I've been reading the blogs of ppl I don't know and that I found out about through Jenna's/Bethany's blogs and something caught my attention and got me to thinking. I noticed that a lot of those blogs had one common theme: Lord of the Rings. (LOTR) Now, I love LOTR. It's a wonderful, imaginative story that is well written, and in the case of the movie, well made with good actors/actresses. However, God no longer allows my conscience to read/watch it. Why? Well, that's what I want to talk about today....
LOTR has several questionable aspects to it. There is a "good side" that has many powers ...so where is God in it? Only God is the source of "good power". So, where does that power come from? Certainly not God...He is never mentioned in the book or movie. Therefore, I must conclude that their power comes from "magic", which we all know is basically witchcraft and comes from Satan. (And it doesn't matter wether it's "good witchcraft" or "bad witchcraft"; it's all witchcraft and evil!)
And that leads to my next objection....witchcraft. All the spells (cast by both the good and bad side), curses, the men in the "Paths of the dead" that are dead and yet living, the Ringwraiths, Gollum (shivers), Sauron, Gandalf, Elrond...all are the result of or use witchcraft, since they don't involve the power of God. Gandalf is a wizard (Leviticus 20:27 "A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.")...Elrond uses telepathy...Gollum is nothing less then a demon....the Ringwraiths are pure evil...does a Christian have any business watching that? I don't think so....and I'm sorry I ever saw it.
Also, many ppl try to make LOTR into an allegory and stuff God, salvation, etc. in there somewhere but it simply doesn't work, IMO. It's not like Chronicles of Narnia, where Aslan obviously represents Jesus and all the power comes from him. (BTW, I do have some questions about CoN, too...so don't automatically jump to the conclusion that I'm being hypocritical. :D) Also, J.R.R.T. specifically states that his book is NOT an allegory. If you read the intro/prologue in the book, you'll find it there. At least I found it in my book. Therefore, you really can't make it into one. :-\
There is something very strange about LOTR, too....it captivates. Most young ppl I've met who have seen and liked it are obsessed with it. My brother and I certainly were. It consumed our thoughts and conversation a good part of the time. (Not all the time, but a lot!) There is something wrong with a fictational story that has that kind of effect on more then a few ppl, IMO.
And then there's the moral side of it....the whole story is rather humanistic, IMO. Here is a quote from Gandalf: "Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends." Last time I checked, we all deserve death. Anyone who says anything else is being humanistic, IMO. Really, a lot of stories like LOTR are humanistic....everything is done in the strength of ME! In reality, we are nothing on our own. Only God can strengthen us enough to do what we do. Also, Arwen's and Aragorn's relationship is rather improper. I mean, a kiss or two is one thing, but I think they carried it waaay too far. (That's only in the movie though. Of course! Hollywood has to have it's romance.) Another thing: Frodo is the only one who could carry the Ring for as long as he did without being corrupted. Why? Because he had less evil in him. HUH? Romans 3:12 "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Everyone is equally evil.
One thing that is "good" about LOTR....the good side does win and the evil is abolished once and for all. However, again, the victory isn't attributed to God, and so therefore it can't really be truly "good", KWIM?
I hope that I presented this well, and that I don't sound too "preachy". That's not my intention, really it isn't. I just want other young ppl to understand the underlying issues of this story. If you have any questions, suggestions as to how I could present this better or have a sounder arguement for my points please leave me a comment!! I'm very open to suggestions. :) I'm not too good at presenting arguements in a loving, convincing manner. Also, this is certainly not exhaustive...please go look up LOTR's connection to witchcraft on Google. That's how we found out about it! Dad started questioning it, decided to do a little research, and "Bingo"! He had questioned rightly. :) Pray about it, ,too...allow God to speak to your heart and don't allow your will to get in the way either. That way, God can speak to you. ;)
Awww, I just got kissed....by my DOG!!! :D :D :D (Heehee, thought I'd insert a little humor in there. :D)
In Christ,
~E
