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JRR Tolkien: The Man Behind the Myth

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

If you’ve still never read these verses from the opening of J. R. R. Tolkien’s best-selling fantasy masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), perhaps you’ve been living under a rock - or in a hobbit hole - for the past two years, or maybe for your entire life!

But don’t worry.

If you’re still in the dark concerning the opening words of one of the best-loved fantasy series of all time, you can always go and sit in the dark—in a movie theatre—and catch up on what you’ve missed.

Or, better yet, rent the enhanced versions of the first two films on DVD.

Considering the immense popularity of LOTR - especially amongst people who would be much more likely to darken the doorway of a movie theatre than a church - you may be surprised to learn that behind the stories that inspired this film trilogy stands a man who has more in common with Christianity than you would think.

His name is John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: academic, writer and devoted believer.

More Than a Writer
Although best known for LOTR and its “prequel,” The Hobbit, which together have sold well over 100 million copies in over 40 languages, JRR Tolkien was far more than a mere writer of fantasy stories.

Like his close friend CS Lewis (in whose conversion to Christianity, Tolkien played a key role), Tolkien was a widely respected Oxford professor, specializing in Old and Middle English literature.

His research into ancient tales and his lifetime fascination with languages, both ancient and modern, had a tremendous influence on the structure and content of his epic tales.

But beyond his academic and literary achievements, Tolkien was also a man of profound Christian faith - a major detail often passed over by fans and critics alike. This aspect of his life also played a key role in shaping his fiction.

Born into a Church of England family in 1892, JRR Tolkien and his younger brother Hilary followed their mother Mabel into the Roman Catholic Church after the death of their father in 1896.

The move alienated Mabel and her children from the rest of the family; however, the call Mabel felt towards the Catholic Church was irrevocable.

She was able to pass this strong faith on to her sons, both of whom remained devout Catholics their entire lives, even after the early death of their mother when JRR Tolkien was only twelve.

Traces of Faith
It is only natural for us to expect evidences of this faith to show up in Tolkien’s writing.

Tolkien himself admitted this just prior to the publication of LOTR in 1954, when he referred to the epic as a “fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.”

But Tolkien warned readers not to look for any “hidden” meaning or message in his books.

Unlike Lewis, Tolkien claimed to “cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations…. I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think many confuse ‘applicability’ with ‘allegory;’ but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.”[1]

This is not to say that LOTR is devoid of spiritual truths.

To the contrary, Tolkien’s tale of Frodo, a young hobbit who embarks on a perilous journey to destroy the powerful “ruling ring” before the dark lord who forged the ring can get his hands on it and plunge Middle-earth into the darkest of all ages, is full of Christian themes and imagery.

For example, Gandalf the wizard is clearly a Christ figure.

And, like Pilgrim in Pilgrim’s Progress, Frodo is tempted by all manner of distractions as he journeys to destroy the ruling ring in the Cracks of Doom. Only by sticking to the narrow path does he have any hope of fulfilling his quest.

Ironically, at the climax of the trilogy, it is Frodo’s failure to resist temptation coupled with Gollum’s attempt to steal the ring one more time that eventually leads to the ring’s destruction - and Middle-earth’s salvation - thus demonstrating that evil acts can be redeemed for good.

Also, unlike most other fantasy fiction, Tolkien’s work depicts evil not as an independent force equal to God but merely as good that has been twisted or misdirected.

Once again, this is right in line with Christian orthodoxy.

While many readers have recognized these and other Christian parallels embedded in LOTR, many have pointed out the paradox that Tolkien’s work is at once deeply religious but at the same time contains no trace of religious belief, ritual or theology.

Tolkien said this state of affairs was intentional, calling Middle-earth “a monotheistic world of ‘natural theology.’ The odd fact that there are no churches, temples or religious rites and ceremonies is simply part of the historical climate depicted…. I am in any case myself a Christian; but the ‘Third Age’ [in which LOTR takes place] was not a Christian world.”[2]

Despite this lack of blatant religious symbolism, Tolkien believed attentive readers could easily deduce his religious beliefs by reading his work. 

Parsing out the Truth
If you’ve only seen the film versions of Fellowship of the Ring or The Two Towers, you may have difficulty believing this.

How can one reconcile the scenes of violence, destruction and occult practices with the above information about Tolkien’s faith?

How could the love of Christ spawn such a monstrosity?

Perhaps, you may be thinking, reading all that pagan mythology from the Middle Ages seriously messed with Tolkien’s head, co-opting his faith rather than the other way around.

But in truth, both Tolkien and Lewis read ancient mythology with an eye to discovering it’s redeeming features, such as universal concepts of fellowship, sacrifice and grace, which point readers back to Christ.

While the film versions of Tolkien’s work do include such elements, they also tend to over-emphasize the violent aspects of Tolkien’s books, making the films unfit for younger viewers or those not accustomed to film violence.

Rather than steer us away from Tolkien’s work, however, this fact should merely remind us that the films are an interpretation only (one that Tolkien himself would likely have disagreed with, by the way) and should be judged entirely on their own merit.

In fact, they should probably be viewed in much the same way as Tolkien read ancient mythology: with an eye to parsing out the redeeming features at their core.

To get the real story - the one true myth - Tolkien believed you had to read the Bible.

In the case of the films, you must read Tolkien’s trilogy itself. Once you do, you’ll likely discover that rather than scandalizing you with violence or tempting you with the occult, the LOTR is more likely to inspire you with its breathtaking scope, delightful characters and the ring of truth inherent to all great fantasy tales.

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[1] Ibid, p. 12.

[2] Humphrey Carpenter, ed. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, p. 220.

Kevin Miller is a freelance writer, editor and educator from Abbotsford, BC, Canada. Over the past several years, he has written, co-written and contributed to 26 books, both fiction and non-fiction. He has also written dozens of articles for web sites, magazines and newspapers, including Faith Today, BC Christian News and Maranatha News. Learn more about Kevin by clicking here to visit his website.