The Lord of the Bible?

[davem]

Originally Posted by Raynor

Ok, so this pope wrote a story in which:
- the saviour, a godly being is sent to rekindle the hope in good; he is despised in two of the most powerful kindgoms of Men, (Gondor + Rohan); he sacrifices himself so that evil may not prevail and returns to seal the the faith of the incarnation of evil; one of his inner circle, who for a time fell to temptation, repents;
- the King of Men returns to what might be called the holliest city of Middle-Earth; he heals the wounded and calls back the humans from the dead(Lazarus anyone?)
- of all the human race, the only two ones who are allowed into the "kingdom of heaven" are the humble ones ("Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" - Matei 3:5)
- the saviour is tempted by the power of evil, who promises all the riches of the world; he goes up the mountain, carrying a tremendous burden; for a while, a faithful one carries that burden for him.

Do you still have problems with the pope's claim? Is this Christian enough?

Yes, yes, yes, & so on & so forth...

You can pick out bits & put a particular spin on them. Except Gandalf is not 'the Saviour' of M-e or anywhere else, but rather a guide & counsellor (I don't remember Jesus making fireworks either). He is not 'despised' in Gondor & Rohan, but merely didtrusted by their leaders- & not by everyone in the leadership either - both Eomer & Faramir are saddened by news of his fall)

Yes Minas Tirith 'might be called the 'Holiest City' in M-e'. It might also be called the biggest, the noisiest, the whitest, the stupidest, the cleverest, the most annoying, the most civilised, or any number of other appelations depending on the individual who was handing out the title. I don't think it is called 'the Holiest City' anywhere in the book.

As to 'calling the humans back from the dead' Aragorn doesn't - the Dead of Dunharrow are Dead & remain dead - they just go & do a bit of haunting for him, & Eowyn, Faramir, Merry & Frodo are not actually dead at any point.

Frodo & Sam climb a mountain with a Ring - all very symbolic - but why & how it is specifically Christian I can't see.

What you're doing is approaching the book from a Christian perspective & therefore seeing in it things which, as I said, are not entirely unlike Biblical things.

What I want to ask is why the Pope is writing fantasy novels anyway. He should stick to his day job.

Originally Posted by Mark

From Rivendell to Amon Hen, the Fellowship shared meals together, and walked together for three months. They were together 24/7. Bonds form; trust grows. (etc, etc)

I notice they all also wore clothes, & had arms & legs. Close study of the Gospel texts will show that Jesus & the disiples all also wore clothes & had arms & legs. There is even a reference to Jesus walking about sometimes. This is clearly proof of an underlying Christian subtext to LotR.