Tom Emanuel
@realtomemanuel.bsky.social
UCC minister. Theologian. Tolkien scholar. PhD on The Lord of the Rings and Post-Christianity @ University of Glasgow. Dad. He/him. All views my own.
Blog: queerandback.substack.com
Contact: thomas.emanuel(at)glasgow.ac.uk
Blog: queerandback.substack.com
Contact: thomas.emanuel(at)glasgow.ac.uk
Pinned
Tom Emanuel
@realtomemanuel.bsky.social
· Nov 20
What manner of man is this whom you have followed? Allow me to introduce myself with a short 🧵:
Hi! I'm Tom, a progressive Christian theologian, Tolkien scholar, and researcher with the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic at the University of Glasgow.
Hi! I'm Tom, a progressive Christian theologian, Tolkien scholar, and researcher with the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic at the University of Glasgow.
My supervisors' thesis revisions for this month are mercifully brief - I guess that feverishly writing for 16 hours a day, every day, for the entire month of September paid off! Thank goodness, now I might even have time to finish all the other things I need to get done... #PhDLife
November 9, 2025 at 11:23 AM
My supervisors' thesis revisions for this month are mercifully brief - I guess that feverishly writing for 16 hours a day, every day, for the entire month of September paid off! Thank goodness, now I might even have time to finish all the other things I need to get done... #PhDLife
I just spent nearly a week trying to fly from the U.S. to the U.K. The shutdown meant my flight got cancelled and rebooked FOUR TIMES. I was stranded in NYC one night, then Chicago the next! I eventually got fed up and went back to my kids in NY State until I could get a direct flight. Bloody hell.
November 7, 2025 at 11:38 AM
I just spent nearly a week trying to fly from the U.S. to the U.K. The shutdown meant my flight got cancelled and rebooked FOUR TIMES. I was stranded in NYC one night, then Chicago the next! I eventually got fed up and went back to my kids in NY State until I could get a direct flight. Bloody hell.
I should say, favorite explicitly *romantic* couple. If we include the love story of Sam and Frodo—and theirs is without question a love story, even if not *necessarily* a romantic one (let the reader decide)—then Howl and Sophie must accept a tie.
Howl isn't far behind her. "He may be selfish and cowardly, and sometimes he’s hard to understand. But his intentions are good! He just wants to be free!"
The vain, childish, melodramatic, playful, daring, noble, selfless wizard of my heart. The two of them are my favorite couple in fiction.
The vain, childish, melodramatic, playful, daring, noble, selfless wizard of my heart. The two of them are my favorite couple in fiction.
I’ve said this before, but my 3-year-old is mad for Howl’s Moving Castle, and Sophie Hatter remains undefeated as my favorite character in anything ever. The shifting back and forth between old Sophie and young Sophie is perfect: two distinct characters but still the same person.
October 27, 2025 at 2:34 AM
I should say, favorite explicitly *romantic* couple. If we include the love story of Sam and Frodo—and theirs is without question a love story, even if not *necessarily* a romantic one (let the reader decide)—then Howl and Sophie must accept a tie.
Howl isn't far behind her. "He may be selfish and cowardly, and sometimes he’s hard to understand. But his intentions are good! He just wants to be free!"
The vain, childish, melodramatic, playful, daring, noble, selfless wizard of my heart. The two of them are my favorite couple in fiction.
The vain, childish, melodramatic, playful, daring, noble, selfless wizard of my heart. The two of them are my favorite couple in fiction.
I’ve said this before, but my 3-year-old is mad for Howl’s Moving Castle, and Sophie Hatter remains undefeated as my favorite character in anything ever. The shifting back and forth between old Sophie and young Sophie is perfect: two distinct characters but still the same person.
October 27, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Howl isn't far behind her. "He may be selfish and cowardly, and sometimes he’s hard to understand. But his intentions are good! He just wants to be free!"
The vain, childish, melodramatic, playful, daring, noble, selfless wizard of my heart. The two of them are my favorite couple in fiction.
The vain, childish, melodramatic, playful, daring, noble, selfless wizard of my heart. The two of them are my favorite couple in fiction.
I love that Sophie doesn’t have any special powers. She’s not a Chosen One. She is, by turns, a feisty old lady and a shy young woman who learns how to be brave. What makes her a hero is her kindness.
That’s it. She’s kind. She sees the best in people, and she’s willing to fight for them.
That’s it. She’s kind. She sees the best in people, and she’s willing to fight for them.
I’ve said this before, but my 3-year-old is mad for Howl’s Moving Castle, and Sophie Hatter remains undefeated as my favorite character in anything ever. The shifting back and forth between old Sophie and young Sophie is perfect: two distinct characters but still the same person.
October 27, 2025 at 1:54 AM
I love that Sophie doesn’t have any special powers. She’s not a Chosen One. She is, by turns, a feisty old lady and a shy young woman who learns how to be brave. What makes her a hero is her kindness.
That’s it. She’s kind. She sees the best in people, and she’s willing to fight for them.
That’s it. She’s kind. She sees the best in people, and she’s willing to fight for them.
I’ve said this before, but my 3-year-old is mad for Howl’s Moving Castle, and Sophie Hatter remains undefeated as my favorite character in anything ever. The shifting back and forth between old Sophie and young Sophie is perfect: two distinct characters but still the same person.
October 27, 2025 at 1:01 AM
I’ve said this before, but my 3-year-old is mad for Howl’s Moving Castle, and Sophie Hatter remains undefeated as my favorite character in anything ever. The shifting back and forth between old Sophie and young Sophie is perfect: two distinct characters but still the same person.
As I’ve written elsewhere, choices in LotR, like Frodo accepting the burden of the Ring, ”carry all the existential force of a religious conviction without explicit religious motivation.“ It’s an incredible literary achievement for a man as devout as JRRT and it absolutely fucking rules.
I’m a Christian, but one of my favorite things about this moment and so many others in LotR is that Frodo doesn’t do this out of religious obligation. A sense of duty, even vocation? Absolutely. But his decision has everything to do with the good of this world and nothing to do with the next.
October 25 is the date of the Council of Elrond and, therefore, the date on which Frodo utters one of my favorite lines in all of literature.
“I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.”
That’s all we can ever do, I think: decide what to do with the time that is given us.
“I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.”
That’s all we can ever do, I think: decide what to do with the time that is given us.
October 25, 2025 at 1:33 PM
As I’ve written elsewhere, choices in LotR, like Frodo accepting the burden of the Ring, ”carry all the existential force of a religious conviction without explicit religious motivation.“ It’s an incredible literary achievement for a man as devout as JRRT and it absolutely fucking rules.
I’m a Christian, but one of my favorite things about this moment and so many others in LotR is that Frodo doesn’t do this out of religious obligation. A sense of duty, even vocation? Absolutely. But his decision has everything to do with the good of this world and nothing to do with the next.
October 25 is the date of the Council of Elrond and, therefore, the date on which Frodo utters one of my favorite lines in all of literature.
“I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.”
That’s all we can ever do, I think: decide what to do with the time that is given us.
“I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.”
That’s all we can ever do, I think: decide what to do with the time that is given us.
October 25, 2025 at 1:24 PM
I’m a Christian, but one of my favorite things about this moment and so many others in LotR is that Frodo doesn’t do this out of religious obligation. A sense of duty, even vocation? Absolutely. But his decision has everything to do with the good of this world and nothing to do with the next.
October 25 is the date of the Council of Elrond and, therefore, the date on which Frodo utters one of my favorite lines in all of literature.
“I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.”
That’s all we can ever do, I think: decide what to do with the time that is given us.
“I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.”
That’s all we can ever do, I think: decide what to do with the time that is given us.
October 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
October 25 is the date of the Council of Elrond and, therefore, the date on which Frodo utters one of my favorite lines in all of literature.
“I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.”
That’s all we can ever do, I think: decide what to do with the time that is given us.
“I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.”
That’s all we can ever do, I think: decide what to do with the time that is given us.
My furloughed father is so bored, he’s started rebuilding my busted old GameCube so that he can play Star Wars flight sims. This government shutdown must end.
October 21, 2025 at 11:35 AM
My furloughed father is so bored, he’s started rebuilding my busted old GameCube so that he can play Star Wars flight sims. This government shutdown must end.
I wished more Christian sacred music were like this poem of desperate, painful, erotic longing for God by St. John of the Cross. Loreena McKennitt's setting is perfect.
I'd love to hear Loreena's take on something like Galadriel's Song of Eldamar or, even better, Namárië.
I'd love to hear Loreena's take on something like Galadriel's Song of Eldamar or, even better, Namárië.
October 20, 2025 at 8:00 PM
I wished more Christian sacred music were like this poem of desperate, painful, erotic longing for God by St. John of the Cross. Loreena McKennitt's setting is perfect.
I'd love to hear Loreena's take on something like Galadriel's Song of Eldamar or, even better, Namárië.
I'd love to hear Loreena's take on something like Galadriel's Song of Eldamar or, even better, Namárië.
This explains the Dark Lord Paradox of immeasurably powerful demon-gods who can be also dumb as a box of rocks at critical moments.
Apropos of nothing going on in the Primary World at the moment.
Apropos of nothing going on in the Primary World at the moment.
For Tolkien fans, a timely passage for No Kings Eve, from WH Auden’s review of Lord of the Rings.
October 18, 2025 at 11:46 AM
This explains the Dark Lord Paradox of immeasurably powerful demon-gods who can be also dumb as a box of rocks at critical moments.
Apropos of nothing going on in the Primary World at the moment.
Apropos of nothing going on in the Primary World at the moment.
Happy 75th Birthday to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe! C.S. Lewis and I have enough beef to fill a Reuben, but there are more things in Narnia I like than I don't, and Lion is easily one of my favorites. (The other is The Magician's Nephew.)
October 16, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Happy 75th Birthday to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe! C.S. Lewis and I have enough beef to fill a Reuben, but there are more things in Narnia I like than I don't, and Lion is easily one of my favorites. (The other is The Magician's Nephew.)
We’re covered on Tolkien and I haven’t heard that Shigesato Itoi (Earthbound), Toby Fox (Undertale), or Hayao Miyazaki (Howl’s Moving Castle, tat forthcoming) have caused any irreparable harm, so all clear?
May the creators of the IP your tattoo is based on die before they do anything heinous, amen. 🤗
October 14, 2025 at 11:56 PM
We’re covered on Tolkien and I haven’t heard that Shigesato Itoi (Earthbound), Toby Fox (Undertale), or Hayao Miyazaki (Howl’s Moving Castle, tat forthcoming) have caused any irreparable harm, so all clear?
Are there any good resources *from within the autistic community* about parenting children on the spectrum? Asking for someone on the spectrum (me) who's raising two beautiful humans who are also on the spectrum. I'm finding some things challenging lately and would love additional support.
October 11, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Are there any good resources *from within the autistic community* about parenting children on the spectrum? Asking for someone on the spectrum (me) who's raising two beautiful humans who are also on the spectrum. I'm finding some things challenging lately and would love additional support.
Being in the States again after living in the U.K. for years, I get the funniest looks for using conversational British English. Americans tell me my talk is saturated with British and Scottish pronunciation and speech patterns, but Scots tell me I couldn't sound more American. Ah, transatlanticism.
October 11, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Being in the States again after living in the U.K. for years, I get the funniest looks for using conversational British English. Americans tell me my talk is saturated with British and Scottish pronunciation and speech patterns, but Scots tell me I couldn't sound more American. Ah, transatlanticism.
I'm in Upstate New York for October, visiting the kids and their mum - I'll join them permanently in 2026 after I've submitted my thesis. And with greatest respect to Glasgow, it's *fall* here. Frosty mornings, pumpkins, apple cider, fountains of red and gold leaves... good Lord have I missed this.
October 11, 2025 at 1:43 PM
I'm in Upstate New York for October, visiting the kids and their mum - I'll join them permanently in 2026 after I've submitted my thesis. And with greatest respect to Glasgow, it's *fall* here. Frosty mornings, pumpkins, apple cider, fountains of red and gold leaves... good Lord have I missed this.
Whether I'm slamming a term paper or finishing a manuscript I've been working on for years, the insane adrenaline high of pushing up hard against a deadline is one of my favorite parts of writing. Why offload a delirious experience you'll remember for the rest of your life onto a bullshit machine?
I wrote a 15 page report on heraldic symbolism in medieval armor and weapon design for my art history class the night before it was due (8am class). Made up 90% of it (only found one book for reference) and got an A. GenAI could fucking never.
October 10, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Whether I'm slamming a term paper or finishing a manuscript I've been working on for years, the insane adrenaline high of pushing up hard against a deadline is one of my favorite parts of writing. Why offload a delirious experience you'll remember for the rest of your life onto a bullshit machine?
It will never cease to crack me up that T.S. Eliot was from St. Louis and just cosplayed so hard he became English. Picked one hell of a culture to appropriate.
October 9, 2025 at 12:12 PM
It will never cease to crack me up that T.S. Eliot was from St. Louis and just cosplayed so hard he became English. Picked one hell of a culture to appropriate.
Due to a series of travel snafus brought on by Storm Amy, a trip that should've included a hotel stopover turned into a 48-hour-long gauntlet. I could sort of deal with being awake for that long in my 20s, but now that I am old (read: 35) I never, ever, under any circumstances want to do that again.
October 5, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Due to a series of travel snafus brought on by Storm Amy, a trip that should've included a hotel stopover turned into a 48-hour-long gauntlet. I could sort of deal with being awake for that long in my 20s, but now that I am old (read: 35) I never, ever, under any circumstances want to do that again.
A friend took me out last night to celebrate the first full draft of my thesis and I worked myself up enough sermonizing about The Lord of the Rings to her that I miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight have got a bit weepy in public. This is not surprising, but it is indicative.
October 2, 2025 at 11:31 AM
A friend took me out last night to celebrate the first full draft of my thesis and I worked myself up enough sermonizing about The Lord of the Rings to her that I miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight have got a bit weepy in public. This is not surprising, but it is indicative.
Right, I've been wading through the thesis trenches for a month. Did I miss anything important?
October 1, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Right, I've been wading through the thesis trenches for a month. Did I miss anything important?
Next day and I'm still in a delirious state of elation mixed with utter physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. I know I still have revisions, then submission, then my Viva, then corrections. But I set my life on fire for this bloody thesis and it's wild to have something to show for it at last.
There will be revisions before I submit this sucker in December, but by God, I wrote a PhD thesis.
October 1, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Next day and I'm still in a delirious state of elation mixed with utter physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. I know I still have revisions, then submission, then my Viva, then corrections. But I set my life on fire for this bloody thesis and it's wild to have something to show for it at last.
There will be revisions before I submit this sucker in December, but by God, I wrote a PhD thesis.
September 30, 2025 at 10:28 PM
There will be revisions before I submit this sucker in December, but by God, I wrote a PhD thesis.
All right, friends, it's time to peace out while I work on this thing called "writing a thesis." I'll log in once a day to check DMs, but otherwise I'll see you in October. Until then, Happy Equinox, Blessed Mabon, Happy Hobbit Day, and Shanah Tovah, plus anything I inadvertently missed. ✌🏻
September 15, 2025 at 8:35 PM
All right, friends, it's time to peace out while I work on this thing called "writing a thesis." I'll log in once a day to check DMs, but otherwise I'll see you in October. Until then, Happy Equinox, Blessed Mabon, Happy Hobbit Day, and Shanah Tovah, plus anything I inadvertently missed. ✌🏻