Christianity in Middle-earth

• 1. Tolkien's Catholic Faith

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  J. R. R. Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic from boyhood, and he described The Lord of the Rings in particular as a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision". He wrote to his close friend and Jesuit priest Robert Murray that God is in The Lord of the Rings, even though the period was pre-Christian. When questioned who was the One God of Middle-earth, Tolkien replied "The one, of course! The book is about the world that God created , the actual world of this planet." The scholar Patrick Curry notes that Tolkien's statement elides the paganism that pervades the work, making it both Christian and pagan on other levels. Paul H. Kocher comments that having made the times pre-Christian freed Tolkien from the need to deal with them in a Christian context, which would be awkward if applied to elves, ents, dwarves, and the rest.

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• 2. Concealed Theology In Fiction

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  Christianity is a central theme in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional works about Middle-earth, but the specifics are always kept hidden. This allows for the books' meaning to be personally interpreted by the reader, instead of the author detailing a strict, set meaning. Catherine Madsen writes that she found herself drawn to faith by the novel, yet not particularly to the Christian faith. She notes that Tolkien clearly did not intend his work to argue or illustrate or promulgate Christianity. Instead, he used what she calls "Christian magic", not doctrine. Verlyn Flieger states that Tolkien's fantasy has no explicit Christianity, unlike medieval Arthurian legends with their miracles, pious hermits, heavy-handed symbolism, and allegorical preachiness. Tom Shippey notes that Tolkien deliberately approached to the edge of Christian reference by placing the destruction of the Ring and the fall of Sauron on the 25th of March, the traditional Anglo-Saxon date of the crucifixion of Christ and of the annunciation, and of the last day of the Genesis creation.

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• 3. Messianic Symbolism And Figures

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  There is no single Christ-figure comparable to C. S. Lewis's Aslan in his Narnia books, but the characters of Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn exemplify the threefold office, the prophetic, priestly, and kingly aspects of Christ. Peter Kreeft and Jean Chausse have identified reflections of the figure of Jesus Christ in these three protagonists. Gandalf serves as a prophet who dies in Moria and returns reborn as Gandalf the White. Frodo acts as a priest who symbolically dies under Morgul-knife and carries a burden of evil on behalf of the whole world. Aragorn fulfills the role of king who takes Paths of the Dead and reappears in Gondor. All three help to save Middle-earth from Sauron, yet each embodies a distinct Messianic symbolism found in the Old Testament. Sam Gamgee, Frodo's servant, parallels Simon of Cyrene by carrying Frodo up to Mount Doom when the Ring becomes a crushing weight.

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• 4. Sacramental Imagery And Rituals

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  The water of the fountain called the Mirror of Galadriel has been identified as a symbolic baptism that should protect against Sauron's evil will. The dark underground Dwarf-realm of Moria offers another symbol where nine members of the Fellowship enter, are submerged, and re-emerge on the other side of the mountains. Gandalf actually dies there, though he too is reborn. Aragorn uses the healing herb Athelas or Kingsfoil to revive those stricken by the Black Breath after being acclaimed King of Gondor. His hands are described as the hands of a healer according to an old proverb. The lembas waybread given to Elves during their Great Journey recalls God's gift of Manna to the Israelites during their exodus to the Promised Land at Exodus 14. Tolkien wrote of the Eucharist that it was "the one great thing to love on earth" where one finds romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all loves upon earth.

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• 5. The Nature Of Evil And Good

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  Shippey writes that The Lord of the Rings embodies the ancient debate within Christianity on the nature of evil. Elrond makes a Boethian statement that nothing is evil in the beginning, even Sauron was not so. This view stands alongside the Manichean perspective that Good and Evil are equally powerful and battle it out in the world. Brian Rosebury interprets Elrond's statement as implying an Augustinian universe created good. The Jesuit John L. Treloar comments that the Ringwraiths are introduced as terror-inspiring horsemen who bring four evils into the world: conquest, war, famine, and death. They are bent on conquest, war, and death, and the land they rule is non-productive. Tolkien's personal war experience was Manichean, where evil seemed at least as powerful as good and could easily have been victorious.

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• 6. Creation Myth And Divine Light

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  The light begins in The Silmarillion as a unity, and in accordance with the splintering of creation is divided into more and more fragments as the myth progresses. Middle-earth is peopled by the angelic Valar and lit by two great lamps when these are destroyed by the fallen Vala Melkor. The world becomes fragmented, and the Valar retreat to Valinor which is lit by The Two Trees. When these too are destroyed, their last fragment of light is made into the Silmarils. A sapling is rescued leading to the White Tree of Numenor, the living symbol of the Kingdom of Gondor. Wars are fought over the Silmarils, and they are lost to the Earth, the Sea, and the Sky. Some of the star's light is captured in Galadriel's Mirror, the magic fountain that allows her to see past, present, and future. Some of that light is finally trapped in the Phial of Galadriel, her parting gift to Frodo.

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• 7. Scholarly Reception And Interpretation

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  Christianity Today reported that Oxford University's Bodleian Libraries exhibition Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth was nearly comprehensive but had one glaring omission: any mention of the author's devout, lifelong Christian faith. Michael Ward comments that Tolkien's faith is not obvious in Middle-earth, unlike his friend C. S. Lewis's Narnia. Fleming Rutledge writes that Tolkien constructed his book both as an exciting surface narrative and as a deep theological narrative. She cites his statement that I am a Christian which can be deduced from my stories. Verlyn Flieger states that making Christianity explicit would have killed the work by draining the life from the secondary world. The scholar Ralph C. Wood concludes that Christians are called to be hobbit-like servants of the King and his Kingdom because Frodo and Sam are first in the reign of Iluvatar since they are willing to be last and least among those who move the wheels of the world.

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