Fifty Years in the Blink of an Eye

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Fifty years ago today J.R.R. Tolkien died.  Here’s a link to the article that doesn’t have a paywall around it (to hell with the Murdochs).

A very old friend of mine sent this to me.  Tolkien’s creation of Middle Earth has turned out to be a reflection of the story of western civilization.  Because at its root it directs us to observe the choice between the sacredness of normal human life; existence under the biblical precepts; under God, as one choice.  And the other choice is nihilism and the lust for power and control; the collectivist model; life under the god-emperor.

Of course in our real world we’re not doing as well as Frodo and company.  Saruman and the orcs are firmly in control of what’s left of western civilization.  I suppose you could say it’s not over yet but to analogize our situation in tolkienian terms, Sauron’s wearing the one ring, Minas Tirith, Rivendell, Lothlorien and Edoras have been burned to the ground, the heads of all nine members of the fellowship of the ring are displayed on spikes over the gate of the Barad-dûr and the last hope for the West depends on the work ethic and attention to detail of Tom Bombadil.

In the essay the author seizes on the religious basis of Tolkien’s creation.  And that is something that many people today miss or ignore.  Middle Earth is a reflection of the Christian medieval model of the universe with Sauron and his minions as the fallen angels and Gandalf as an archangel sent to stave off the end of the world.  But consciously or not, Tolkien was reflecting the crisis of faith in the West.  He had fought in the trenches of the Great War and he saw that his civilization was committing suicide.  And he longed for a time before the machines had overpowered us.  Things of course have only gotten worse since his time.  And the analogies have only become more apt in our time.

But Tolkien has provided a beautiful tale that can inspire and cheer our hearts when we have the time to read it (or now watch it on the screen).  Fifty years!  Where did the time go?