Concerning Hobbits...

There is a distinct advantage to being childlike when it comes to raising children.  For years I wondered if it was really a bad thing to hold on to so many of the imaginary worlds of my childhood, but the other day I had a moment where I realized why I'm glad I have.  We were walking the dog on a trail that goes through the woods and for some unknown reason we just broke out into a run.  The dog on his long retractable leash, pulling the slow human (me) behind him, and my son, Jack, right behind me.  After we had run about 100 yards, which is about the distance I can run without serious side effects, we slowed down and I said to Jack: "running behind Zeke (the dog) is like driving a pod racer."  To which replied in a most matter of fact tone, "Yep, I can see that."
I realized that we inhabit very similar worlds of imagination, we share a contextual framework, and I thought of how great a gift that really is for a father and son to have the same odd frame of reference, in this case, Star Wars.  Later in the afternoon we sat down to watch the first movie of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, I have the extended editions, so watching these movies is a rather significant investment of time.  I  have read The Hobbit, to Jack and so he has had something of an introduction to the world of Middle Earth, but I have not undertaken to read LOTR out loud, it would just take waaay too long.  As we watched, Jack was absorbing and Cate was asking lots of questions (that really is a microcosm of how they learn).  I realized that I have a rather in depth knowledge of Middle Earth.  I have read The Hobbit and all three Lord of the Rings books, several times.  I have seen the movie adaptations, and I have even read The Silmarillion, the rather exhaustive history/mythology of Tolkien's fantasy universe.
The thought occurred to me that, at one point in our history, human beings shared all their stories and all their knowledge in the telling of stories.  The importance and the blessedness of simply sharing my geeky fascination with Star Wars, LOTR, Star Trek, and Dr. Who with my kids is a rather sparkling example of why this is a pretty great way of going about things.  At seven and nine, they have not reached that age where cynicism begins to creep it's way into their souls.  I can share with them the rather wonderful ethos of Tolkien's stories before they are completely enveloped by the technological/industrial monstrosity of modern America.  It probably won't keep them from wanting an iPhone sooner rather than later, but at least they will have some base appreciation of why it is that Tolkien chose "the least of these" to be his heroes.
Caitlyn particularly has been puzzled by the reason why Frodo had to be the only one to carry the ring, after all Gandalf or Aragorn seem like much more suitable characters to undertake such a perilous and difficult journey.  I have explained again and again that the ring, because it is treacherous and evil, would overcome the strong, and twist their efforts to do good into evil.  By the end of The Two Towers, I think she finally understands.  And that's no small thing: to understand something of the nature of sin and the corruptibility of the human soul, and to see how it is that it's not always the most impressive people who are called to be the heroes, those are fairly important truths to grasp a week before you turn eight.  They are things that might just actually stick with her.  These are things that spring from an imagination that is structured by a very mature Christian faith, and the stories of Hobbits and rings of power are powerful allegories for the spiritual journey.
I realized how much I have been able to teach my children through my own geeky infatuation.  Whether it's the humanist morality tales of Star Trek, the Buddhist ideas of balance between good and evil from Star Wars, the Christian allegories in LOTR and Narnia or one of the spectacularly large and beautiful ideas behind Dr. Who's adventures, I have given them a rather broad foundation in philosophy, just by exposing them to stories.
Which is how it began.  With stories like Genesis, The Iliad and the Odyssey, stories of heroes and villains, God, gods and goddesses, angels and demons, Hobbits and Jedi.
Don't ever say it's only a story...