The Hound Of Ulster

Inside Catholic's got an interesting PIECE by Father Dwight Longenecker about what he percieves as the differences between Tolkien and Lewis.

The difference between Narnia and Middle Earth points to the underlying difference between the imagination of Lewis the Protestant and Tolkien the Catholic. For the Protestant, truth is essentially dialectical. It consists of abstract propositions to be stated, argued, and affirmed or denied.

For the Catholic, Truth, while it may be argued dialectically, is essentially something not to be argued but experienced. The Truth is always linked with the mystery of the incarnation, and is therefore something to be encountered.

I'm not sure I agree with all of that.  The piece seems intent on creating an opposition between the two writers based on their religious beliefs, and that's problematic to my mind.

I know Longenecker's not trying to say "Tolkien Good, Lewis Bad," but it does come across as "Tolkien Catholic (so, good), Lewis Protestant (so, less good)." And I think that has a lot more to do with taste than with the works themselves.

Longenecker's "hot tub point" simply isn't true for me.  I find myself more moved by Lewis (both emotionally and rationally) than by Tolkien.  Does that make me a Protestant?  Or does it just mean that I prefer Lewis' style and approach?

Nor do I think comparing The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings is particularly fair.  The Space Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings, perhaps.  But I don't think Tolkien ever wrote anything intended for as young an audience as Lewis' Chronicles.  Some of the "simplicty" should be attributed to that, right?