Tolkien trilogy has Christian themes
By Gary Stern
(Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News
A wildly popular paperback fantasy world of wizards, dwarfs, elves and hobbits, all caught in a galactic struggle between magical and demonic powers, easily could sell as nothing more than sugar-coated escapism.
Critics of popular culture might even call "The Lord of the Rings," which opened nationwide Wednesday, a breeding ground for paganism, a charge also directed by some at the "Harry Potter" phenomenon.
But as the first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Rings" trilogy reaches moviegoers this holiday season, the vast underground world of Tolkien fanatics are buzzing with a little-known but urgent disclaimer: that Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic and "Rings" is a Christian tale.
"The Lord of the Rings' is a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision," Tolkien wrote to a friend, a Catholic priest, in 1953, just before he published what would become one of the 20th century's most famous fantasy epics.
It has never been a secret that Tolkien, who died in 1973 at 81, was deeply religious. English majors and fantasy devotees know that he helped bring C.S. Lewis to Christianity, although the two authors developed different methods of infusing spirituality into their work. Many critics also insist that any serious reading of "Rings" is bound to reveal Christian themes and religious truths.
But the fact remains that 50 million copies of "Rings" have been sold and the trilogy is best known as a great tale — sci-fi with literary sweep — not as an expression of faith.
Bruce David Forbes, who co-edited last year's book "Religion and Popular Culture in America" (University of California Press, $48.)
"It seems obvious to me, and everyone in the field knows Tolkien's background. I guess the producers of pop culture, including the new movie, downplay the religious element because they think it would diminish interest," says Bruce David Forbes, who co-edited last year's book "Religion and Popular Culture in America" (University of California Press, $48.)
Christian themes are plentiful in "Rings," in which Frodo, a hobbit, goes on a quest to destroy an all-powerful ring before it falls into the hands of Sauron, the dark lord.
Gandalf, a good wizard, has been compared to a Christ figure because he comes back from the dead. Saruman, a good wizard who turns evil, brings to mind Satan the fallen angel. The ring at the center of the story symbolizes the sin of pride, debasing the character Gollum the longer he has it. The many battles in Middle-earth, where the story unfolds, are said to stand for the internal, personal battles that all people wage.
And the choice of a 3-foot-tall hobbit to carry the ring into awful dens of evil shows how God uses the meek to accomplish great deeds. When Frodo carries the ring and fights not to succumb to it, some see Christ's carrying of His cross.
"Science fiction and fantasy often deal with epic struggles between good and evil, making them intrinsically religious," says Paul Levinson of Greenburgh, a communications professor at Fordham University and author of "Borrowed Tides." "But 'The Lord of the Rings' goes beyond that. It harkens back to the Bible, which is a constant battle between good and evil."
