Imagination and story are important to faith. Just think of writers such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and the way that the stories they tell are so inspirational insightful and challenging to our mundane understanding of the faith. Stories are at the heart of the faith of many ordinary people. Just ask the ordinary Christian woman or man on the street to explain their faith and they will inevitably tell you a story instead of outlining an abstract theoretical version o

In the second movie of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Two Towers, we discover Aragon and his fellow traveller in the throne room, of Theoden, King of Rohan. When the King understands that the enemy is on the move and determined to destroy his kingdom, he is confronted with daunting, choices. The guidance that Gandalf gives is to "ride out and meet the enemy.” But the King is worried about the welfare of his people. War is dangerous and it is always attended by great loss,