I finished reading Tolkien's The Hobbit, after several friends encouraged me to do so. Finally,I can hear them all say. They even kindly put up with me through my complaints of it being boring up through Chapter 7 or so. Chronicles of Narnia aside, I am not a lover of fantasy and thus found trying to understand the dwarfs, wizard, hobbit, and goblins a bit unsettling. The word "wizard" always conjures up (no pun intended) images of evil in my mind, and had me prejudiced against the story from the first paragraph.
Nevertheless, having promised the before-mentioned friends that I would read it, I determined to persevere. I did not have the "can't-put-it-down" feeling until Bilbo's riddle scene after he was captured by the goblins. After that I took it with me everywhere I went. So, dear friends, forgive me for ever calling it boring and complaining about it. 
Now though – should Christians even be reading, let along writing, works of fiction that have no God in them? At least not God as we know Him? What purpose does it serve? There are no dwarfs, elves, goblins, or hobbits in this world. What is the point, and what good does it do?
My answer will follow in a day or two, but I'm interested in seeing what others think, and what reasons they give.
