Is Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ a Christian book? In one sense, no, for neither God nor Christ is mentioned. But in a deeper sense, yes, for the workings of redemptive providence run through the whole story.
The Return of the King, the climactic chapter in J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, draws to a close the events of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. Gollum continues leading Frodo and Sam toward Mordor. But he has no intention of letting the hobbits destroy his “precious” by casting the ring into the fires of
Peter Jackson’s film version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the accompanying proliferation of Rings-related paraphernalia, has once again brought the work of J. R. R. Tolkien to a popular audience. There are, however, few full and accessible treatments of the religious vision permeating Tolkien’s influential works.
In The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Tolkien writes that “The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision,” continuing on to explain that “the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism” rather than referenced outright (Letter 142).
P. Prayer. 5. Count your blessings. Instead of complaining and seeing your life half empty, see it half full and fill it up by counting all the good things in your life. Read Ann Voskamp’s book
Also hinted at in The Lord of the Rings and made explicit in Tolkien’s Letters are moments of supernatural “grace” at critical junctures that enabled Frodo to undertake and to fulfill his Quest (L 326). Lembas One of the clearest religious elements in The Lord of the Rings are the elvish meal-cakes, the lembas.
Even though spirituality and religion is a part of Middle-earth's make-up, it doesn't factor into the story of The Lord of the Rings very much. A lot of what Tolkien imagined and wrote about the
The blockbuster films about Middle Earth and Harry Potter have given Christians two opportunities to respond to magical fantasy on the big screen. The first installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and of the Harry Potter series were released during the past winter movie season. Christians apparently find it easier to accept the magic and
.
is lord of the rings religious