Lord of
the Rings: Light and High
Beauty Forever
[Nov. 2004, Composition]
Some
Christians scathingly denounce it as demonic and evil: “The Lord of the Rings trilogy comes from the pits of hell and is a clever
instructional course in witchcraft disguised as fantasy and entertainment”
(Meyer). This is a very serious charge. Considering God’s prohibitions against
witchcraft and magic in the Scriptures (Deut. 18:9-13, Rev. 21:8), should godly
Christians have anything to do with these books? In my opinion, they should.
The concern is understandable: on the surface terms such as ‘wizard’ and
‘magic’ can give it an unsavory look. The fundamental points that disapproving
Christians bring against Lord of the
Rings include the magic practiced by heroes in the story, the lack of
reference to a personal God or a Biblical system of salvation, and its roots in
pagan mythology. Yet, a deeper look into the reality and themes in these
writings reveals a fundamental harmony with the Christian faith.
In
understanding the worldview message of The
Lord of the Rings, it is helpful to
examine Tolkien’s other writings about Middle Earth. The Silmarillion,
published posthumously, relates the ancient history of Middle Earth starting at
creation. The first person mentioned is a supreme god named Iluvatar,
who creates first a host of angelic beings called the Ainur
and then the physical universe. One of the Ainur, Morgoth, proudly rebels against Iluvatar.
When the Ainur are sent to
rule the physical world and ready it for the habitation of the “Children of Iluvatar,” who are to be created later, he wreaks havoc and
destruction on all they fashion. Yet, Morgoth’s power
of destruction cannot destroy the sovereignty of Iluvatar,
as he explained to the Ainur, “[…] no theme may be
played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in
my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove
but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself
has not imagined” (Silmarillion 6). This parallels
the Biblical account of creation and the fall of Satan. Although Satan tries to
destroy and pervert the good works of God in creation, God ultimately uses that
evil to bring about greater heights of glory and love in the unfathomable
mystery of redemption through Christ’s sacrificial death.
In a letter
to a friend, Tolkien stated that The Silmarillion is primarily the story
of the fall of the Elves (Silmarillion xix), the
first “Children of Iluvatar” created. The Elves live
for a time with the Ainur in a paradise-like land
called Valinor, but then the deceptions Morgoth bring about their fall. They rebel, perpetrate the
first “kin-slaying” and leave Valinor under
banishment and a curse. In Middle Earth, they must endure the constant attacks
of Morgoth’s mighty kingdom. They try to establish
peaceful and beautiful realms, as they had known in Valinor.
The valiant and upright succeed for a time; but one by one, the curse touches
them all through greed and pride. Morgoth has almost completely destroyed the elves when the Ainur finally intervene in a titanic show of power, yet
even the Ainur cannot fix all that has gone wrong in
the world, called Arda. The last paragraph reads in
part: “If [the story] has passed from the high and beautiful to darkness and
ruin, that was of old the fate of Arda Marred; and if
any change shall come and the Marring be amended, [the lords of the Ainur] may know; but they have not revealed it […]” (Silmarillion 306). This reflects the utter hopelessness of
our own fallen world to restore itself, and the need of a divine Redeemer.
The history
I have just explained also has great implications for an understanding of magic
in Lord of the Rings. Tolkien’s detractors commonly condemn his books for their
inclusion of wizards and other magical terminology. In my understanding, these
critics do not recognize the distinction between what God has forbidden and
what Lord of the Rings sets forth. If
the prohibition forbids the utilization of any kind of miraculous power, then
Moses, the Apostles, and many other Biblical saints would be guilty of
witchcraft. The key here is that those in the Bible made use of powers that were specially given to them by God to be used in obedience
to him. Witchcraft and magic seek to exercise supernatural power without
authority.
The heroes
in Lord of the Rings unanimously pass
this test: all who use magic are higher beings created with those special
abilities innate to their being. Gandalf is not a man, but actually a lower
rank of the Ainur. He might well be
compared to an angel in human guise. Sauron
and Saruman are of the same kind, though they chose
to use their powers for evil rather than in obedience to Iluvatar.
Tolkien’s story differs from our world in that Iluvatar created not just one, but several races in his
image. He created these races with differing powers and abilities. The elves
have wonderful abilities, but they themselves do not consider those abilities
magical. Galadriel commented to the hobbits, “For this is what your folk would
call magic, I believe; though I do not understand clearly what they mean; and
they seem also to use the same word of the deceits of the Enemy” (Fellowship
353). Even the semi-magical powers that belong to the human King Aragorn follow
this pattern: his lineage includes Elvish
blood that specially gifts all the descendants of that line.
The events
in Lord of the Rings demonstrate a
purposeful history under the control of a sovereign and good being who can only
be Iluvatar, though his name is not
specifically mentioned in the trilogy as it is in The Silmarillion. Gandalf mentions this
purpose to Frodo: “Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any
design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find
the Ring, and not by its maker. In
which case you also were meant
to have it. And that may be an encouraging thought” (Fellowship 54). One of my favorite passages in the trilogy
deals with this theme. Frodo’s companion Sam sees a star
shining high over the desolation of Mordor and
realizes that this power was also good and beautiful: “For like a shaft, clear
and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small
and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach”
(Return of the King 901). The same Iluvatar
who triumphed through Morgoth’s rebellion was also
orchestrating the events in the War of the Ring.
Middle Earth
has no church or Christians, no transparent allegories to Christianity.
However, it does contain obvious references to pagan mythology, facts that
distress many Christians. It is undeniable that Lord of the Rings uses themes from Old Norse and Finnish mythology,
legends of Atlantis, the Old English poem Beowulf,
and other stories of pagan origin (Shippey 220-225).
The powerful Ainur remind some of the pantheon of
gods worshiped by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Although Tolkien
incorporated these mythical elements into his writing, it does not necessarily
follow that he also adopted their pagan worldviews. The genius of Tolkien lies in his ability to use the richness and unique
flavor of pagan elements while maintaining a Scriptural worldview. Even the
Apostle Paul made use of existing pagan religion at
“[It is] a fundamentally religious and Catholic work;
unconsciously so at first, but consciously so in the revision. That is why I
have not put in anything like ‘religion’ to cults and practices, in the
imaginary world. For the religion is absorbed into the story and the
symbolism.” (Tolkien, qtd. in Purtill 8).
Gandalf’s
resurrection from the dead does not mean that he is the allegorical
Christ-figure of the story; rather, in that scene he is a picture of Christ’s
resurrection. The major characters in Lord
the Rings shine as illustrations of various aspects of Christ’s character.
In his new rank of Gandalf the White, Gandalf also typifies Christ’s wisdom and
brings to mind the pictures of Christ in Revelation as a Conqueror mounted upon
a white steed. Aragorn gives us a picture of Christ as the King returning to
claim his throne and bride after conquering the enemy. He is a healer just as
Jesus was, and fulfills an ancient prophesy that, “The hands of the king are
the hands of a healer. And so could the rightful king ever be known” (Return of
the King 842). These similarities are not mere coincidence. The narrative at
his coronation describes Aragorn as, “ancient of days […] and yet in the flower
of manhood; and wisdom sat upon his brow, and strength and healing were in his
hands, and a light was about him” (Return of the King 942), language strongly
reminiscent of the divine description in Daniel 7:9. The hobbits Frodo and Sam
are the other major Christ-types of the epic. In voluntarily taking the burden
of the Ring upon himself to save Middle Earth, Frodo portrays Christ’s
self-sacrifice for our salvation. Sam gives of himself in a moving picture of
Christ’s humility and selfless love. As C. S. Lewis remarked, Tolkien’s method “takes all the things we know and restores
to them the rich significance which has been hidden by ‘the veil of
familiarity’ ” (Isaacs 15).
None of
these characters portrays Christ perfectly; they are not
intended to be more than partial pictures. Frodo’s inability to destroy
the Ring at the climaxing moment illustrates this point. Here also, however,
Frodo’s role is symbolic: this time as fallen man. His failure pictures our
slavery to sin and the impossibility of saving ourselves. Tolkien
commented on the meaning of the scene, “But one must face the fact: the power
of Evil in the world is not finally resistible by incarnate creatures,
however 'good'; and the Writer of the Story is not one of us" (Tolkien, letter in a letter to Miss J. Burn - July 26,
1956).
I will
concede that some elements in the story are a little ambiguous. It is difficult
to know how to fit the orcs, or evil goblin servants
of Sauron, into a Biblical system of reality. Tolkien describes them as fallen and perverted Elves and
gives no indication that they are redeemable. Also,
although a Scriptural God rules in Middle Earth, this God is not shown to
relate personally with the people there, but rather through representatives. In
times of grave trouble, Frodo and Sam appeal for help not to Iluvatar but to the lords of the Ainur
(Letters 206). It is interesting to note that in Tolkien’s
world, the angelic beings are given the authority to judge the Children of Iluvatar, in contrast to the Apostle Paul’s assertion that
Christians will judge the angels (1 Cor. 6:3). I am
not proposing that Lord of the Rings should be used as a theology textbook. These differences are
not representative of discrepancies in Tolkien’s
theology. In creating a fantasy world that ‘might have been,’ he exercised
creative license—within certain fixed boundaries. The character of God, and
man’s position before him, remain true.
I believe
that Lord of the Rings is not only
acceptable to godly Christians, but also a work replete with Christian meaning,
and I would invite those with a different opinion to take a closer look. They
may discover that they have been sitting on the lid of a treasure chest. Lord of the Rings has a depth of lessons
to teach about mankind and our world and illustrates
them powerfully. Above any other reason, I value The Return of the King because it has given me a bigger picture of
the true King.
Works
Cited
The Holy Bible, New International
Version. Jean E. Syswerda, editor.
Lewis, C. S. “The Dethronement of
Power.” Tolkien and the Critics. Ed. Neil D. Isaacs and
Rose A. Zimbardo.1968.
Meyer, David. “A Former Witch Looks
at The Lord of the Rings.” Last Trumpet Ministries Online. 3 Jan. 2004. Last Trumpet Ministries. 28 Oct. 2004.
<http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract11.html >
Pearce, Joseph. Tolkien, Man and Myth.
Putrill, Richard L. J. R. R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and
Religion.
Shippey. T. A. The Road to Middle Earth.
Tolkien, J. R. R. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Silmarillion.
---. The Fellowship of the Ring.
---. The Return of the King.
---. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien.