Trilogy and Bible?

[River Jordan]

YOU SAID:

Again, I have no argument with those who say that they find religious meaning in LOTR. That's wonderful for you. But to say that the work is, by the author's intention, full of Christian and Biblical symbolism is quite another thing. And it is not an opinion shared by professional scholars who've spent their entire lives studying Tolkien and his writings.
[ January 26, 2002: Message edited by: bombadil ]

I wholeheartedly agree with you. As Tolkien himself has said, the work was not written with allegory in mind. Tolkien was a Christian, but LotR is not a Christian or Biblical allegory. The only point I was trying to make is that LotR has rich themes in it that agree with the Bible's teachings about good and evil. To help illustrate my point, let me compare Tolkien (if you will forgive me!) to (dare I mention it in this forum?) Harry Potter. I like Tolkien because in his works you have good that is distinctly good, and evil that is clearly evil. In Harry Potter, you find the so-called heroes who use all manner of evil (lying, rebelling against authority, etc. etc. etc.) to achieve their "good" ends. As Kurt Bruner says, "Tolkien's fantasy world, like our world, is one in which good protects and preserves while evil seeks to dominate and destroy...The ring, designed for evil, cannot be used for good, though well-meaning characters try. The more they surrender to its power, the weaker they become, and the more it becomes their master...The Lord of the Rings is a tale of redemption in which the main characters overcome cowardly self-preservation to model heroic self-sacrifice."

Anyway, all this "philosophizing" aside, I think the purpose of the Lord of the Rings is to be entertained by incredible literature, a wonderful story with fun and fantastic characters. We can discuss and debate all the inner-workings of the LotR novel, but I think Tolkien would be most pleased if we simply read - and enjoyed - the work! Just a thought...

Your friendly neighbourhood youth pastor,
Chris Jordan http://www.angelfire.com/bc/YMF