First, let me say that LOTR is one of my all time favorite movie sets, so this post is by no means intended to bash the movie (or book). I guess you could say this is another one of my soap box posts - sort of like the one with Narnia.
So many people seem to love LOTR simply because the author of the book was a proclaiming believer without much consideration of what is actually in the movie, or what is actually NOT in the movie. I will be limiting my discussion on LOTR to the movies as I simply could not stomach reading the books. Okay....that does sound harsh, but I saw the movies before I read the first book, and because of that I just didn't like it. My personality tends to draw toward the more dark things - in movies at least - so when I read the book, I just couldn't handle all of the singing or the such. It just didn't seem as dark as the movie and everything was so "fun" and "happy" in the book. I just couldn't finish it.
But....we digress....
Like I said with Narnia, and so I believe it to be the case with LOTR that there is a lot more pagan mythology than there is a Christian theme - at least on the surface. Now I am not taking into account the allegorical aspect of the story. I have mentioned before that one can find a Christian theme in pretty much anything....even....Harry Potter. But I just wanted to discuss the idea of paganism in the Christian work of LOTR. So we have the orcs, wizards, magic, dwarfs, elves, etc. Now I am not condemning this fact, after all, I am a fantasy writer and I do love reading about elves, orcs, magic, dwarfs, and the such. In fact, I write about elves, orcs, magic, dwarfs, and the such. I have just had this giant pet peeve that everybody likes literature based on certain their own bias. If Tolkien was a professing Satanist, I would love the flicks just as much as I do now. I don't care about who the person is, if their work is good - IT IS GOOD!
Now let's talk about the Christian theme in this movie/book. If we didn't know it was written by a Christian, would we REALLY be able to say that we think he purposefully put these underlying themes of Christianity in the books? I don't know. We know - or can assume - that the ring represents evil, and Froto and his counterparts represent the fight we face daily to overcome evil. I personally love at the end of the third movie where Sam and Froto are at the mountain, but Froto can't carry the burden anymore, and Sam carries him. This is a great depiction of the responsibility and privilege we have as fellow believers, to help each other carry our burdens...when we can't help....we carry them! Then, of course, there are the magical items each of the party members were given...especially Froto. The light that shines when all other lights won't! How is this NOT a symbol of the light of Christ, or The scriptures, Or God himself?! I think you get my point. In the story, the items and such are simply part of a "natural" evolution of a fantasy realm - magic, friendship, hardship, evil, etc. In the "Christian" realm, we can see all sorts of symbolism. I dare to say, and challenge you...to watch the Harry Potter series and see if you can notice any underlying Christian themes...probably unintentionally by the author, but nonetheless, it IS there.
Hope you enjoyed this read.