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Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy
| Pete Vere and Sandra Miesel
God Is No Delusion: A Refutation of Richard Dawkins
| Thomas Crean, O.P.
Socrates Meets Descartes
| Peter Kreeft
Sermon in a Sentence: Saint Thomas Aquinas
| John McClernon
New Outpourings of the Spirit
| Joseph Ratzinger
Meet Henri De Lubac
| Rudolf Voderholzer
Marian Devotion in the Domestic Church
| Catherine & Peter Fournier
Joseph Ratzinger: Life in the Church and Living Theology
| Maximilian Heinrich Heim
The Greek Fathers: Their Lives and Adventures
| Adrian Fortescue
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Letter to the Hebrews
| Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch
Chastity, Poverty and Obedience
| Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C.
The Blessing of Christmas
| Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
Chance or Purpose?: Creation, Evolution, and a Rational Faith
| Chrisoph Cardinal Schšnborn
Island of the World: A Novel
| Michael O'Brien
The Order of Things
| James V. Schall, S.J.
The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand
| Paul Kengor & Patricia Clark Doerner
Seek that Which is Above
| Pope Benedict XVI
Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church
| Pope Benedict XVI
God and His Image: An Outline of Biblical Theology
| Dominique Barthelemey
An Invitation to Faith: An A to Z Primer on the Thought of Pope Benedict XVI
| Pope Benedict XVI
Mother Benedict: Foundress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis
| Antoinette Bosco
Pope Benedict XVI: The Conscience of Our Age
| Vincent Twomey
Ronald Knox as Apologist: Wit, Laughter and the Popish Creed
| Fr. Milton Walsh
Christians in China: A.D. 600-2000
| Jean Charbonnier
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 The
Two Lives of Richard Purtill | By Gord Wilson | June 16, 2005
 Print-friendly
version
For years Dr. Richard Purtill lived two lives: by day, professor of philosophy;
by night, writer of pulp fiction. By day he authored textbooks; by night
he spun out fantasy and science fiction pocket paperbacks. Weekdays he lectured
in classrooms; weekends he was feted at fantasy conventions. When he retired
from his day job, he plunged all the more into his nighttime pursuit, eventually
publishing over twenty books.
The prolific professor is probably best known for his two bestsellers published
by Ignatius Press: J.R.R.
Tolkien: Myth, Morality and Religion and C.S.
Lewis’ Case for the Christian Faith. That’s not surprising
since his conversion to Catholicism in high school came largely through
reading C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton. During a stint in the Army, he was
stationed in England, where he met the Wards and the Sheeds, famous Catholic
writers and publishers. (He’s written about this time in an essay,
"Chesterton, the Wards, the Sheeds and the Catholic Revival" in
The Riddle of Joy: G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis, ed. Tadie and
MacDonald, Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1989). In that heady atmosphere
he found his calling as a writer and philosopher. After receiving his doctorate
from the University of Chicago, he pursued his love of writing and teaching
as Professor of Philosophy at Western Washington University, Bellingham,
Washington.
   
By day he taught a standing room only class called "Philosophy and Fantasy,"
in which students read and examined books by popular fantasy and science
fiction writers including Lewis, Tolkien, Charles Williams, Ursula LeGuinn,
Robert Heinlein, Madeline L’Engle and others. By night he reworked
the class notes into his two bestsellers for Ignatius Press, along with
a third book, Lord of the Elves and Eldils: Philosophy and Fantasy in
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien (forthcoming from Ignatius Press).
He had this in common with Lewis and Tolkien: professor by day, by night
author of fantasy fiction. Like them also, his authorship ranged widely,
from philosophic tomes to murder mysteries: Murdercon (Doubleday
Press); science fiction: The Parallel Man (DAW Books), fantasy fiction:
The Kaphtu Trilogy (Author House). From apologetics (Reason to
Believe, to be published by Ignatius Press) to textbooks in philosophy,
ethics and religion. From entries in the Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
and the C.S. Lewis Readers’ Encyclopaedia to short stories
in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Isaac Asimov’s
Science Fiction Magazine, and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy
Magazine. By day he led the university’s summer sessions in Greece;
by night he was a guest of honor at San Diego’s Mythcon and other fantasy
and science fiction conventions.
In short, Richard Purtill is both a Catholic and a catholic writer, both
a Roman convert and a wide-ranging author, which may explain his unique
appeal. Retired from teaching, he is still actively writing (his latest
novel, The Eleusinian Gate, is forthcoming from Author House). He
is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, The Author's
Guild, The National Writer's Union, and The Mythopoeic Society.
Philosopher and apologist Peter Kreeft
calls Richard Purtill "a clear and commonsensical philosopher and an
accomplished fantasy writer." Bradley Birzer, author of J.R.R. Tolkien’s
Sanctifying Myth, writes: "Purtill's intellectual and highly readable
work offers an overflowing stream of brilliant insights into Tolkien the
man, the author, and the Roman Catholic. One comes away from this book not
only with a better understanding of Tolkien, but more importantly, with
a greater grasp of truth, beauty, and Grace." Peter Kreeft continues: "Discovering
Richard Purtill is like meeting Strider in the Inn at Bree: we have found
a Ranger, a reliable guide through Middle-earth."
For more information, visit Richard Purtill’s official site at www.alivingdog.com.
Gord Wilson has an M.A. in English from Western Washington University,
where Dr. Purtill was his philosophy professor. He has written for Campus
Life, His, CCM, New Oxford Review, HM, and various animation magazines
and local publications. A convert to Catholicism, he states that he followed
Malcom Muggeridge, Thomas Howard, and G.K. Chesterton into the Catholic
Church. Prior to becoming Catholic he was active in Campus Crusade and InterVarsity.
He still enjoys contemporary Christian music and is writing a book about
gospel rock.
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G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was one of the finest Christian authors and apologists
of the past two hundred years. Raised as an agnostic, he embraced Christianity as a young man, ultimately entering the Catholic Church
in 1922. He wrote hundreds of essays, as well as novels, short stories, poetry, apologetics, literary
criticism, and nearly everything else imaginable. Dale Ahlquist, president and co-founder of the American
Chesterton Society and author of
G.K Chesterton: Apostle of Common Sense, writes, "Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism,
history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology. His style is unmistakable, always marked
by humility, consistency, paradox, wit, and wonder. His writing remains as timely and as timeless
today as when it first appeared, even though much of it was published in throw away paper." Read more
about the life and work of this remarkable thinker, author, and apologist.
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Confessions of an Ex-Feminist
by Lorraine V. Murray
Confessions is the honest and heart-rending account of a woman who was born into a Catholic family, attended parochial schools and
fully embraced the beliefs of her faith, but ran into major roadblocks in college. Amidst the radical feminist college environment of
the 1960's, she lost her faith, and her morality, jumping aboard the bandwagon of "free love." She indulged in a series of love relationships
in college, all of which crashed and burned. Despite the obvious contradiction between feminist teachings and her own experience,
Murray still believed she had to free herself from the yoke of tradition. Attaining a doctorate in philosophy, with an emphasis on the
feminist writings of Simone de Beauvoir, Murray taught philosophy in college. For many years, she launched a personal vendetta against
God and the Catholic Church in the classroom, trying to persuade students that God did not exist, mocking values Catholics hold dear,
and touted feminism as the cure for many social ills. When she discovered she was pregnant, Murray followed the route that feminists
offer as a solution for unmarried women. Much to her surprise, her abortion was a shattering emotional experience, which she grieved
over for years. It was the first tragic chink in her feminist armor.
Read more about Confessions of an Ex-Feminist, or
read an excerpt from the book.
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