J.R.R. Tolkien was a Christian and his works such as The Lord of the Rings, and the Silmarillion were based upon Christian standards. Alot of people try and deny this but it's true, there are so many examples. Let's go with the last movie for example, The Return of the King....Christ will return as King some day just as Aragorn did. The battle with the Ring and Sauron represent evil and how it can posess you , spiritually or physically. Gandalf in a way represents Christ but what have led people against believing this is because God is against wizardry. I think it was just Tolkien's way of making it different, and exciting. It was a way to attract every age of an audience. Tolkien created his world and placed in it characters that resemble Bible scriptures, stories, and passages. The more you watch it and listen to everything they say you can better understand Tolkien's viewpoint upon the Lord of the Rings. It's all based upon fact and standard and it shows much of the battle between men and their weakness to sin. But how they can still be strong when their beliefs are firm and throw down the devil (in this case Sauron) and overcome evil to have the world again. Théoden was as a posessed man, and Gandalf in a way portraying Jesus cast it out of Théoden. Gandalf came and helped out the Fellowship then died (just as Jesus died for our sins) , but then he came back stronger and more powerful than before (just as Jesus will).

It all stands to reason that all of these things were Tolkien's points as he was writing the books. Tolkien has said "The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Christian work, unconsciously so at first but consciously so in the revision. That is why I have not put in (or cut out) practically all references to anything like 'religion', for the religious element is absorbed into the story and symbolism." Someone else says that he stated “fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.”. I found this written in an article about Tolkein: "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.". This all can prove that he was a strong Christian and showed it in the Lord of the Rings, with his many symbols of the Bible. I found this quote from a site saying that Tolkien was this: "It was written by a devout and believing Christian . . . Yet it contains almost no direct religious reference at all.". But the above quote says that he made no direct references! I trust Tolkien himself more than some one writing that about him.

I believe what Tolkien is saying makes alot of sense. He almost wants you to uncover all of his examples. Even if you aren't a Christian and don't believe it, just try to understand ....this isn't just a coincidence.

*Derived from www.arwenevenstar.com*

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