More Withybite. Now there are four of them, which isn’t an impressive number, but it’s more than there were yesterday. I need about 16 more to have an entire Withywaffle. (Assuming that one bite is one hole in a waffle) Today I’m discussing the Christian values found in the Rings of Power.
Warning: this is from a Christian Protestant perspective, so I can’t promise not to offend you if you don’t have that worldview.
Transcript (with fumbles and mumbles removed):
Hello, my merry friends! It’s Emma back with another Withybite. In this one, we’re going to be talking about my favourite topic, which is Christianity. Now, Christianity isn’t only a worldview; it’s a way of living, and it’s a loving relationship with the greatest Being in the universe, but in this episode, we’re mostly going to be talking about the worldview aspect of it. So, “hop along, my little friends, up the Withywindle!”, or should I say, the Withywaffle.
Now, if you’ve read the description above, which I haven’t made yet (at time of recording), but I will soon, then you’ll know that if you’re not a Christian, I might offend you, so you’ve been warned.
I just took a break after approximately 42 seconds of recording to eat breakfast. Guess what I had. No, I’m sorry, it wasn’t waffles; it was eggs and bacon.
But anyways, back to what I was talking about. Just be aware that this is from a Protestant point of view, but without further ado, let’s get talking about how Christianity has influenced the Rings of Power. First we’ll talk about how the Christian influences got there, and then about how they’ve manifested themselves in this show.
So, there are two sources through which these influences came. The first was through the source material. Tolkien himself was a devout Catholic. His father died when he was four years old, and his mother when he was twelve. He was then an orphan, so he and his younger brother were placed under the guardianship of a priest, who I’m sure was influential in Tolkien’s life. For his whole life, religion was very important to him – it wasn’t only something he practiced, it was the way he viewed the world. He was even instrumental in the conversion of C. S. Lewis to Christianity, Lewis who later became a great Christian writer and apologist. Tolkien was a great influence on him.
The Lord of the Rings, and all Tolkien’s works, aren’t actually an allegory of Christianity, because Tolkien didn’t like allegory at all; he didn’t like the idea of it, and he didn’t want to use it, but he knew that every good story has to be similar to the story of reality. The structure of his world, the history of it, and the themes in his works are inevitably linked to those of Christianity. If we look at the history of Middle-Earth in a nutshell, then it’s basically Creation, Fall, Redemption, End Times with a big battle, and Second Creation, which is better than the first. (like second breakfast I guess) Does that sound familiar? I bet it does! Tolkien knew that that’s the way a world should work, as that’s the way that the only world that ever was works; that’s the way that real life is.
Even though we Protestants don’t agree with all the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church, we still share many basic values and truths with them, so it is possible for us to learn from those things which Catholics write. You know (Singing):
They have a profound philosophy
So then
Why can’t we?
I’m sorry, that song was just stuck in my head.
Anyways, the other source that the Christian influences came through is more direct; it’s through the showrunners themselves, J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay. We’ve looked at the foundation, and now this is how the building was built. J. D. Payne is not a Protestant either, he’s a devout Mormon, and apparently Patrick McKay at least shares similar values. It’s the same with Mormons; even though we don’t agree with many of their beliefs, they’re still capable of putting good values into their works, and that’s something that these two have purposely tried to do to the Rings of Power.
Now let’s look at how these Christian influences and values have actually manifested themselves in the Rings of Power. We can see them in many quotes, as well as in the story dynamics and the general plot, the way things work out. I want to give you a few examples of this.
Firstly, there’s this quote by Celebrimbor in Episode 7 of Season 2. When he’s talking to Galadriel, he says:
“It is not strength that overcomes darkness, but light.”
That’s a very Biblical theme, that light is stronger than darkness. It says in John 1:5:
“And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
Some versions say “the darkness did not overcome it.” I’m using the New King James Version by the way. Now, in 1 John 1:5 it says:
“God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”
The Light that overcomes darkness in Christianity is God Himself, Jesus Christ Himself, the Light of the world. It’s only through Him that we can overcome the forces of darkness; not by our own strength, not by legalism, not by works, but only by faith in Him, only by the Light, the Divine enablement.
Another one of my favourite quotes in the Rings of Power is by Círdan. It’s in Episode 2 of Season 2, and he says:
“Judge the work, and leave judgement concerning those who have wrought it to the Judge who sees all things.”
Then Elrond says:
“That feels impossible.”
and Círdan replies:
“It is called humility.”
I think that that’s very good advice for us. It’s so easy to judge others and compare ourselves to others, and say “Oh, I’m better than that person, and that person’s better than that person.” 2 Corinthians 10:12 says:
“We dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
And Ecclesiastes 12:14, the last verse in that book, says:
“For God will bring every work into judgement,”
So, the message of Círdan’s quote is quite obvious; it’s just to leave the judging of others up to God, which is something I’m sure we can all learn from, especially me.
There are quite a few of these gems scattered throughout the Rings of Power if you look for them. That’s a very good use of fairy tales – to teach us morals. That’s what they originally did, the fables and such – they entertain us while teaching us.
We can also see Christian values in the overall themes of the Rings of Power like light versus darkness, hope despite adversity, and knowing that we ourselves are insufficient, but that doesn’t matter in the big picture, because what God decrees will happen.
Something that I’ve mentioned in another episode is that perhaps we could even watch Annatar’s manipulations in the same way that we read the Screwtape Letters. If you’ve never read it, it’s a book by C. S. Lewis which he dedicated to J. R. R. Tolkien. It’s about demons manipulating a man, and it’s supposed to show us what tactics they used, according to C. S. Lewis’s imagination, so that we can be on our guard against them. It’s a really good book; you should read it. When Annatar’s manipulating Celebrimbor, we can watch how he plays on his weaknesses and uses them, and we can beware of that in our lives.
There really is a lot we can learn about our world by looking at Tolkien’s. (Smug tone) There’s a really good article, you know. It’s called Magic in Middle-Earth, and it’s written by a really good author. (self-promotion) I’m just joking, it was written by me – you should look for it on my blog on Emmaandtolkien.com, which you are at now. In that article, I talk about how by looking at Tolkien’s world, we can see how the magic in our world works. That’s a good example of what Tolkien can teach us.
So, I hope you enjoyed listening to (or reading) this. I’ve been Emma, and you’ve been listening, contemplating, and having a lovely day. I will see you next time!