October 19, 2002

Christianity and Tolkien
Derin Lorecryer

I have sat by and seen all the articles posted about the works of Tolkien and similarities between his works and the religous beliefs of Christianity, and to this I highly agree. First of all few people probably do not know that Tolkien and famed Christian author C.S. Lewis met and talked with each and influenced each others works on a weekly basis in Oxford, London. Now to quote from a book I recently acquired named Findong God in the Lord of the Rings by Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware, both point out obvious and overlooked truths. "Tolkien's fantasy world, like our real world is one in which good seeks to protect and preserve while evil seeks to dominate and destroy. His characters know that behind the increasingly dark cloud of oppression lurks one who seeks vengeance for past humiliation. In severeal chilling scenes, the evil Sauron is described as displaying many diabolical characteristics that seem to reflect those of the biblical Satan. The Lord of the Rings is a tale of redemption in which the main characters overcome cowardly self-preservation to model heroic self-sacrifice. Their bravery mirrors the greatest rescue of all time, when Christ "humbled himself and became obediant to death -- even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:8)" Although I do not believe Tolkien wrote his books to become an evangelic outreach I do strongly belive that parallels between his works and religion are undeniable. I encourage anyone who would like to pursue that idea further to find a copy of the aforementioned book. I found it very enlightening.