by Tony Dekker (Version 1.2, Feb 2003)
Copyright © 2003 by Anthony Dekker. Permission is given to distribute this essay freely for non-profit use, provided that it is not altered and that this copyright notice remains intact. See also http://members.ozemail.com.au/~dekker/essays
References to The Lord of the Rings are given in the format (Book from 1 to 6 : Chapter : Page within chapter), based on page numbers from the HarperCollins one-volume paperback edition of 1992. See also http://www.lordoftherings.net/
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. See http://www.gospelcom.net/ibs/niv/
JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is not an explicitly Christian book, but it is a book only a Christian could have written, and Tolkien was indeed a committed Christian. In The Lord of the Rings Tolkien addresses the timeless problems of human nature which past myths and sagas have addressed. Indeed, he has done so by writing his own myth — and in such a brilliant way that one can almost believe that he really found an ancient Hobbit manuscript in some dusty old library and translated it into English. However, throughout The Lord of the Rings there are echoes of what Tolkien sincerely believed to be the truths of Christianity — truths which offer solutions to these problems of human nature.
Much has been written about what the Ring in The Lord of the Rings symbolizes, and much that has been written ignores what Tolkien himself has said on the subject. I think the Ring symbolizes exactly what its effect is: the desire to become ruler of the Universe — or at least of one’s own corner of it — the greed for power and control: “one Ring to rule them all.”
The hearts of Men, we find, are particularly easily seduced by this desire for power, for Men are weak. Galadriel, in her wonderful speech renouncing the Ring (2:VII:14), explains the effect it would have had even on her, since the desire for power corrupts absolutely, even when motivated by the best of intentions:
“And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!”
Boromir on the other hand — the best that the unaided human race has to offer — has no sooner claimed that “true-hearted Men … will not be corrupted” (2:X:4), than he betrays his oath and attempts to kill Frodo. Over and over, the book (and film) reinforce this rather dismal view of the human race, and it is a view that we cannot really argue with when we look into our own hearts. None of us is any better than Boromir.
So what is to be done about the human race? The only solution is an intervention from outside the world. In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien gives only hints about the Creator of the Universe, but he does make it clear that the Creator remains interested in the sorry state of the world He created, for example in Gandalf’s speech to Bilbo (1:II:15), which was relocated to Moria for the film:
“Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case you also were meant to have it. And that may be an encouraging thought.”
Gandalf is a wizard, sent from the Far West where the Creator lives (see Appendix B, 3rd page). This is less clear at first, but it becomes very clear indeed when Gandalf dies and is raised from the dead (3:V:16), appearing “all in white” (3:V:8) and with a new white staff.
The sole purpose of Gandalf’s actions is to help the world, and to save Men from the power of hate and greed. It is when Men like Aragorn allow their lives to be led and guided by Gandalf, that the tide turns, and the human race becomes what it should be.
The Christian message is of God intervening to resolve the problems that the human race has created for itself — but God who has taken human form: “born of the virgin Mary.” Tolkien draws explicit parallels between the story of Gandalf and the story of Jesus. For example, Gandalf has struggled with the terrible temptation of the Ring (1:II:21):
“Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good. Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused. The wish to wield it would be too great for my strength. I shall have such need of it. Great perils lie before me.”
In the same way, Jesus was tempted to bypass the difficult path that lay before him (Matt 4: 8–9):
“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’”
And this temptation was genuine, as Jesus’ prayer just before his crucifixion makes clear (Matt 26:39):
“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’”
And that is the wonderful thing about the Christian message — a God who not only has the power to change us, but who has a compassion that comes from understanding us “from the inside.” It is on Christmas Day — 25 December — that the Fellowship of the Ring leaves Rivendell; and the Ring is destroyed (and the power of Sauron defeated) on 25 March, the traditional date of the Annunciation (Luke 1:26–38):
“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.’ ‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.’ ‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May it be to me as you have said.’”
The wonderful story of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is illustrated by Gandalf’s resurrection, which makes the defeat of Sauron possible. And it is only that defeat — and the guidance of Gandalf — that makes possible the restoration of the human kingdom as it should have been. Such a restoration requires us to give up some things that have given us guilty enjoyment in the past, and to place our trust in Jesus, for He is not trying to rob us, He’s trying to help us (1:I:15).