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Originally Posted by Inziladun
I would disagree.
Tolkien's Arda is without doubt theistic, as many here have noted, but in order to be Christian, there must be a parallel to Jesus Christ. There isn't one, and the Gandalf analogy doesn't hold up.
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Absolutely not. To the Christian philosophy all time, even the millenia before the physical manifestation of Christ, were Christian. Further I wasn't claiming Arda, or Tolkien's universe more broadly, to be explicitly Christian ie Narnia.
I speak of the fundamental truths of the universe, the nature of good and evil, it's ultimate theoligical underpinnings, the nature of 'humanity' so on and so forth.
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Why not? For one, Gandalf's sacrifice wasn't necessarily intended to be an act he alone could achieve. Since all the Istari had the same mission, any of them would have been capable of sacrificing their physical bodies in a free act of will to safeguard allies, or in general support of the struggle against Sauron. When it came to it, Gandalf was the one presented with both the situation and the choice. Whether that was "chance" (Eru's will) or not (I say it was), there is no evidence that Gandalf himself knew ahead of time that he would be called on to make that sacrifice. Christ on the other hand, knew what was required of him in that respect.
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Quite, Gandalf, indeed, no character in the Lord of the Rings or the broader lore is a Christ allegory. This has not been claimed.
Ditto Earendil.
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If one can't see Jesus in Gandalf or Eärendil, I can think of no nearer alternative in the books. And how can the works be Christian, without Christ?
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I refer you to my earlier discussion of Christ-figures. Specific to Christianity Moses and Elijah are considered as pre-figures of Christ. They aren't at all 'the same' but they have certain parallels.
My argument is that you have at least 3 Christ figures ie characters who share some significant parellels with Christ.
I think we are disagreeing over terminology.
Let me restate to close: Christ figures or pre-figures are not identical parallel copies. For example Superman is considered a modern Christ figure.