Gavin, thank you so much for your videos. I’ve just finished a 6 day hospitalization for my stage 4 cancer. Two things happened during my hospitalization: I watched all three LOTR extended editions, and I found your RU-vid channel. I’ve been binging your videos alongside my viewing of LOTR, so your choosing to release this video, in light of what I’ve been going through and viewing, seems providential. Blessings.
Hi Trevor ~ I did the exact same when I was first diagnosed 20+ years ago! I too found LOTR helped me through treatment and suffering…especially when I was alone. My cancer continues to return, and I’m in my later stages, but my sister will be passing very soon of this same dreadful disease. My heart is with my parents and her family! Thankfully, God is with us during these most grievous and painful moments. Unless someone has endured such suffering, it is difficult to truly understand all the processes one endures. I will keep you in my prayers dear Brother! Love and Blessings❤xx
@@marianhreads Hi Marian ~ Thank You so much for your prayers and thoughtful words! I hope you had a wonderful weekend!☺ May our Lord Bless You and your Love Ones always!!🇨🇦xx❤xx🇺🇸
My husband shared this with me because he knows I love Tolkien. Listening to it on the way to work this morning just reminds me how much I love stories full of truth and beauty. It's why I'm an English teacher. Now, I feel like I need to reread the books again.
For years now I’ve read LOTR to my kids before bed (some parts I skipped when they were younger). As they have grown up I purchased a hard bound copy for each of them. My favorite part was when they got old enough to understand and I would read a section and explain to them how the author was allowing his Christian worldview to shine through, then using it as a segue to teaching them about Jesus. Thank you for doing this, it brings back some of my favorite memories as a father.
Hi, I'm curious how you dealt with the sorcery. I am convicted regarding the use of sorcery in the book or in any childrens movies/books. What was helpful to you in navigating that? Did you ever make mention of the Lord's heart regarding witchcraft?
There’s something that could be said of the wound Frodo suffered at Weathertop from the Nazgul blade. The wound was able to heal externally, but it still caused pain and even anguish at certain times, such as on the anniversary of its occurrence. I’m sure he found relief from it when he reached his destination after setting sail from the Grey Havens. There are some things a person may suffer that will plague them throughout their lives on this side of the “Undying Lands.” But there will come a time and place where every one of their tears will be wiped away, and they will cry no longer.
I so value Eowyn in the books and movies. She fighting for life and good, even when it seemed hopeless and she was internally struggling so much. Her character helped me through depression.
LOTR can always move me to the edge of tears. The Amon Sul Podcast is a great treatment of a lot of interesting subjects. The host is an Eastern Orthodox priest, but it’s very pleasant to listen to even for non-Orthodox. Thanks for a great video! I first saw you in the PWA Sola Scriptura debate and have been checking out your videos since. I thoroughly appreciate a well-spoken and epistemologically humble voice from outside the Catholosphere.
First a video on Les MIs, my favourite musical and now a video on the Lord of the Rings?! Gavin you are quickly taking over my list of favourite apologists!
I've been reading this for the last month so this video is timely. The Pearce book Frodo's Journey revealed all the obvious Catholic symbols of the Eucharist, Gregorian chant singing, the Elbereth/Mary corellation, Boromir's repentance and Aragorn's priest-like absolution, and the "Long Defeat," amongst all the other great analysis he gives in that book. Reading it again with these things in mind is such a beautiful experience. I like what you said "Good can't win in playing by evils rules," that is very true and I'm seeing a lot of that in politics today. This seething populism is so dangerous. Really enjoying your commentary! Going to share with my husband he's a fan of yours.
The beauty of this story is one of the greatest achievements of Christian literature I've ever read, or seen on the big screen. It's a perfect example of how when we imitate God by creating and telling stories, and do so with a heart and mind to follow him, the influence of our Creator shines through radiantly. Thank you for covering this! As for additional videos on this subject, doing some on the Silmarillian and creation story would be very fascinating, or perhaps on the motivations and heart of some characters - Frodo, Sam and Gollum make up a very fascinating trio with extremely empathetic motivations that could make for an interesting video subject.
I have also come to the conclusion that evil is inherently self destructive. And therefore utterly irrational. Like someone might ask “Why does Sauron want power so badly? Why does he crave wickedness so much, it doesn’t make sense.” That’s because evil DOESNT MAKE SENSE. Like how it doesn’t make sense to hate oxygen. And to be rid of oxygen, one must hold his breath forever and die. To be rid of God is to be rid of all that God has made. Therefore to be rid of God is to be rid of yourself.
Great video, Dr. Ortlund! I'd love to even get your thoughts on friendship in the relationships of the fellowship with each other, most notably of Frodo and Sam, and what we can learn from that in our society and in the church. There's so much more I could say given the depth of LOTR, but I'll go with this for now. Would love to see more videos on this topic!
One thing I really love about Lord of the Rings is that the ring is a ring. It's not a helmet or other piece of armor, or anything hard to put on. It's just a ring you can slide on your finger. When you think of the one Ring as a symbol of evil, you notice how easy it is. Giving into evil is as easy as putting on a ring.
Excellent video! Like many others, my favorite character is Sam. I think there are many “Christ-like” figures on LOTR but Sam is definitely one. Sam’s motivation to destroy the ring has always impressed me. It seems that his motivation to push through and destroy the ring is not filed by his hatred for the ring, but for his love for Frodo and the suffering the ring has brought on him. I think this is clear when Sam carries Frodo up Mount Doom. Why didn’t Sam leave Frodo behind in that moment and continue his mission to destroy the ring. Why was it important that he carry Frodo as well? Similarly, Christ died for us not merely because he hates sin, but because he loves us.
Great analysis thanks Gavin. In the 80s and 90s I had travelled with my family from Scotland to work as a medical missionary in rural Pakistan. I worked alongside a colleague who, with his family, had travelled even further: from Canada. It turned out that we were both Tolkien fans and had both been deeply moved by a speech of Sam's at the start of chapter 4 of LOTR. A major motivation for Sam in setting out with Frodo on his journey was to 'see elves.' Circumstances meant that in chapter 3, whilst still in the Shire, they had already met elves. Next morning Frodo asks whether Sam still wishes to continue on the journey. Sam replies: I don't know how to say it but after last night I feel different. I seem to see ahead in a kind of way. I know we are going to take a very long road, into darkness; but I know I can't turn back. It isn't to see Elves now, nor dragons, nor mountains that I want - I don't rightly know what I want: but I have something to do before the end, and it lies ahead, NOT IN THE SHIRE. I must see it through, sir, if you understand me.
My 7th grade Story & Composition students at Scholé Christian Tradition in Louisville, KY read *The Lord of the Rings* last year. I wish your video had come out a year ago. Your insights are so helpful, and I will definitely reference them the next time I teach LOTR.
phenomenal video Dr. Ortland. I am currently reading Two Towers right now and I never realized how visceral Pippin's draw to the palantír was. You are spot on. Thank you for all your videos!
It has been a real pleasure to listen to you talk about my favorite book of all my life (apart from the bible, of course)in such a deep and enamored way. For me, this could become a series, as there is so much to say. What about the elves? I've always seen them as a representation of angels. And Aragorn? Jesus? At least in the return of the king, yes. I always think of the return of our king when I see Aragorn's coronation and what follows, and I get chills. Wonderful book and wonderful story in which we live as children of God.💖
💯 I’m waiting for my daughter to be old enough to read them. I love epic fantasy and nobody compares to Tolkien, they are all fighting for 2nd. You should discuss Sam as he’s the real hero of LOTR.
Don’t hate me. But so is Harry Potter! Not as much as Lord of the Rings, I’m sure, but I wrote a whole blog post about it a while back. I can’t post the blog here and it’s impossible to search for it so I’ll copy the important bits here. Harry Potter is a book with Christian themes written by at least a former Christian author (when Rowling wrote the books she was a Christian, it is unclear what her beliefs are today). In her 2007 interview with Time Magazine, she said that as a girl, she did not grow up in a Christian family so she would go to church by herself. As of 2007 she still attended church regularly, and her children were all christened. She says the reason she did not speak about the Christian themes in the books early on was that she did not want to give away the ending, which it definitely would have. When Harry finally makes it to his parents’ tombstone, it reads: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” Rowling told TIME that the Bible verse, a passage from I Corinthians in which Paul discusses Jesus’ Resurrection, was the theme for the entire series. Given that that is what she herself said, I’ll explore that a bit. The story begins with Harry’s parents being killed by Voldemort, the “Dark Lord”. Harry is the one he is after, but Harry’s mother stands in front of him refusing to step aside even though Voldemort gave her the chance to live. So his mom, Lily, sacrifices herself for Harry. Because of her sacrifice, Harry is protected and Voldemort cannot kill him. Maybe this parallel is a little bit obvious but here goes: The devil comes to seek and destroy us (as Voldemort did to Harry) but we are protected because of the sacrifice and the blood of Jesus (as Lily did to Harry). Jesus died so that we might live. Lily died so that Harry might live. The theme develops. At the very end of the seven books, Harry realizes that the only way to truly kill Voldemort and save everybody he loves is to sacrifice himself. And so he allows Voldemort to kill him. He dies- but he returns from the dead. And this act protects everybody else. Voldemort tries to kill them, he tries to hurt them, he tries to win. But he can’t. This is such a nerd move, but allow me to quote from the books themselves: “You won’t be able to kill any of them ever again. Don’t you get it? I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people-" "But you did not!" "-I meant to, and that’s what did it. I’ve done what my mother did. They’re protected from you. Haven’t you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can’t torture them. You can’t touch them. You don’t learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?... I know things that you don’t. Want to hear some, before you make another big mistake...?" "Is it love again?" said Voldemort, his snakes face jeering. "Dumbledore's favorite solution, love, which he claimed conquered death?" The theme: when Jesus died for us, he rose again, and his sacrifice and his triumph over death is what protects us against the evil one and death. It’s not a one to one comparison, but I think at least it is as Christian a theme as Narnia. Another theme throughout the books is the power of love. In fact it seems to be all Dumbledore ever talks about. Love is what prevents Harry from being possessed by Voldemort in book 5 because it is so repulsive to him that he cannot even get close to it. Ultimately love becomes the defining difference between Harry and Voldemort, and is the reason why good conquers evil every time. Just look up quotes about love from Harry Potter. Love conquers death. So it does in Christianity as well, as God is love and love is the greatest commandment. I could go on about the different smaller similarities that came about because of J.K. Rowling’s theme from 1 Corinthians, but I think that is good enough for now. Beyond them, consider the positive values that are in Harry Potter. Bravery, friendship, doing the right thing in the face of extreme peril and death, self-sacrifice, family, fighting against prejudice and hate. And the very real things that Harry struggles with, like PTSD and its symptoms, and depression and neglect and loss. The first couple of Harry Potter books are childlike for sure, but the books grow with the character. I sound like such a nerd, but I am one so I guess that’s okay. I’ll end with this: “Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.” - C.S. Lewis
Sorry to hijack. It’s just so many Christian’s hate Harry Potter. Anyway, I look forward to watching your video! I’m sure I’ll learn a lot, because I’ve never read LOTR!
I read an article that talked about the growing demand for pagan services in our military. When surveyed, the service members said Harry Potter was the major influence on their pursuit of paganism/occult. I don't think any Christian should be recommending it as spiritually helpful, when people are being lead to Satan through it.
Rowling isn't Christian, there's no higher power, the morality isn't Christian. Goodness is by works, not by faith (which is absent). Sure, it's got a few parallels to Christianity because Christianity has influenced culture so much. But it's not even like LOTR, let alone like Narnia. It's a fundamentally secular story.
Right before the first movie came out I reread the books and fell in love with them all over again. I ended up never seeing the movies because I didn't want to destroy the pictures in my mind. Books are almost always better than movies and scarier.
I don't have a strong appreciation of the movies myself. They didn't even destroy the ring as it's destroyed in the book. They made that scene more action-packed, a poor decision which I predicted before the movie hit theaters.
Understandably, but Peter Jackson did an amazing job on Lord of the Rings and I truly believe God led him in that. You should hear his testimony of what it took for that to become a reality. I've read the books three times but watch the 3 part movie at least twice a year every year.
@@mikenicholson7465 I liekd the Fellowship but felt that they got worse as they went along. I still cringe at Legolas skateboarding down the oliphaunt (and at everything regarding the elves fullstop).
When I first read LOTR I loved it so much that I reread it immediately right afterwards and then read it again immediately right after that second reading. Only time I’ve ever done that with a book.
It’s pretty telling that the sight that most reminds me of the beauty of Lothlorien is the interior of The Sagrada Familia when I visited on a school trip.
Great video! You often talk about people coming to faith partly through reading Lord of the Rings. It would be really great to see a video in conversation with someone with this story. Do you know anyone?
“The Lord of the Rings' is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out practically all references to anything like 'religion,' to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and symbolism.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
I thought the timing that you produced this video was unique. I have been studying some of the theology of this book/movie while listening to the movie soundtracks.
I'm not so sure about Jesus sometimes. But dang, this guy is convincing. And having read through LOTR...he's right. It makes you ask, "What if there's something out there?"
Thank you! Wonderful reflections. When the different Christian groups (Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, etc) come together under something, it is a profoundly beautiful thing to me. I learn much from arguments presented against each other from channels like this or Pints from Aquinas or etc, but I learn much more when the focus is on what binds Christians together, or when they hold each other up. One thing that I wonder about in the Lord of the Rings / Silmarillion is the arrival and fall of the wizards -- as I believe Gandalf is stated as being the only one of the 5 that was successful in his task. The fall of the others seems like an interesting topic. Tom Bombadil is another character that is very curious to me. What is it about him that makes him immune to the corruptive elements of the ring? What is he?
One of my favorite books and series . I love watching the extended versions even though my wife says it’s wayyyy to long. Question, have your thought of the theological implications of Froto, Bilbo and later Sam traveling to the un dying lands of the elves ? Especially how Froto talks about the weight of Mt. Doom and how he has never truly been happy on the way that he should ? Also adding his wound
Thank you for this video. Great analysis and I agree with many comments about bringing up topics that bring Christians to a common ground. You're such a good guy. We just really wish that you could experience Christ in the Eucharist. Just know that you would be welcomed with open arms. All glory be to Christ
I think this battle needs to happen in every heart, and salvation is not coming at any point of history, but takes place within. It is an epic battle, and feel like I'm losing it, but with the grace and mercy of God I'm not willing to give up on hope until my very last breath. If everything else works in my life but the mission of salvation is not fulfilled than everything is lost.
I’m not an LOTR fan (I’ll be watching the movies soon), but I am obsessed with The Lion King (movie and Broadway show), and I think that story has a lot of Christian themes in it as well. Tbh I feel like we Christians might have the tendency to see Christian themes in secular media because of how our worldview influences us, but I suppose that if our worldview is the truth (which I believe it is), then wherever we see that Christian theme, it is valid. After all, it is in Jesus Christ that we “live, move and have our being”. UPDATE: this video was part of what motivated me to watch the LOTR movies and I have to say- I got my time’s worth. Beautiful story, dialogue and filmmaking. Definitely a classic. I’ll be checking out the extended editions soon. I can see why so many people love the LOTR book and movies.
@@mikenicholson7465I don’t have the time to read the book tbh. I had wanted to read the Harry Potter books but I was too busy for those. I don’t think I’ll be able to read the LOTR book either. UPDATE: by complete coincidence, I got to purchase the book- all three volumes, very recently. I’m thinking of doing an animated series adaptation of the story in the future as well. So far it’s been a long, but engaging read (and I noticed the differences between the films and the book as well- they’re not many, but they’re obvious all the same).
I think it's vital that Christians learn to distinguish fantastical, made-up magic used to create beautiful stories with actual real-life demonic power. In Lord of the Rings, Gandalf is not drawing pentagrams. Rather, he's an angel-like being who is granted power by Iluvatar (God); it's an inherently Christian work through and through. As long as fantasy magic isn't attempting to emulate real-life demon worship, Christians have the liberty to enjoy these stories
@@cephandrius5281 The Bible makes 0 distinction between white magic and black magic. ALL sorcery comes from demons, and any attempt to portray _Lord of the Rings_ as Christian literature is completely absurd. It only proves how un-Christian Catholicism really is.
Yes, there's a huge difference between Tolkien's wizards and say- Harry Potter sorcery for example. That is humans practicing sorcery and enticing kids to dabble in the occult. With Gandalf, on the other hand, a wizard is his race in a different world of many races: man, elves, hobbits, dwarves, wizards, etc - clearly fantasy. I thank God for what He's doing every time I watch LotR. The parallels to today are amazing.
Everything you are saying resonates so deeply with me. Yet, I grew up being taught that Christians reading or watching anything with magic is sinful or “opening a door” to evil. Do you have any thoughts on this?
1 (trivial) ) Lembas seem to parallel communion; the more you depend on it alone, the more it refreshes the spirit and sustain strength, despite hunger. 2 (big) The doom of men: There's a lot about human mortality (with elven immortality contrasted, for effect). Numenor went off the rails because it refused to accept mortality. There's a prominent motif of Aragorn accepting first his lesser status and then later his mortality; in the Appendices, he lays down his life willingly in the end, as does Arwen (and she finds it bitter, very bitter). Accepting mortality and that one's hope is in the next life as a man is a central theme. 3 (big) The roles of the king: Aragorn isn't merely a warrior, he is a healer, etc. And as mentioned above, eventually he lays down his life willingly, etc, as both Jesus and a Christian monarch should.
You made a slight error there. It's not just Tom Bombadil who isn't tempted by the ring. Faramir (at least in the books) isn't tempted by it either. I agree with everything else you say, though.
I find it fascinating that Tolkien’s concept of the Valar from the Silmarillion pretty closely mirrors and predates Dr. Heiser’s Divine Council worldview. Makes me wonder if he actually understood the Bible the way Heiser did. Have you ever dug into that, Gavin?
Also the way Tolkien portrays Aragorn, basically the perfect knight. And the codex from the knights are also based on christian values. Especially protecting the weak, sacrifice (for Frodo at the end), loyalty (to Arwen and his friends), courage and forgiveness (e.g. King of the Dead and towards Boromir when he dies). One could say these values are the opposite of toxic masculinity.
Sam also. Seems unfazed by the rings power in the light of the love for his best friend. Hands the ring right back to Frodo. Sam is the greatest character in all of fiction. The truest friend ever written.
It's actually a common misconception that Narnia is an allegory, it's not, Aslan isn't an allegory of Jesus, he is Jesus. C.S Lewis was asking the question, if there were other worlds, how would God reveal himself to those worlds, Narnia is an interesting mix of fantasy and science fiction.
Well, I'm commenting right off the bat to simply express my appreciation that you're referring to LotR as a BOOK, not a 'trilogy'. I recognize why people refer to it as a trilogy so often, but it really irks me in how painfully obvious it is that it's not a trilogy--it's a single, unified, self-contained story that--because of accidents of history--had to be released artificially in three volumes. (Technically there are six 'books' in it, too! But it's still one BOOK.) As minor as this might seem, I appreciate this detail...maybe inordinately.
Great video! Your presentation reminded me of some by Dr. Kreeft, which I'm sure you'll recognize as high praise. I will, however, ding you on an outlier issue: the Narnia books are not allegories. Lewis himself, a world-class expert on such matters, said they weren't. (Actually, any standard that accepts the Narnia books as allegory must lead to the conclusion that LotR is as well, because then the term is largely meaningless.) Instead, the Chronicles are a supposal about God the Son taking on the nature of a talking lion in a world based on children's stories. Lagniappe: Tolkien himself wrote an allegorical short story called "Leaf by Niggle." It's quite good, though I didn't understand it until I read that it had to do with purgation.
Hello! First of all, I appreciate the video! Having not read through the LOTR books, I see that there is more depth than just what the movies provide! However I have a genuine question. As it is not directly allegorical to the story of the Christian life, is there any aspect that the LOTR series is more or less Christian than Harry Potter? As far as I can tell, both have "Christian" authors, and have many symbolic representations to christian life, death, resurrection, and salvation. However I would not say that the Harry Potter series is Christian, precisely because of the prevalent usage of evil creatures and witchcraft which both series utilize. I would appreciate any responses! :)
The book "in the house of tom bombadil" describes how a man and a woman can create a dominion which is a world on its own while the surrounding world may be chaos and destruction. I found that an interesting book.
Check out "The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings " by Fleming Rutledge. Great book exploring these themes. I'm reading her book along side LOTR this year - a great companion.
There is no such allegorical/non-allegorical line one can put Narnia or LOTR on either side of. They both contain allegory (at least seemingly, intended or not), but none of them are as a whole an allegory. Narnia is even better than LOTR at painting an alternative universe. LOTR's is more like ours I find. They are both concerned with inner motivation, as opposed to moralism.
I need a lord of the rings fan to explain to me their reasoning on how magic, sorcery, and other evils which are condemned in the bible can be portrayed in a book or movie in a good way, and the book is still enjoyed by Christians. My question is how can that be morally right? I understand the author of lord of the rings and chronicles of Narnia were Christians, but I still can't understand how including these things the way they do in their books is acceptable. Also, how would this relate to the growth of witchcraft and magic and the constant push of it in moves, books, and by many popular people. Just to clearify, I am not trying to deny their sincerity as Christians.
I think there are two points you can consider. (1) The distinction between a book's setting vs its message. (2) The reason why sorcery/evil is condemned in the Bible. (1) Magic is part of the setting, not the message. Tolkien does not portray magic itself as being morally good. Magic is a neutral element that forms part of the setting of the narrative, and is a tool (much like science) that can be wielded for good or evil. The fact that a "good" character uses magic does not make magic itself inherently good. Rather, it is the characters' choices on how to use the forces at their disposal, which just so happens to include magic, that is part of what determines whether they are "good" or "evil". Consider it the fantasy equivalent of science. Science can be wielded for righteous causes and harmful ones. That does not make science itself evil. (2) LOTR is clearly not set in the same world we live in. It is, in a sense, not a world in which the Christian God (i.e. the God I personally believe in) exists and has passed judgment on whether sorcery is evil. The Bible condemns sorcery as evil in the Lord's eyes (see. eg. 2 Chronicles 33:6, Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Hence, in our real life context, to choose sorcery and magic necessarily means rejecting the commandments of God and choosing what He has declared evil. However, because LOTR is set in a different world, the characters' choice to wield magic and sorcery in that setting does not necessitate or imply the same rejection of God. Just some thoughts from a Christian who also enjoys fantasy novels and other forms of media that portray magic, hope it helps!
@@lawskuboi yeah, I would add to / modify point 2 in that the sin of magic, sorcery, and divination is primarily in a reliance on spiritual forces other than God, and many fictional "magics" have little relation to the real world equivalent practices though some may have similar vocabulary, and fictional world feature equally fictionalized cosmologies and functions of nature where it becomes a problem is the intentions of the author and the perceptions of the reader, if an author intends ill or a reader perceives fiction as reality, sin comes in more towards the Original Poster: most magic-magic in LOTR is depicted as evil anyway as far as I know, Gandalf and Saruman aren't actually wizards but angelic beings in disguise, and I think the Elves are also uniquely empowered, whereas the witch-king is part of the forces of evil and such I'm not a LOTR mega-fan so I can't satisfy OP's question fully
You might note that in LotR, the wielders of magic are not humans who learn an art to manipulate the world, but are nonhuman characters for whom "magic" is a natural ability. Gandalf, Sauron, Saruman and the balrog are all Ainur, spirits who helped Eru (God) shape the world. They are endowed by Eru with power that is part of their being. Elves are not immortal humans, even if they can intermarry with humans. They are bound to the world and participating in it differently than humans do. In this story, you won't find any of the protagonist humans engaging in magical practices forbidden in the Bible.
Good points already made in the other responses. I would just like to add that magic and magical items in the story do have tendency to corrupt its users especially mortals, but even the wizards (who were angelic beings in a mortal form) could be enticed and corrupted if they sought to gain power. So I wouldn't be quick to claim that magic is and sorcery was portrayed as a good thing in the story.
Thank you for your responses. You have given me much to consider in all of this. So if I am understanding correctly, the idea isn't just that fiction has the excuse to portray any kind of evil because it is a fictional world without God like the real world (which I would have huge problems with). But the reasoning is that, because it is a fictional world the magic portrayed in the LOTR is different in nature and is not what the Bible says is evil. When magic in a fictional story is like the magic in the real world then that magic in the story should be shown as evil. If this is the reasoning then I think I have less problems than I thought I had, even though I still don't like it. A question that might help me that I have is if it is morally right for Christians to come up with a fictional world without God. I know this question might sound silly but I am really struggling with thinking this out. To try to clarify the question I'm asking, I think it is probably not morally wrong in itself (as smoking a cigar probably can't be shown to be morally wrong in itself), is it beneficial for the Christian mind and church overall to meditate on a fictional world without God and with things portrayed as good that atleast have the appearance of evil. I have no doubt it might have helped many people in some way but just because God can use something to help you in some way does not make the thing used good in itself. Thanks again for the replies and I think you have caused me to think much deeper on this than I had before.
Gavin, both this one and the prior video on Les Miserables are great and *so* *important*. I think these kinds of videos help bring apologetics and theology home to many people in a way they hadn't considered before. There are so many possibilities. Perhaps you're familiar with this video about the Christian imagery in Shawshank Redemption - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--2hWKvq35RM.html&ab_channel=LogosMadeFlesh
If you go to the hardcore nerd realm of the history of Arda, a lot of The Simarillion has a ton of parallels with Genesis in the bible for the creation, satan, and the many faults of evil in mortal beings as a whole.
"The ancient Masters were profound and subtle. Their wisdom was unfathomable. There is no way to describe it; all we can describe is their appearance. They were careful as someone crossing an iced-over stream. Alert as a warrior in enemy territory. Courteous as a guest. Fluid as melting ice. Shapable as a block of wood. Receptive as a valley. Clear as a glass of water. Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself? The Master doesn't seek fulfillment. Not seeking, not expecting, she is present, and can welcome all things." - Tao Te Ching, Chapter 15, Stephen Mitchell Interpretation
Neither Lord nor Subject | by Bao Jingyan | Complete audio | Chinese anarchism | Taoism ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bZoUFWksA_Q.htmlsi=4TBfQBRMRRak49yT The Interview That Solves the Human Condition: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-q-TK6_aWqGU.htmlsi=Amd3nf3zc3vt5bME
Oh course Rings of Power pales to LOTR. But I found that particular quote authentic to most peoples experiences. We must get the bad news first in order to appreciate the good news of the gospel. Those who consider themselves good have a hard time accepting the remedy if they do not accept their sinful state. At least that is how I took that quote. I quoted it to my Pastor a couple of weeks ago because it had impacted me. Just my thoughts.
Thank you for showing Catholics can make something beautiful. Protestants can too in movies like Fireproof, Facing the Giants and Old Fashioned. Old Fashioned should be a pre-requisite for christian's dating and Fireproof a pre-requisite for marriage.
If there’s one place I think Catholics excel, it’s making beautiful things with the intention of making them beautiful, because they see value in beauty and how it speaks to the human heart. Whereas Protestants tend to lean towards quite practical ends, almost glorifying their utilitarian nature sometimes. I personally find most modern “Christian” storytelling to be lackluster-to-middling in quality-so focused on being “Christian” and saying the right words that it forgets to be made with creativity, excellence, beauty, and compelling storytelling.
@@FentonHardyFanas an artist, one thing I embrace wholeheartedly is the RC and EO tradition of iconography, not to mention that one of the most popular Christian films “The Passion of The Christ” was made by a Catholic. I consider that film to have the most biblically accurate Jesus ever shown on screen.
@@aericabison23 Better than the Jesus portrayal in the Chosen? (Which is the show I would say is the best modern Christian storytelling I’ve ever seen. It takes the time to connect with the people in the story, Jewish culture, and the suffering of the world-which makes the light Jesus brings so much more compelling and beautiful.)
Great video! Thanks Gavin. I increasingly think the films are an absolute masterpiece in themselves. I only recently realised how transcendently genius Howard Shore's music score is - this video will blow your mind, especially if you are a music nerd: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Azd7lyJ4918.html In short: the video argues that the "shire" musical theme becomes broken through suffering, then through that, it is transformed into/ replaced by a "grey havens" musical theme. In other words, the "home" theme is transmuted into a "hope" theme. Achingly beautiful!
