You a Peacemaker or a Troublemaker?)
Google’s Revolution in Historical Research
We are inclined to gripe about Big Tech, but this article from Philip Jenkins reminds us that it also delivers some incredible abilities. “I research and publish a lot in history. The more I do, the more struck I am – astounded would be a better word – at the revolution wrought by Google and other search engines.”
Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Apply a Passage to Others
“Some expositors and exegetes are gifted at applying Scripture. It’s as though these communicators have read our minds. They seem to effortlessly connect a text to our experiences and emotions. I envy them. Application doesn’t come easily for me. I have to work at it.” Me too. And here’s some help with it.
The doctrine of the believer’s union with Christ (video)
Sinclair Ferguson briefly summarizes the doctrine of the believer’s union with Christ.
What Does the Bible Say About Transgenderism?
Kevin DeYoung: “Some would argue that the Bible says nothing about the explosion of the transgender phenomenon in the Western world. After all, there is no verse that says, ‘Thou shalt not transition from a man to a woman.’ But neither are there any verses that talk explicitly about gun violence, anorexia, waterboarding, fossil fuels, vaccines, GMOs, or HMOs. We should not expect the Bible to speak in 21st century terms to every 21st-century eventuality.”
The Key of knowledge
Janie B. Cheaney: “Constructivism is an intellectual trend that overtook the university around the middle of the last century. Deconstruction, postmodernism, and critical theory (with its many offshoots) are its ideological spawn. Even if you’re not familiar with those terms you may confront them daily, because constructivism became the foundational doctrine of today’s education establishment.”
Why Church is Often Boring
“Church is often dull because we think about it like secularists, not according to scripture.”
Flashback: 3 Types of Fool
In his book Fool’s Talk: Recovering the Art of Christian Persuasion, Os Guinness portrays three types of fools in the Bible: The Fool Proper, The Fool Bearer, and The Fool Maker. I found it a fascinating discussion.

When home is ruled according to God’s Word, angels might be asked to stay with us, and they would not find themselves out of their element. —Charles Spurgeon

I recently spent some time studying one of the simplest verses in the New Testament: “blessed are the peacemakers.” There are no tricky words in this verse, no difficult Greek to parse. To be blessed means to be happy or to experience God’s favor; to be a peacemaker is to (wait for it!) make peace. But though the words are simple, the application takes some work. Essentially, Jesus is saying that peace with God leads us to make peace like God. But how do we actually do that?

It strikes me that there are at least three ways that each of us can serve as a peacemaker: we can make peace between God and man; we can make peace between man and man; and we can make peace between church and church.
Peace Between Man and God
Once we come to peace with God we naturally want to see others come to peace with him as well. What we call “evangelism” is simply this—telling others about the good news of the gospel and encouraging them to turn to Christ in repentance and faith—encouraging them to accept God’s terms of peace.
Do you do that? Are you sharing the gospel with other people? And are you asking them, or encouraging them, or pleading with them to turn to Christ? This is a serious and sacred calling God has given us. And I fear that of all Christians, Reformed Christians are among those most likely to neglect this task.
There are so many ways to share the gospel. You can speak to people at work and home and in your neighborhood. You can speak to your Uber driver and hairdresser. You can distribute tracts and Bibles. You can reach into the online communities you are part of. You can participate in formal programs of evangelism. Less important than how you do it is the fact that you do do it.
The peacemaker is the evangelist—the one who longs to see peace between God and man, and the one who then shares the gospel and calls people to it.
Peace Between Man and Man
The second kind of peace we can bring is peace between man and man. Everywhere you go you find people who are in conflict with one another and as a peacemaker you can help bring them to a state of harmony.
While we need to be careful not to involve ourselves in conflicts that are none of our business and conflicts we can really do nothing to help, there are times where we can helpfully intervene in a conflict and assist the two sides in coming to terms with one another. That’s especially true when the conflict is between two Christians and perhaps most important of all when it’s between two members of the same church.
To bring peace between two people doesn’t mean to merely act as appeasers, people who try to paper over conflict without actually resolving it. To be a peacemaker is to bring God’s own truth to bear on a situation of conflict and then to appeal to the different parties to do what God says. This is always the question we need to be asking: What does the Bible say about this, and how am I going to apply those Scriptural truths to this particular situation?
You may come into contact with a husband and wife who are just not getting along, who are always irritated with one another. And they ask you for help. Maybe you can begin by simply opening up Ephesians 5:33 and reading what God says: “Let each one of you (husbands) love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” And beginning right there you can help him think about how to love her and help her think about how to respect him. That may not bring full resolution, but it will at least get the process underway.
You may come into contact with two church members who have had a falling out. Perhaps one has sinned against the other and is denying it. You can speak to the one who has been sinned against and open up Proverbs 19:11 to remind that person, “It is the glory of a man to overlook an offense.” Can you overlook this offense—can you set it aside and continue to relate to that person as if it never happened? If not, then you can take that person to Matthew 18:15 and help him understand the process God gives us to resolve conflict: Go to that person alone, describe the offense, and see if they will ask your forgiveness; if not, take one or two other people and do it again; and if even then they won’t repent, take it to the church.
Of course maybe it’s you who needs to obey God when he says, “as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Would it be said of you that you live at peace with everyone?
In these ways and so many others, you can imitate God by serving as a peacemaker. You can bring peace between man and man.
Peace Between Church and Church
And then I think there is also a way in which we together as the members of a local church can bring peace between church and church. It’s a sad fact that churches often end up isolating themselves or becoming suspicious of other congregations. We can even become competitive with one another when it comes to growing our numbers.
There is a sweet ministry of being a church that loves other churches—that makes peace with them and that fosters peace with them. You can read about one of these churches in 1 Thessalonians 4—a church that was commended for its love of other churches. There was no competition and no hard feelings. There was just love—love for other churches that were imperfect but on the same side, imperfect but carrying out the same labor and working toward the same cause. It is a beautiful thing when churches dwell together in love, trust, and unity.
We are called to be peacemakers, not mere peace-lovers or peace-attempters. And yet ultimately we need to acknowledge that the results are not up to us. We must do our utmost to make peace—but we must also then leave the results in the hands of God, trusting that he is wise and good. Sometimes, for his purposes, he will bring full resolution; sometimes, for his purposes, he will not. We can trust him with the results.
Then it’s important that we consider this: If we are called to make peace, why is there so much conflict? Why is there so much conflict even in the church, even between Christians? The simple reason is that we face strong enemies that hate peace and love war. The world around us, our own flesh, and the devil himself are all arrayed against us. They all tend toward the chaos of fighting, not the order of peace. And so we need to pray for peace—pray for peace in our own hearts, pray for peace in the world, pray for peace within the church. And then, having prayed, we need to labor for it. We need to make peace.
So, are you a peacemaker or a troublemaker? Are you a son of God in making peace, or are you a son of the devil in undermining or destroying peace? The clear calling for those who have come to peace with God is to make peace like God. The beautiful calling of the gospel is to imitate God in being one who loves peace, who values peace, and who makes peace.

Grace and peace to you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include a number of deals from Crossway.
(Yesterday on the blog: Are You a Peacemaker or a Troublemaker?)
Eliza Fletcher’s Funeral Light
“‘We say against the powers of darkness and the powers of hell, ‘On this day—this day that God has made—we will rejoice and be glad,’’ Second Presbyterian Church pastor and TGC Council member George Robertson told hundreds gathered at the funeral service for 34-year-old Eliza Fletcher this morning.” I’m sure you’ve heard of the horrific death of Eliza Fletcher…
4 Leadership Lessons from the Life of Queen Elizabeth II
I appreciated Colin Smith’s thoughts on leadership lessons from the life of Queen Elizabeth. “The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has unleashed a tidal wave of admiration and affection in Britain and around the world. Why does the Queen have such a special place in the hearts of so many? Why has her life had such an influence for good?” (Related: this is an interesting video of world media responding to the news of her death.)
King Charles III and Securing the True Protestant Religion
“With the death of Queen Elizabeth II the United Kingdom and a watching world are preparing for a lot of royal pageantry. It’s a pageantry that comes with a lot of history and even a little bit of theology.” This article explains how that’s true for the Anglican Church and the Church of Scotland.
Breaking Bread with Todd Friel (Video)
A little while ago Todd Friel invited me to “break bread” with him while we conversed about Nick. That video has just been released.
All Night, Wrestling
“Some nights I am Jacob, wrestling with God. On the edge of fear and despair, at the end of himself, alone, desperate, he realizes the shadowy figure he is wrestling with is God Himself. I feel Jacob’s desperation: I won’t let you go unless you bless me!”
Do You Submit to the Bible, or Does the Bible Submit to You?
“What is the Bible to you? A collection of helpful stories? A book of ancient wisdom? Do you think it contains God’s word to us?” These are awfully important questions.
Flashback: The Greatest Burden of Leadership
The burden of responsibility is light compared to the burden of insufficiency, inability, or just plain failure.

It so often happens that in prayer we are really saying, “Thy will be changed,” when we ought to be saying, “Thy will be done.” The first object of prayer is not so much to speak to God as to listen to Him. —William Barclay

This was one of those rare weeks in which I collected so much good material that it only seemed right to create an extra A La Carte column. I hope you enjoy the extra reading!

Before You Japa: 7 Things To Consider
I enjoyed this evaluation of the benefits and drawbacks of japa—”a Yoruba word which means ‘run swiftly’ or to flee from danger, but which is now a Nigerian slang for emigration.” It must at times be difficult to remain in a context in which so many are leaving.
The Funnies
Every Saturday I look forward to receiving Chris Martin’s “The Funnies,” a modern-day answer to the Saturday comics I enjoyed long ago.
Just War and Our Cultural Conflict
Kevin DeYoung continues his series on the culture war. “The answer to the question ‘Should Christians be engaged in the culture war?’ is quite simple: You are whether you mean to be or not.”
Count it all Joy
Guy Richard: “It is relatively easy to ‘count it all joy’ when things are going well around us. When God’s will matches our own will for our lives, it is easy to be a Christian and to ‘count it all joy.’ But when those two things don’t add up—when God’s will for our lives and our will for our lives don’t match—that is when things get hard.”
Lord, Help Me See the Ways to Die Today
Trevin Wax: “A few months ago, I began asking the Lord every morning to give me chances that day to die to myself, and for the Spirit to help me recognize those opportunities. He has never failed to answer this prayer. Not once.”
The Agony of Church Discipline Carried Out
“As my wife and I walked into the sanctuary, we were met with the same fellowship we always get. But on this occasion, there was a sense of angst as everybody waited for the elders to speak. You see, this wasn’t Sunday service. It was a members-only meeting. And just about everybody in the room—including my wife and me—knew what this meeting was about.”

This week I spoke at my first conference since COVID … and came away with a pretty good case of COVID (of the “bad cold” variety). So I’m moving a bit slow and catching up on a bit of TV, but hoping to be back on my feet by Monday.

There are a few Kindle deals to take a look at.
(Yesterday on the blog: On What Basis Could The Rings of Power Completely Fail?)
“Elizabeth the Faithful”—a Small Reflection on our Queen
I really enjoyed Michael Haykin’s tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. “Having been born in the mid-1950s, Elizabeth II (1926–2022) is the only monarch I have ever had. And so, it is very strange to hear the time-hallowed refrain, ‘The Queen is dead. Long live the King!’”
God save the Queen
This is also a lovely tribute. “The rain is falling outside the window, the sound of students from the Westminster school drifts over and blends with the sound of sirens. And there flies the flag on top of Parliament, still not yet at half mast. Soon it may be lowered, tethered, like a million waiting souls, to the frail, fluttering life of an old lady surrounded by doctors and family in Balmoral. That slight, whisper-light weight will drag behind it a freight of emotion and uncertainty that will bury the country for days and weeks to come.”
How Manti Te’o’s Fake Girlfriend Helps Explain Transgenderism
Brett McCracken: “More than its insights about sports stardom, media hype, or the perils of online dating, Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist, reinforced for me a theory I’ve had about contemporary culture: transgenderism and social media are inextricably linked, and the plausibility of trans identities is a unique byproduct of the digital age.”
Did Jesus take on our sin nature? (Video)
Michael Reeves does a great job answering the question.
What is the House Church?
This article offers a helpful explanation of the Chinese house church.
Then Comes the Breaking
“Something within me broke. Tears began to flow down my face as he came and sat down beside me. He shared that he had some idea of the unspeakable pain I was experiencing because he and his wife had miscarried many years ago. He asked how I was doing, and I jokingly said, ‘I was doing fine until you stopped by.’”
Flashback: The Glory of Children Is Their Fathers
While our ultimate desire is to hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we all also want to hear our children say, “Well done, good and faithful dad” or “Well done, good and faithful mom.”

Love is not only doing others no harm; it is doing them all the good that it is in our power to do. —J.R. Miller

I first encountered The Lord of the Rings during the loneliest year of my childhood. My family had moved, my friends had been left behind, and I was lonely. The one friend I did make that year was an avid fan of the books and pleaded with me to read them. I did so and quickly got swept up into a world that transported me far beyond my problems. That was the first, though certainly not the last, time I read my way through the series.

And though I’m not one of those super-fans who knows every fact of this fictional world (or, like an uncle of mine, who has gone to the trouble of learning Elvish), I do appreciate the books and the films that were generally faithful to them. And it’s probably for that reason that I have been dreading the long-awaited series. I have been dreading it because, as much as I love what Tolkien created, I have long feared that this series would make a mockery of it. This is, after all, 2022. And the series is made, after all, by Amazon. That’s not an encouraging combination.
Before I settled in to watch episode one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, I tried to corral my skeptical thoughts and consider this: What could make the series utterly fail in my mind? I already know it’s not truly Tolkien’s story, but rather bits and pieces of material that exists peripherally to The Lord of the Rings (i.e. the “legendarium”). I already know that while it’s generally set in the world he created, only some of what it describes ever entered his mind and flowed through his pen. I already know it means to emphasize themes that are important in 2022 but that were of little importance to Tolkien the better part of a century earlier. So what could make it completely fail? I decided this: it would fail if it was set in a different moral universe than Tolkien’s books. I could tolerate some made-up creatures and some re-imagined characters, but I couldn’t tolerate a wholly different morality.
Part of the beauty and attraction of The Lord of the Rings is that it is set in a universe in which the mythology, lands, and races are fantasy, but in which the morality rings with familiarity. It is a universe that delights us with its imaginative differences and yet challenges us with its moral similarities. Any Christian, and indeed, anyone familiar with the modern Western world, will recognize that Tolkien’s understanding of morality was shaped by Scripture. We see this in many ways, but perhaps none so clearly as in the One Ring—in its ability to control those who own it and then to drive them to destruction. You can’t see the obsessiveness of Gollum and the weakening of Frodo without thinking about a Christian conception of sin. Beyond that, what is abhorrent in our world tends to be abhorrent in his and what is beautiful here is beautiful there. Tolkien’s world is not straightforwardly Christian anymore than Lewis’s Narnia—but it is generally framed around a similar and easily-recognizable morality.
My fear with The Rings of Power is that it will borrow characters, settings, and situations that Tolkien described, but set them within a very different moral order. Particularly, my fear is that it will set them in a world that borrows the (im)morality of the post-modern post-Christian morass we’ve entered into in the Western world. This is a world in which the mighty and influential are deliberately seeking out any traces of the Christian faith and its morality and then deliberately disrupting or destroying them. If this is broadly true across society, it’s especially true in Hollywood. In this way it’s hard for me to imagine that what Tolkien considered a virtue will still be considered a virtue and that what he considered a vice will still be considered a vice. In fact, I rather suspect the opposite—that the creators will replace his morality with their own. And, to me, that would be the undoing of the whole thing—it would be treasonous. Near-blasphemous.
After two episodes, I think the jury is still out. I expect there are lots of Tolkien purists and conservative commentators expressing disgust at just about every character and every interaction, but I think it’s fair to say we still haven’t received definitive proof about the show’s morality. Hints, certainly, not not proof. That said, I expect the next couple of episodes will bring greater clarity.
Before I go further, let me offer a few bullet-point observations (that probably contain a few minor spoilers).

The greater racial diversity of the characters obviously isn’t consistent with Tolkien’s imagination, but could be the kind of adaptation to the modern world that he would sanction. After all, I don’t think it contradicts his vision for his world (even though it was set in the context of Northern European mythology). That said, we have yet to see whether the show’s creators have merely increased diversity or whether they have also imported some form of power dynamics between the races. That will make a big difference. And then, of course, we will have to see whether they import “sexual diversity” or “gender diversity” as well. I find it almost impossible to imagine that they won’t.
There was a kind of “wow factor,” a kind of delight, in the opening scenes of The Fellowship of the Ring that seems lacking in The Rings of Power. But perhaps that’s inevitable since Peter Jackson already gave us a faithful and beautiful portrayal of Middle Earth that this new series can do little more than hope to match. Who could forget their first glimpse at Jackson’s Hobbiton and Jackson’s Frodo and Jackson’s Gandalf all converging at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring? That was a magical moment for which The Rings of Power has no answer.
People have been lauding the show’s visual effects, but I found them lacking in vitality and believability. It seems obvious to me how much of each episode was filmed under artificial lights and in front of green screens. I don’t find the lighting compelling and I find many of the sound effects distracting. But maybe that’s just me.
Here’s something new for authors to aspire to: to have people willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to gain the rights to the mere footnotes and appendices of their work. Well done J.R.R.!
I think the reimagining of Galadriel achieves the opposite effect the writers presumably desired—it makes her a weaker character rather than a stronger one. Why? Because instead of succeeding as a woman (as she does so well in the books and films) she now seems to need to succeed on the terms of a man. In order to be “strong,” she has to be physically strong—stronger and bolder and fiercer even than the men around her. It is my understanding that Tolkien’s vision for female elves may have included them being warriors, but I expect he would still have wanted them to ultimately succeed on female terms rather than male ones. So far it seems like in this show the women will act like men and the men will act like children.
Also, if New Galadriel really is going to be the central character, it’s hard to imagine her having enough charisma to carry the role. I find her character quite uninteresting and her acting quite uninspired—perhaps because she is given so little of substance to work with. But just compare her to the brilliant, haunting, dignified (not to mention feminine) portrayal by Cate Blanchett, and there’s just no comparison at all!

As I wait to learn whether the moral universe will be Tolkien’s or something new, my foremost concern so far is that the show is just not very interesting or engaging. Not yet, anyway. Go back and watch the first hour or two of The Fellowship of the Ring and see how much more it draws you into the story than the first two episodes of The Ring of Power. It’s difficult to not care after seeing the danger sweeping down upon this idyllic little world of the hobbits. It’s masterfully done and substantially superior to the series. I understand that the writers have to introduce lots of characters, settings, and plot lines that will eventually prove epic in scope, but based on the first two episodes, The Rings of Power seems to be trying to do too much too quickly.
I will give it another couple of episodes, but unfortunately to this point, The Rings of Power is just a bunch of characters I don’t care about doing things I don’t care about in places I don’t care about for reasons I don’t care about. To be honest, I am only watching it because I very much want it to succeed—I want it to entertain and delight me. But I am not holding out a lot of hope.

One Audiobooks is giving away Following God Fully by Joel Beeke & Michael Reeves.

Westminster Books has a deal on a fantastic new introduction to church history by Simonetta Carr.
There are a few more Kindle deals today as well.
Died: Queen Elizabeth II, British Monarch Who Put Her Trust in God
Here is Christianity Today’s obituary for Queen Elizabeth II who died yesterday. I appreciate its emphasis on her faith (as I’ve heard from a number of people who knew her that it was extremely important to her).
The Quiet Faith of Queen Elizabeth II
Here’s Carl Trueman: “A friend who once had the privilege of being a royal chaplain and spending a weekend at Balmoral Castle confirmed that the conversations he had with the queen revealed her to be a thoughtful, devout Christian. As a humble Christian she took her earthly vocation seriously, placing the needs of the office and of the people she ruled before her own.” (I think I’ve spoken to that same friend.)
Memento Mori: Death Through the Ages
I found this a very interesting reflection on death. “Given that the Christian tradition has been the dominant influence on Western thought for the past 1700 years, the Christian conception of death has been, until recently, the de facto Western conception. And it’s remained remarkably consistent up until the present. What changed significantly was enthusiasm about death.”
Serotonin and Depression: 4 Questions and Answers About a New Study
This is a very helpful look at that recent study that said we’ve had depression all wrong.
Dating & your unborn grandchildren
“What’s dating got to do with your unborn grandchildren? Much more than you’d think.” This article explains.
You’re From Fried Chicken and Beef Sandwich?
“When words get adopted from one language into another, unpredictable things happen to them. There’s almost always some correlation with its new meaning and its former one, though sometimes even this can be almost completely lost in adaptation.” Here’s an interesting example.
Leaders are Deep Readers
If leaders are deep readers, what does our seeming inability to read deeply mean for the future?
Flashback: The High Calling of Bringing Order From Chaos
So much of the work we do in our families, in our homes, in our churches, in our vocations, is the work of bringing order from chaos. And this is good work.

The erosion of character usually begins with neglect: we stop reading the Word, or worshiping with God’s people, or taking time to meditate and pray. —Warren Wiersbe