Posted on 01/03/2017 2:22:39 PM PST by fishtank
I was an atheist until i read “The Lord Of The Rings”
by Fredric Heidemann
December 16, 2016
I grew up in a loving, comfortable atheist household of professional scientists. My dad was a lapsed Catholic, and my mom was a lapsed Lutheran. From the time that I could think rationally on the subject, I did not believe in God. God was an imaginary being for which there was no proof. At best, God was a fantasy for half-witted people to compensate their ignorance and make themselves feel better about their own mortality. At worst, God was a perverse delusion responsible for most of the atrocities committed by the human race.
What broke the ice? What made me consider God’s existence a real possibility? The Lord of the Rings. I was a young teenager when I first read the Tolkien tomes, and it immediately captivated me.
(Excerpt) Read more at wordonfire.org ...
Back in the day, my first question would be — which convention has the cutest girls?
“A little odd. Rings fans are weird, they just are.”
Others have had a similar opinion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmuT8UeTk4s
(Warning: Kevin-Smith-level profanity at the the link)
(Disclaimer: I don’t share Randall’s opinion - far from it)
“And ok, suppose you have some golden ring, you still think ill have to do what you say?”
Well, if you’re sworn to that ring and it occupies your every thought and motive, then yes, you’ll have to do whatever the holder of the ring says.
Frodo speaking to Gollum; TT: The Black Gate is Closed
But I warn you, Smeagol, you are in danger.’
‘Yes, yes, master!’ said Gollum. ‘Dreadful danger! Smeagol’s bones shake to think of it, but he doesn’t run away. He must help nice master.’
‘I did not mean the danger that we all share,’ said Frodo.
‘I mean a danger to yourself alone. You swore a promise by
what you call the Precious. Remember that! It will hold you
to it; but it will seek a way to twist it to your own undoing. Already you are being twisted. You revealed yourself to me just now, foolishly. Give it back to Smeagolyou said. Do not say that again! Do not let that thought grow in you! You will never get it back. But the desire of it may betray you to a bitter end. You will never get it back. In the last need, Smeagol, I
should put on the Precious; and the Precious mastered you
long ago. If I, wearing it, were to command you, you would
obey, even if it were to leap from a precipice or to cast
yourself into the fire. And such would be my command. So
have a care, Smeagol!’
I don't find LoTR to be be particularly emblematic of Christianity or any specific religion. I can see how those who never considered the possibility of anything beyond "surface reality" would be tempted to reconsider that assumption after reading it, however. I suspect that's why so many converts to theism point to LoTR as a starting point in their journey.
I think everyone considers Sam the most noble and heroic character in LOTR. I don’t believe that is an accident.
Each character is great in his own way and each was equiped along the way to handle the burdens assigned to them by providence.
IMO, Frodo was the greatest character because his journey and task was greater. In the book all the characters recieve accolades for their heroism except Frodo which Tolkien explained was because the other Hobbits didn't really understand what he had done.
I read The Sons of Odin in 3rd Grade and was forever after hooked on Nordic myth, like my (future, for me) kindred spirits, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien; Greek myth just never appealed to me.
I began reading Tolkien in 5th Grade (for assigned advanced reading). I did not immediately like it, but gradually it lured me in.
Before I finished the trilogy, I knew one thing with certainty (although I knew nothing factual about Tolkien as a person): The author was a Christian.
I knew Nordic myth; therefore, I knew of its brutality and paganism.
Middle Earth was clearly a moral universe with an implicitly monotheistic belief system.
I have read the trilogy over 24 times: lost track. It is my all-time favorite (non-Bible) book.
(I was privileged to sing the Howard Shore music in April 2015 when all three movies were shown - twice each, over four days - sans soundtrack, with live orchestra and chorus. We got standing ovations for both intermission and conclusion of each of the six presentations - the highlight of my music career. I - just one of the musicians - actually got asked for my autograph by a young woman who had, like many of the others, traveled from out of state to attend this extraordinary event.)
The Screwtape Letters by CSL are dedicated to JRRT.
Tolkien clarified the point you make by saying that, of course, his belief in God and Christ would inform his writing, even though he did not attempt to control the reader’s perception through deliberate allegory.
His essay, Tree and Leaf, clarifies his views on fantasy, and what he coined, “eucatastrophe”.
I can see it. The hope of an honorable world rising out of one with so much evil but also so much positive.
I agree - on both points.
I am a nerd/Trekkie (versus geek/Trekker).
I have been to (F) A-D: A & B, more than once; C & D, once each.
I have never made or worn a costume, however.
I attended the last Star Trek convention hosted (as speakers) by both Shatner and Nimoy (according to my research).
But at Renaissance Festival, I get to dress in a green and yellow court jester's costume with pointy shoes and nobody laughs at me. I get one of those giant turkey legs to gnaw on and drink lots and lots of mead and cidre while I watch the knights in chain armor jostle each other on horses. All while harp and flute music is playing. It's a lot of fun.
Quote by Aldous Huxley
“Science does not have the right to give to me my reason for being. But I am going to take science’s view because I want this world not to have meaning. A meaningless world frees me to pursue my own erotic and political desires.”
They first bonded over their common love of Nordic myth. Tolkien’s faith later influenced Lewis, an atheist.
I am odd; I admit it.
I think people who really absorbed in such literature tend to be what Myers-Briggs calls an “N” (for iNtuitive); “S” (for Sensing) types tend to prefer more literal or practical literature.
I actually prefer The Space Trilogy (so called) by Lewis over Narnia (which I appreciate). It is adult fantasy.
That Hideous Strength is one of the most vivid and chilling portrayals of Good versus Evil I have ever read.
Still, LotR is my all-time favorite, no contest.
The One: Iluvatar.
There speaks an honest man - rare among his kind.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.