Who is Tom Bombadil?

Any Lord of the Rings fan knows that Bombadil is a very mysterious character.

But what's interesting is that as we unpack him as a character, we end up unpacking things we've forgotten about how to do life.

Bombadil opens a window into what it means to steward the earth and our vocations.

Well, what if we had a larger concept of stewardship, of being created in the image of God that goes toward dominion in its truest sense?

Not just ecological preservation and certainly not domination, but instead a posture that asks questions like, what if my vocation has a home in the Kingdom of God?

Even though Bombadil himself doesn't appear largely in the story or go with the hobbits on their journey, exploring his character opens ultimate questions about death, resurrection, heaven, rest, good and evil.

Questions about who we're supposed to be and what exactly we're supposed to do here.

Join the Imagination Redeemed podcast for a live webinar reading group that will take what looks like a nerdy, obscure character discussion and drive it into a realm of wonder, mystery, and a new picture of what it means to live in the world.

Here's how it will work.

Beginning on June 4th, we will spend 4 weeks reading and discussing the book In the House of Tom Bombadil by CR Wiley.

Each Wednesday we will host a live webinar discussion, the first of which will be with the author.

You can participate in these conversations live or watch them as recordings at your convenience.

And you can participate with others not only in those live conversations, but in an ongoing chat as we explore the book together.

Let me tell you what to expect on June 4th.

We'll start off with the conversation of who is Bombadil, A conversation with author CR Wiley.

Tolkien fans love to debate that question.

Who is Tom Bombadil and why is he even in the story?

We'll get into our theories and yours on the answer.

But this week with author CR Wiley, we will also explore the question of why the answer matters.

Because the answer isn't just a key to understanding The Lord of the Rings.

It's a key to understanding the Christian life.

The second week, June 11th, we will delve into the topic of dominion.

We tend to shrink from a word like dominion, yet Tom Bombadil exercises a stewardship that goes a great deal further than do no harm.

He gives us a model for living as the amount of day so that our God-given lordship of creation is woven into the thriving of the things in it.

This week we will contrast Bombadil and Sauron and unpack a vision for shepherding the earth in keeping with the ancient songs sung into its soul.

Week 3, June 18th.

We will deal with the topic of communion, order and chaos, women and men, nature and technology.

It's pretty easy to see apparent tensions through opposites as we look around, and it's difficult to build households that manage those tensions.

Yet Tom and Goldberry supply a picture of how to live joyfully in the wilderness, order our lives by the great stories, and weave seamlessly into a dance of mutual delight.

This week we will tiptoe through a theology of communion that has implications for the relationship of the sexes, mankind and the rest of creation, happiness and limits, and home and wild things.

Finally, in Week 4, on June 25th, we will look at culmination.

Tom has his limits, including as an exemplar.

This week we will explore those limits and what they teach us, but we'll also look at what he shows us of death and resurrection, the hierarchical complexity of God's creation, and a vision of heaven that can shape our habits on earth.

Are you in?

We're going to have some fun with this.

That's kind of the point.

We're curious about how to approach the mysteries of how we live in the world and with each other and come out with a posture of merriment.

To join up, go to anselmsociety.org/bombadil.