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Old 04-13-2006, 08:42 PM   #5
littlemanpoet
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littlemanpoet is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.littlemanpoet is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.
I remember reading magazine articles way back in the early 1970s about how Frodo, Gandalf, and Aragorn were "Christ figures". So it seemed to many of us in that first heady rush way back when the books really took off for the first time in America. And so it often seems to many who come to Tolkien for the first time these days.

I used to think it was obvious that they were Christ figures. But I've learned a lot about myths and myth making since I first read those articles, and I've discovered that, even though such connections can be drawn, it doens't tell us the whole story about these characters.

Gandalf is an incarnated angel. The Sil tells us that. He dies while killing a Balrog, then Eru brings him back to life and reassigns him the same task he had, only at a higher level. So far so good. But Gandalf is not saying, "I am the way".

Frodo carries the burden of the Ring. This reminds us of the burden of our sins that Jesus carried on the cross. But Frodo in the end said "I will not do what I came to do." One cannot (honestly) conceive of Jesus saying that! It takes Gollum biting Frodo's finger off to get the Ring into the Fires. Frodo is thus wounded for life and does not experience resurrection; rather, he must go to Tol Eressëa to receive healing.

Aragorn is the promised and expected King who will take back his throne. He is virtually a chosen one. But he dies in the end and passes his crown to a son.

Sauron is the Dark Lord, the mover of great evils in the world. However, he is not responsible for every evil in the world. Nor is he a spirit who puts tempting thoughts in the minds of ordinary folks.

So yes, there are many harmonies between LotR and Christian faith. This is no surprise, since Tolkien was a Christian. But they are harmonies only, not direct linkages.

The Silmarillion, it seems to me, is a different kind of story. Eru resembles the Christian God in every way except for (1) the Trinity; (2) being directly involved with a chosen people. If Tolkien had included these two specific things in his story, it would have ceased to be a story unto itself, and would have been a mere retelling of biblical history. Obviously, Tolkien didn't want that. Nevertheless, there are even more harmonies between Christianity and the Sil than there are between Christianity and LotR.

Other members of the Downs will contend with great erudition that the Sil and LotR are no more Christian than they are Buddhist, Pagan, or what have you. I think they have a difficult case, though, seeing as Tolkien himself was Christian, and stated that LotR was consciously Christian in the revision.

Last edited by littlemanpoet; 04-14-2006 at 09:23 PM.
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