Quid est Veritas?

I haven’t seen this movie, "Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings:' A Catholic Worldview", but I found this clip, and I love it. I’ve been a C.S. Lewis fan since I was about 14, and I love the story of his friendship with Tolkien and his conversion.

“Myths are not lies. In fact, they’re the very opposite of a lie. Myths convey the simple truth, the primal reality of life itself.”

What I particularly like about this clip is the discussion of myths, materialism, and reality. The reason science and myth need not be treated as enemies is because it isn’t an “either/or” but a “both/and.” Science is our understanding of the material; myth is our understanding of what is beyond the material. We’ve been duped to believe that which can only been detected through the five senses is the only reality. If we try to measure the supernatural by natural means, of course it will seem beyond belief. But the fault is in the method.

“The first real lie of materialism [is] that hideous claim that there is no supernatural order to the universe.”

I also like how Tolkien describes history as God’s story. I’ve always pictured God as an author (maybe because I’m writer). And why can’t reality have a theme, plot points, and symbolism? And why can’t little myths which lack in facts still point to a true archetype, the big picture?

“Myths show us a fleeting glimpse of truth itself.”

I believe the clip takes a lot of its points from Tolkien’s “On Fairy Stories.” I actually haven’t read much Tolkien, but stuff like this definitely makes me want to read more.