LOTR vs. Religion

[DaughterofVana]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> I mean, "Gandalf=Jesus"...did Jesus ever lead an army to destroy a bunch of demon-spawned baddies attacking Jerusaleum or somewhere? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Ohhhh, yeah! Happens all the time--who do you think led the army that kicked Satan's butt out of heaven? Though I neglect to share the viewpoint that Gandalf is an allagory for our Lord--maybe Lazarus.<P>Having direct and blatant connotations with fictional characters and religous figures is something that I think the Christian community should try to stay away from; Tolkien, being a proper man of his faith, does so (whether he intended the allagory or not has already been established). Why would a good christian author declare "I fashioned Gandalf after Christ" when Gandalf is falliable and Christ is not? It's different to see something "Christ-like" in Gandalf, which is always what happens when Christians see people (or characters) exibiting virtutious attributes. If you're a christian, every time you follow a christian teaching you're "christ-like", and every time you see someone else do as such they are, too. So it goes.<P>But we're wandering into the realm of the book, and many many threads have spun around and around the subject until every nuance is exhausted. ::repeats to self:: "Movie, movie, MOVIE!"<P>How about some different topics?<P>Aragorn and Arwen: (portrayal in the movie) The only book that comes to mind in that aspect is the Song of Songs, and I don't think that Aragorn ever says to Arwen "your waist is a mound of wheat incircled by lilies" (!) Even though in ancient Hebrew times that was some really sweet talking. Maybe Ruth, "where you go I will go," but Arwen doesn't exactly follow Aragorn down the Paths of the Dead, now does she? (Well, I haven't yet seen PJ's rendering of RotK) <P>Anyone else?<P>-'Vana