3 ms·

No, Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” Isn’t Christian

3 points by BerislavLopac 5y ago

jfengel 5y ago
Yes, it is. But not in a way that the author of TFA would recognize. Nor in a way recognizable to the people whose work he's citing. He's talking about Evangelical takes on Christianity, which Tolkien would have found fundamentally misguided. The author doesn't seem to understand what it is that makes Catholicism different. And neither would many Catholics, since Tolkien is talking about a literally medieval Christian view. If you want to understand Tolkien's Christianity, you don't read evangelical books. You read Boethius. You also read Beowulf, which like Tolkien is book by a Christian author looking at a pre-Christian past. Those were the world-views that formed what the Catholic church became. Of course there isn't any Christianity in Middle-earth. It's before Christ. But these were "virtuous pagans" -- and asking what those virtues were. The key virtue is faith -- what Tolkien called Estel, which is the Elvish name of Aragorn. He often translates it as Hope, but it's a special kind of hope in a long-term salvation that goes beyond this world. TFA is Just Plain Wrong on a lot of points. It's not based on a Christian Medieval Europe -- if anything, it owes more to Norse myths. The kind of myths that got incorporated into saints by the Catholic church, putting an organized spin on that faith that predates knowledge of salvation. TFA is right that Tolkien's connection to the modern Catholic church isn't the strongest. But that's an Evangelical Christian take on what Christianity means. Tolkien's view of Christianity is of world-view rather than attachment to a Church. If the author is rejecting Evangelical Christian attempts to co-opt Tolkien, he's absolutely right. Their world view is diametrically opposed to his. But their idea that they own Christianity is at odds with reality, despite their success at making Americans believe it.

3 ms·

No, Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” Isn’t Christian

3 points by BerislavLopac 5y ago

jfengel 5y ago
Yes, it is. But not in a way that the author of TFA would recognize. Nor in a way recognizable to the people whose work he's citing. He's talking about Evangelical takes on Christianity, which Tolkien would have found fundamentally misguided. The author doesn't seem to understand what it is that makes Catholicism different. And neither would many Catholics, since Tolkien is talking about a literally medieval Christian view. If you want to understand Tolkien's Christianity, you don't read evangelical books. You read Boethius. You also read Beowulf, which like Tolkien is book by a Christian author looking at a pre-Christian past. Those were the world-views that formed what the Catholic church became. Of course there isn't any Christianity in Middle-earth. It's before Christ. But these were "virtuous pagans" -- and asking what those virtues were. The key virtue is faith -- what Tolkien called Estel, which is the Elvish name of Aragorn. He often translates it as Hope, but it's a special kind of hope in a long-term salvation that goes beyond this world. TFA is Just Plain Wrong on a lot of points. It's not based on a Christian Medieval Europe -- if anything, it owes more to Norse myths. The kind of myths that got incorporated into saints by the Catholic church, putting an organized spin on that faith that predates knowledge of salvation. TFA is right that Tolkien's connection to the modern Catholic church isn't the strongest. But that's an Evangelical Christian take on what Christianity means. Tolkien's view of Christianity is of world-view rather than attachment to a Church. If the author is rejecting Evangelical Christian attempts to co-opt Tolkien, he's absolutely right. Their world view is diametrically opposed to his. But their idea that they own Christianity is at odds with reality, despite their success at making Americans believe it.