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“An invaluable resource for educators, parents, and friends to begin deep conversations about virtue, God, and the meaning of life through the power of story.”
Tales of Faith: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel Through Literature
By Holly Ordway
Word on Fire Institute | July 18, 2022
Hardcover | 192 Pages | 6" x 9"
2023 Award Winner by the Catholic Media Association!
Here's what you'll find in Tales of Faith:
- A practical, accessible guide to using literature to discuss topics such as the nature of God, virtues and vices, the Crucifixion, longing and sadness, and much more.
- Commentary on iconic literary works like: The Odyssey, Beowulf, and Dante’s Divine Comedy
- Reflections on and selections from the text, discussion questions, activities, and recommended resources
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Find Truth in the written word beyond the Bible!
How can we share the Gospel and make disciples in our modern culture? Many people, including young people from Christian homes, are walking away from the faith, or have never had it presented to them in a compelling manner. However, our polemical, distracted media environment makes it difficult to have thoughtful discussions about anything. In this context, literature and the arts have a powerful role to play by providing an engaging and inviting way to share the Christian faith.
In Tales of Faith, Holly Ordway shows how literature—and especially old literature—can foster fruitful discussions that allow us to meet people where they are and help them move closer to knowing Christ, or to knowing and loving him more fully and deeply. Here, readers will find a practical, accessible guide to using literature to discuss topics such as the nature of God, virtues and vices, the Crucifixion, longing and sadness, and much more. For each literary text, Ordway provides an introductory essay, a selection from the text (or the whole poem for short pieces), questions for discussion or personal reflection, activities, and recommended resources.
Drawing from ancient classics like the Odyssey and the Aeneid and medieval masterpieces like Beowulf and the Divine Comedy, and providing both practical advice and spiritual guidance for the reader, Tales of Faith offers teachers, parents, and all lovers of classic literature an invaluable resource for sharing the faith through story.
About the Author
About the Author
Holly Ordway is the Cardinal Francis George Professor of Faith and Culture at the Word on Fire Institute and Visiting Professor of Apologetics at Houston Christian University. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is a Subject Editor for the Journal of Inklings Studies. Her book Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages received the 2022 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies.
Holly Ordway is the Cardinal Francis George Professor of Faith and Culture at the Word on Fire Institute and Visiting Professor of Apologetics at Houston Christian University. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is a Subject Editor for the Journal of Inklings Studies. Her book Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages received the 2022 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies.
What People Are Saying
What People Are Saying
“Tales of Faith will make you a better reader, thinker, and evangelizer. With Dr. Holly Ordway as your expert guide, you will not only encounter beautiful and fascinating stories and poems from Ancient Greece to medieval Italy; you will be equipped to share and discuss literature with others. This book will be an invaluable resource for educators, parents, and friends to begin deep conversations about virtue, God, and the meaning of life through the power of story."
—Haley Stewart, author of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God Created You to Be and co-host of The Fountains of Carrots Podcast
“Holly Ordway draws from her years of teaching to introduce Christians to the richness of the Western literary tradition. This practical guide shows readers the ways that literature can lead us through its beauty to deep discipleship.”
—Jessica Hooten Wilson, author of The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints
“Holly Ordway draws from her years of teaching to introduce Christians to the richness of the Western literary tradition. This practical guide shows readers the ways that literature can lead us through its beauty to deep discipleship.”
—Jessica Hooten Wilson, author of The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints
“Holly Ordway encourages readers to cultivate intellectual hospitality by modeling it herself. She places a map before her readers and encourages us to join her as fellow companions on a convivial journey. She is both humble and sound in her own reception of literature. She balances scholarly heft with warmth and generosity, assuming the best of her readers and thus prompting us into greater integrity along the way.”
—Natasha Duquette, Vice-President Academic, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College
“Holly Ordway encourages readers to cultivate intellectual hospitality by modeling it herself. She places a map before her readers and encourages us to join her as fellow companions on a convivial journey. She is both humble and sound in her own reception of literature. She balances scholarly heft with warmth and generosity, assuming the best of her readers and thus prompting us into greater integrity along the way.”
—Natasha Duquette, Vice-President Academic, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College
“Holly Ordway has provided the Christian community with a much needed and very accessible reader of classical and medieval literature. She not only provides the necessary background and interpretive help; she asks probing questions that will push modern Christians to wrestle with issues of perennial importance. She is a knowledgeable and reliable guide, and I highly recommend her book for homeschoolers, classical Christian schools, and parish reading groups.”
—Louis Markos, Professor in English and Scholar in Residence, Houston Baptist University, and author of The Myth Made Fact: Reading Greek and Roman Mythology through Christian Eyes
“Holly Ordway has provided the Christian community with a much needed and very accessible reader of classical and medieval literature. She not only provides the necessary background and interpretive help; she asks probing questions that will push modern Christians to wrestle with issues of perennial importance. She is a knowledgeable and reliable guide, and I highly recommend her book for homeschoolers, classical Christian schools, and parish reading groups.”
—Louis Markos, Professor in English and Scholar in Residence, Houston Baptist University, and author of The Myth Made Fact: Reading Greek and Roman Mythology through Christian Eyes
Contents
Contents
Chapter One: Leading with Beauty
4 - The approach of this book
4 - What’s inside?
Chapter Two: Preparing for Our Literary Journey
7 - Using vs. receiving literature
9 - Cultivating intellectual hospitality
11 - Two spiritual challenges
13 - Practical advice
Chapter Three: Ancient Literature
16 - Backgrounds & Context: Myths and Legends
20 - The Greek Myths
39 - The Odyssey
53 - Oedipus Rex
60 - The Aeneid
Chapter Four: Medieval Literature
70 - Backgrounds & Context: Allegory
73 - “The Dream of the Rood”
85 - Beowulf
97 - Elegies
109 - Christ I
118 - Pearl
Chapter Five: Late Medieval Literature
133 - Backgrounds & Context: Dante’s Divine Comedy
137 - Inferno
147 - Purgatorio
158 - Paradiso
Chapter Six: Going Forward
170 - In schools and homeschools
171 - In parishes
172 - For individuals
Chapter Seven: Advice and Prayers from the Saints
Acknowledgments
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