This is how I always viewed Middle-Earth. Well, maybe not always. When I first read the books, I was a little surprised that my parents called the story 'Christian' when there was no clear 'Cross and resurrection' story in it, like there was in Narnia. Because back then, the only thing that made something truly 'Christian' to me was that kind of allegory. The story of the cross and resurrection was the only thing that counted in my mind. But by now, I've realized that Middle-Earth IS Christian and there ARE beautiful allegories. You just have to search a little deeper.
You could say that Tolkien's entire imagination is suffused with Christianity so thoroughly that he stitched it into the very shape of the story itself--he couldn't create anything but a Christian story because his faith was the (true) mythical pillar that undergirded all other myths. But, yes, it doesn't have the same "scene" of Aslan on the Stone Table. Narnia is wonderful, but Lewis is doing something very different than Tolkien.
You both are probably aware, but for anyone else following this thread and intrigued by this, the thesis of "The High Hallow: Tolkien’s Liturgical Imagination" by Ben Reinhard is precisely what Marc outlines in his comment here. I reviewed the book here:
This reminds me of a quote that I keep coming back to from Claudia Gray’s book Master & Apprentice:
“It matters,” Qui-Gon said quietly. “It matters which side we choose. Even if there will never be more light than darkness. Even if there can be no more joy in the galaxy than there is pain. For every action we undertake, for every word we speak, for every life we touch—it matters. I don’t turn toward the light because it means someday I’ll ‘win’ some sort of cosmic game. I turn toward it because it is the light.”
This is a brilliant synthesis of Tolkien’s themes and why I also choose to embrace his work.
This is how I always viewed Middle-Earth. Well, maybe not always. When I first read the books, I was a little surprised that my parents called the story 'Christian' when there was no clear 'Cross and resurrection' story in it, like there was in Narnia. Because back then, the only thing that made something truly 'Christian' to me was that kind of allegory. The story of the cross and resurrection was the only thing that counted in my mind. But by now, I've realized that Middle-Earth IS Christian and there ARE beautiful allegories. You just have to search a little deeper.
You could say that Tolkien's entire imagination is suffused with Christianity so thoroughly that he stitched it into the very shape of the story itself--he couldn't create anything but a Christian story because his faith was the (true) mythical pillar that undergirded all other myths. But, yes, it doesn't have the same "scene" of Aslan on the Stone Table. Narnia is wonderful, but Lewis is doing something very different than Tolkien.
You both are probably aware, but for anyone else following this thread and intrigued by this, the thesis of "The High Hallow: Tolkien’s Liturgical Imagination" by Ben Reinhard is precisely what Marc outlines in his comment here. I reviewed the book here:
https://jrrjokien.substack.com/p/the-high-hallow-review-lotrlego-book
This reminds me of a quote that I keep coming back to from Claudia Gray’s book Master & Apprentice:
“It matters,” Qui-Gon said quietly. “It matters which side we choose. Even if there will never be more light than darkness. Even if there can be no more joy in the galaxy than there is pain. For every action we undertake, for every word we speak, for every life we touch—it matters. I don’t turn toward the light because it means someday I’ll ‘win’ some sort of cosmic game. I turn toward it because it is the light.”
💫