September 7, 2002

End the Debate Please...
Grond

I can see why people want to draw similarities between Tolkien's work and christianity. I even did it the first time I read LOTR. In my opinion there is really only one explanation for this. Christianity and LOTR both have characters and stories that inspire people to do good.

**Possible spoilers ahead**

That's it. You can't really go any further than that. Gandalf is not Jesus - he never says 'follow thou me' or anything like it. He never says:'Be thou a wizard, even as I am.' He does try to inspire those around him to do good, but so does anyone who is in leadership. Gandalf cannot defeat Sauron himself. Frodo is not Jesus, because he eventually puts the ring on and fails in his own element (for those who see the ring as a symbol of the sins of the world). Gollum is not Judas, neither is Boromir, neither Sauron or Sauruman are Satan, and there are only minor similarities with any of these characters to those mentioned in the bible. I'm sure that there are similarities in all of us to characters in the bible.

When you look at these things analytically you will see that none of the characters in LOTR bare any true symbollic reference to biblical people. You may argue that there is faith, and there is a definite struggle between good and evil, but come on! That is evident in every story ever written. Sometimes I wonder if Tolkien purposely re-wrote certain things as he was brainstorming, knowing full well that we all would see an allegory in this or that.

In my own life I draw strength from LOTR just as I do the bible and other books I have read. I can definately see the practical sense his characters have, and the knowledge they possess. LOTR inspires me to do good, just like the bible, and it becomes personal in that way. But it boils down to the fact that it was never intended to be an allegory, Tolkien even says so in the forward of Fellowship of the Ring.