The Parallels of Christian themes between The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings.
Introduction:
Many critics agree that The Narnia Chronicle and not The Lord of the Rings is an allegory of the Gospels. Yet still, The Lord of the Rings has many parallels to The Gospels which can be compared to that of The Chronicles of Narnia. Although there is no one complete, concrete, visible Christ figure in The Lord of the Rings, like Aslan in Narnia, Christ is really, though invisibly, present in the whole of The Lord of the Rings. The Lord of the Rings is like the Eucharist. Under its appearances we find Christ, who under these (pagan, universal) figures (symbols, not allegories), is truly hidden (Kreeft).
Thesis Statement: There are parallels that exist about Christ’s presence in the Lord of the Rings that can be compared to His presence in The Chronicle of Narnia.
Body Paragraphs:
Section 1: Christ as presented in Christianity
In the Old Testament threefold Messianic symbolism of prophet, Priest and King are very characteristics of Christ making him Messiah who was to come and save the people of that time as promised during the creation of the world (Genesis 1:3; cf. Jn 1: 3). Chris is also described as the savior of the world, who through self sacrifice would save world from Satan’s domination in the world.
Section 2: Aslan as Christ:
- Aslan is presented as Christ in The Chronicles of Narnia. He is the word which was there in the beginning and that very word being God at the same time. Aslan actually creates the world of Narnia from nothingness and like Christ he plants the tree of life which would forever keep the White witch (Satan) at bay until the time comes when she would rein. He also like Christ promises the inhabitants of Narnia that in the deeps of their despair, a savior will arise to defeat the witch and bring back peace and harmony to the lands of Narnia. Aslan also fulfils the Messianic symbolism of Christ being a priest, a prophet and a king. This is because he is the King of all King in the Lands of Narnia.
Looking at the different creatures in Middle Earth, it can be inferred that Tolkien tried to represent God in all of them in order to fulfill the words uttered before the creation of man. “God said, Let us create man in our own image and likeness” (Genesis 1:26–27). Tolkien tries to explain that the creatures in Middle Earth regardless of the who they are, that is be them hobbits, elves, magicians, kings, stewards, Ents, and many more, they are all a representation and a manifestation of God in one way or the other. Tolkien did this to affirm what he wrote in one of his books. According to Tolkien man is a sub-creator by virtue of his creation and he seeks to imitate his creator. Man refracts the light of God into the many living shapes that move through his mind, that he creates (Tolkien 37). That is why taking any of the characters in the novel; it is very easy for one to see the reflection of God in that individual through their actions and thoughts. Of the creatures in Middle Earth who are reflections of God (Christ), only three of them shall be critically analyzed in this paper. The three to be discussed include Fordo, Aragorn and Gandalf. These characters can all be compared to Aslan the God of Narnia to exhibit some of his traits which makes him an allegory of Christ. how they are reflections of Christ.
Aslan’s Priesthood:
Aslan the prophet and king of Narnia is also the sacrificial lamb whose blood must be used to cleanse Narnia in order break the hold of evil (the White witch) on the land (Mythic truths). Aslan makes a sacrifice by offering his life in place of Edward’s, thus taking up a priestly role as the intermediary for Narnia. The Deep Magic which demanded the spilling of blood supports Exodus 25:22 and Leviticus 16:13, 14. The blood of the innocent was shed and in so doing salvation was gained for all. Aslan’s sacrifice is the ultimate example of Christ who comes to save his people in humility, unconditional love and grace, aside all the disgrace and hatred at the cross/stone table (Brazier 769). In this way, Aslan lives the statement of Paul, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5: 8). In doing this, although Aslan died to save Edmund, his death redeemed all the Narnians living and those to be from their sins. All Narnians need to do is to repent of their iniquity and acknowledge Aslan as their redeemer and live. Aslan’s role as priest, prophet and king of Narnia helps to establish him as Christ. But in Middle earth, the story takes a different tone.
Section 2: Comparing characters in Middle Earth to Christ.
Aragorn is the king who has come to serve his people, not for them serve him. For a time unknown to the people of Middle Earth, he has walked amongst them, helping, protecting and shielding them from harm. For example, Aragorn and his ranger companions protected the Shire from the outside world, aiding hobbits to preserve the paradise in the Shire which they had built for themselves. He leads and guides his people during their direst moments of peril though they did not recognize him as their King. Denethor expresses the thoughts and concerns of the people of Gondor about the return of the king when he says to Gandalf, “Yet the Lord of Gondor is not to be made the tool of other men’s purposes, however worthy. And to him there is no purpose higher in the world as it now stands than the good of Gondor; and the rule of Gondor, my lord, is mine and no other man’s, unless the king should come again” (LOTR, III/11). He does this by refusing to relinquish his claim to the throne because he had lost hope that the king will come. This is because Denethor like most of the people of Middle Earth and for the matter, the Israelites at the time of Christ had given up on the prophecy about the King. The prophecy reveals that a king shall arise as a root of David/Isildur to restore the land back to peace and redeem its inhabitants.
The final aspect of Aragorn’s comparison to the Messiah King depends on his mission to claim the throne of his predecessor, Isildur. Over the course of the novel, Aragorn’s mission changes form a fellowship member, the fellowship leader to the successor of Isildur, who seeks to claim kingship of Gondor. Aragorn’s mission to claim his kingdom is stated by Gandalf to Pippin when he says, “…it is scarcely wise when bringing the new of the death of his heir to a mighty lord to speak over much of the coming of the one who will, if he comes, claim the kingship” (LOTR, V/1). Aragorn seeks to claim his thrown in order to defeat Sauron and restore the splendor and glory of Middle Earth. This mission is no different from what Isaiah prophesized about. Isaiah assured the Israelites that they will be provided with a new king who will preside over the throne of his father David, rule with justice and restore the splendor of Jerusalem (Isaiah 9: 6–7).
In addition, the kinship of Aragorn takes after Christ’s kinship. Fuller states that the apocalyptic overtones surrounding the reclaim of the Aragorn’s kingship cannot be ignored since they are so similar to that of Christ. “The returning King they discover to have been their dear companion all the way, Aragorn the wandering ranger who has long guarded the world from dangers, who is believed to have strange powers of sight and hearing, who understands the languages of beasts and birds and in other ways might symbolized the kingship and he omniscience, omnipotence and loving omnipresence of Christ” (135). The statement Fuller makes about the kingship of Aragorn can be seen as one adapted from the prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah made many prophecies about Christ and his kingdom but the one which characterizes both Aragorn and Christ and altered by Fuller is: “He grew up before us like a tender shoot, and like a root out of the dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one form whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not “(Isaiah 53: 2–3). Yet, it was this very man who became the king of the world and reconciled us to God or as in the case of Aragorn, Middle Earth.
Having explored how the Messianic Kinship of Christ is that reflected in Aragorn’s life, it is now important to look at Frodo as the reflector of Messianic Priest in comparison to Christ.
The humble beginning of both Christ and Frodo also is first parallel between the two to be analyzed. In middle earth, there is the brave, the courageous and mighty, but the task to destroy the ring save that world rests in the hands on the shoulders of shoulders of a commoner, a hobbit. The hobbits are the race in Middle Earth which is not known to exist to the world outside of the Shire. Merry echoes that when he says to Treebeard, “We always seem to have got left out of the old lists, and the old stories” (LOTR, III/4). It is amongst these people that the redemption of Middle Earth would rest. It did not matter that Frodo did not possess what it would take to accomplish the task at hand. It is only Elrond and Gandalf who can understand the wisdom in the workings of the higher powers. Elrond echoed the words of Paul to the Corinthians to the members of council saying, “This is the hour of Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great. Who of all the Wise could have forseen it? Or, if they are wise, why should they expect to know it, until the hour has struck” (LOTR, II/2)? The Shire can be compared to Nazareth where Jesus comes from. According to the Nathanael, nothing good could come out of Nazareth (John 1:46). Contrary to what was believed about Jesus and Frodo, they were the ones who were chosen to save the world in which they live in. This
In the Lord of the Ring, three characters combined demonstrate the messianic symbolism of Christ. These characters are Argon, Frodo and Gandalf. Frodo is the priest, Aragon is King and Gandalf is Prophet.
Trudy Antwi October 30, 2008, at 01:57 PM
