Divine Mercy in the Lord of the Rings (article by Joseph Pearce)

Friends of Mercy Newsletter - Vol. 15, No. 7 | November/December 2003 | Joseph Perace

[The Grammarian]

I forgot about him...maybe because he wasn't in the movie. ;-)

Hence why I hated the part where Arwen shows up in FotR. ;)

I recall reading somewhere that Tolkien produced this resurrection inadvertantly by using the same character in different roles, apparently without forethought. He then invoked the Valar to explain the contradiction. After all, Glorfindel was certainly a special guy. Now why he got a better deal than Luthien (who had to die a second time) I can't say. Luthien should try to get her money back.

Yeah, that's what I read too. End result was that Glorfindel was given a new body and sent back.

The city was Gondolin. It gets a quick mention in the Hobbit.

Yeah, I remember now. Glamdring, the Foe Hammer, that the King of Gondolin once bore.

[Thorin]

Thanks for posting this great piece. Those who doubt the depth of Tolkien's faith, or that his faith informed his writing, have only to read his letters, many of which discuss his religion, and the religious themes in his work, in detail.

[Ladysmith]

Well, ok then. By your reasoning, the Book of Esther doesn't belong in the Bible. After all, it doesn't make one reference to God. Only the blind can't see His fingerprints throughout the events and lives in that book.

[LadyDoc]

Sorry, I can't buy any of this. Catholics make this enormous stretch to try to justify Lord of the Rings while condemning Harry Potter.

Sorry, but Catholics don't condemn Harry Potter.

Some do, and some say that it is a good yarn that helps kids respect right and wrong. If you refer to Paul, it's like his argument about pagan gods: he says some people say these gods are not real, and others say they are real and need to be shunned.

As for mentioning God: Catholics are't usually big about bragging or pushing God to others. (except for former Protestants and for a small group who actually preach or explain the faith in some forums).

Catholics teach with stories, and see God and us as a family relationship.

Were you aware that most of the 911 firefighters were Catholic? Many were devout. Yet few reported it. Catholics just absorb the idea of love of neighbor and self sacrifice as part of their faith.

In LOTR, you don't see sociopaths, but men with flaws who seek to do the right thing, without making a big deal about it. They take responsibility. They tell stories. They like to party. They protect each other, even would die for each other, because they know that's what the world is about...but they aren't big about praying out loud and saying praise Jesus. They obey the natural law and have reverence for nature, for others, and for a higher power (note the times when they call on Elbereth, or the discussion where Frodo is told he is MEANT to find the ring-- but not by it's maker).

Gandalf was an incarnated Angel in Tolkiens's theology, so his magic is natural. Humans who seek occult power descend to evil (the ringwraiths and Boromir)...unlike Harry Potter, who learns to manipulate power as a human...this idea that occult/spiritual powers are not to be sought is a Jewish/christian idea also....

Pearce's explanations are Catholic mainly for other catholics.

However, a good Evangelical book which explores the pros and cons is : Tolkien in Perspective: by Greg Wright of the website Hollywood Jesus...

[RobbyS]

You seem to be hung up on terms. The author set out to create a myth, and one which, unlike Greek or Indian mythology, is not contrary to the Revealed word.

[RobbyS]

You forget that the mind behind the myth here is a Catholic and unlike the author(s) of Gilgamesh instructed in the Catholic faith.

[My back yard]

wneighbor ping

[xzins]

He would never identify his secondary world as real—the Grey Havens, for instance, as Heaven. He never used Christian terminology to describe his world, because it would be a violation of the secondary-world construction to introduce the primary world into it.

Wonderful thoughts introduced there, nyer. They make so much sense. Thanks.

[xzins]

You are confusing symbols with parallels.

A parallel universe will have similarities.

[xzins]

and for a higher power (note the times when they call on Elbereth, or the discussion where Frodo is told he is MEANT to find the ring-- but not by it's maker

But what is the ring?

[LadyDoc]

But what is the ring?

The ring is power..the power to rule, to dominate, to fullfill your own will, and impose it on others.

The Hobbits are common men, who seek only simple pleasures and help each others.

When Frodo "inherits" the ring, it is understood by the great that even though he is not a "great" or powerful person, that he has qualities that are more important, and that he, not "an elf warrior" needs to destroy it.There is a passage where Gandalf says Frodo was "meant" to find the ring...the implication is that God arranged this "coincidence"...

Frodo has qualities that include humility and weakness: he has no desire to rule others. And he accepts the burden, understanding that this is his task...If the wizard or others took the ring, they would be tempted since they are people of power, and recognize the danger of power to corrupt: the danger to use power to "do good"...but leading to terror..

The christian theme here is that the meek will inherit the earth. The greatest Christian saints are often "nobodies"...like a little Albanian nun teaching rich girls in a school in India who decides to teach poor people...or a little cloistered nun in Alabama who decides to write books, then give a talk on Christian TV station, then to start a Catholic network...or a merchant's son and playboy who decides to rebuild a church and live poorly, and revives the church (st Francis)..or millions of other "nobodies" who do not seek power but allow God to use them as instruments..

[LadyDoc]

Primary in this scheme is the idea that evil somewhere out there not in our own hearts. There are a couple of ambiguous characters, but for the most part the "good" characters do not show any signs of original sin

Good point, but not true..

ALL the characters have evil temptations that come from there hearts.

Frodo succumbs in the end to his. Boromir and Sarumen succumb. Both Gandalf and Galadriel are tempted, and reject the ring, because they recognize that they are evil and would succumb to it's power. Sam is tempted. Pippin succumbs to the Palantir. Faramir is tempted, but declines..Theodur succumbs... Elrond and the elves presumably are tempted, which is why the ring is not kept long in Rivendale (although it is not stated as such)...the only character who is not "tempted" by the ring or evil is Tom Bombadil, who is not in the film...

So the book revolves around the characters knowing about evil, but coping with it.

Gnosticism, unlike Christianity, says that it is secret knowledge that leads us to God, not our actions. So if you learn to meditate or perform a ritual, you are better than anyone else...

Catholic christianity sees the world as a battle between right and wrong, and sees evil as both being outside ourself (the devil) and inside our own hearts (called "original sin" which is the tendency in fallen men to sin, even if men are good)...

However, you are right that the book is NOT overtly Christian...Tolkien believed that telling a tale leads people to think about important things, and that stories are a way to communicate the truth. He detested "allegory" which shoves the author's truth down your throat...he prefered stories/parables that were complete stories, but that mirrored a deeper reality..

[Destro]

Actually, Lord of the Rings is an ode to the pre Christian Paganisim that was seeing a revival in the late 19th and early 20th century, especially after WWI tore apart the fabric of European civilization.

The Lord of the Rings was written by Tolkien in support of the old ways and is anti-industrialization and pro monarchy/nobility. It is a view of the world along Jeffersonian econimic ideals a world of rural yeoman farmers under the protection of noblemen.

The theology is pure modern recreated Druidisim - nature worship - but not for the sake of Pagan gods but to drive a point that the earth is holy and provides life if treated as life (the villans are anti-earth - they rip down trees so they can build things of war for example).

[Penny1]

ping

[irishtenor]

***It is at this crucial moment that Frodo and Middle Earth itself are saved by Gollum who rushes forward and bites the Ring from Frodo's finger before falling into the abyss, destroying himself and the Ring in the process.


The scene is not only a triumph of divine providence over fate, it is the triumph of Divine Mercy, in which free will, supported by grace, is fully vindicated. ***

Or is it greed and sinful coveting leading to a downfall into death?

[Penny1]

....or is it "both and"


Of course, I would also add that Grace has far more than a supporting role, but then I might get embroiled into one of those knock-down, drag-out fights that I hear about. ;)

[irishtenor]

Or is it just that Golum was predestined to die at the hands of his own greed, and Frodo to live... This could go on a long time. We saw the ad for the DVD. Can't wait for our present :>)

[Penny1]

You are right, this could go on for a long time... ;)

And I can't wait to get you your present! (Because I will be getting your present when I get MY present!) :D

...we will of course have to schedule a time to view it together...

[irishtenor]

We have to watch BOTH of them :>)

[Penny1]

....but of course! :D