A Christian’s Guide to Becoming the Lord of Fantasy
How could one use a book or a movie to talk to a non-Christian about God? How does fantastical literature correlate with the lives of Christians? What Christian values are illustrated in the Lord of the Rings? Devin Brown, an English professor at Asbury University, recited part of the author of the Lord of Ring’s letter, J.R.R. Tolkien, to his friend that stated: “The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work, unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.” This tale is based in Middle-Earth where a hobbit, who are considered the most insignificant of all the creatures, named Frodo Baggins, voyages with his gardener, Sam Gamgee, to a place called …show more content…
Firstly, when Frodo is infected by the Ringwraith’s blade, he had no chance of survival. But on the road he met Glorfindel, who then managed to take him to a place where he could be properly cared for (Tolkien, 236-242). Similarly, during the Two Towers Rohan had no chance of prevailing, but Gandalf appeared out of the blue with an army and aided the city in its victory. Likewise, at the commencement of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, the Jews were cornered by the Egyptians with an entire sea blocking their path; God knew that they were stuck in quicksand and parted the Red Sea to pull them out of it (Good News Bible: Today's English Edition, Exodus 14. 10-21). On the other hand, the film excludes Tom Bombadil, who is a major unusual coincidence, for example, he magically appears and saves the hobbits from the Old Forest. At times, one is not given a yellow brick road to follow, but God is always there to create a new …show more content…
39 Jesus commanded: “…love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Jesus suffered severe pains that He did not deserve and lost His life on the cross due to the love that He had for His people (Good News Bible: Today's English Edition, Romans. 4. 25). Gandalf illustrated this quality in the first volume of the Lord of the Rings, when he sacrificed his own life in order to save the lives of the rest of the Fellowship, while battling the Balrog on the Bridge of Moria. Moreover, in the motion picture, while speaking to Legolas, Aragorn exclaimed refusing to leave the people of Rohan to their doom as they fought the forces of Saruman: “Then I shall die as one of them!” However, Sam is portrayed as unloving towards Gollum in the movie; Sam does not attempt to trust or even forgive Gollum although, in the book he showed love towards everyone. The apostle Paul reported that love is the most important of all (Good News Bible: Today’s English Edition, 1 Corinthians,