Eighty-five years ago this week, Oxford professor C. S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia) told his friend and colleague, J. R. R. Tolkien (The Hobbit; The Lord of the Rings), that myths were “lies and therefore worthless, even though breathed through silver.” An expert in Norse mythology, C. S. Lewis knew well the pagan myths full of heroism, dying saviors, and resurrections.  But Tolkien disagreed. He insisted that myths are not lies, but rather the best if not the only way to convey truths otherwise inexpressible. Humans created in God’s image, Tolkien reasoned, weave myths as a reflection of our original glory. Through poets’ stories, fragments of eternal light shine through. For that…