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Neat video.
Orthodox Priest & Tolkien Scholar, Fr. Andrew Damick unpacks the theme of the Divine Council in the Bible and how this theme even shows up in one of his favorite novels, The Lord of the Rings.
Why Is There a 'Council of Gods' in the Bible (& Lord of the Rings) If There Is Only One, True God?
Many might be surprised to learn (as I was many years ago) Catholicism is actually polytheistic. The difference from paganism is that Catholics do not worship the smaller gods.
(FYI, to put a finer point here, in Catholicism the Creator 'High God' is not a being per se, but is seen more as the 'Ground of Being' that makes all things. Basic Neoplatonism , just in another culture.)
J. R. R. Tolkien called the 'Lord of the Rings' a fundamentally religious and Catholic work. Fr. Andrew Damick is more inclusive and unpacks some of the hidden paganism in Tolkien's worldview.
I had to look this up, but on December 2, 1953,Tolkien wrote to his friend, the Jesuit priest Father Robert Murray, where Tolkien discusses the underlying religious nature of his work:
"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 customs, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism."
In 1913, while studying at Oxford, Tolkien encountered two lines in an Anglo-Saxon poem called Crist, written by the poet Cynewulf:
Eala Earendel engla beorhtast
ofer middangeard monnum sended.
("Hail Earendel, brightest of angels,
over middle-earth sent unto men.")
He later wrote:
"I felt a curious thrill, as if something had stirred in me, half wakened from sleep. There was something very remote and strange and beautiful behind those words, if I could grasp it, far beyond ancient English."
The name inspired Tolkien to create the character Earendil the Mariner, who travels to the undying lands to plead for the salvation of Elves and Men. In the Mythology of Middel Earth Earendil’s story became the key themes of The Silmarillion (mentioned in the video above). He eventually becomes a star - the Morning Star - carrying a Silmaril across the sky.
Some have pointed out the story of LoTR was directly inspired by the elves (the angels) in a series of visions to Tolkien, where they taguht him their langage and stories. Based on this, some argue Lord of the Rings is a literally divinely inspired work of art. Which could be why so many are so passionate about it.
Orthodox Priest & Tolkien Scholar, Fr. Andrew Damick unpacks the theme of the Divine Council in the Bible and how this theme even shows up in one of his favorite novels, The Lord of the Rings.
Why Is There a 'Council of Gods' in the Bible (& Lord of the Rings) If There Is Only One, True God?
Many might be surprised to learn (as I was many years ago) Catholicism is actually polytheistic. The difference from paganism is that Catholics do not worship the smaller gods.
(FYI, to put a finer point here, in Catholicism the Creator 'High God' is not a being per se, but is seen more as the 'Ground of Being' that makes all things. Basic Neoplatonism , just in another culture.)
J. R. R. Tolkien called the 'Lord of the Rings' a fundamentally religious and Catholic work. Fr. Andrew Damick is more inclusive and unpacks some of the hidden paganism in Tolkien's worldview.
I had to look this up, but on December 2, 1953,Tolkien wrote to his friend, the Jesuit priest Father Robert Murray, where Tolkien discusses the underlying religious nature of his work:
"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 customs, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism."
In 1913, while studying at Oxford, Tolkien encountered two lines in an Anglo-Saxon poem called Crist, written by the poet Cynewulf:
Eala Earendel engla beorhtast
ofer middangeard monnum sended.
("Hail Earendel, brightest of angels,
over middle-earth sent unto men.")
He later wrote:
"I felt a curious thrill, as if something had stirred in me, half wakened from sleep. There was something very remote and strange and beautiful behind those words, if I could grasp it, far beyond ancient English."
The name inspired Tolkien to create the character Earendil the Mariner, who travels to the undying lands to plead for the salvation of Elves and Men. In the Mythology of Middel Earth Earendil’s story became the key themes of The Silmarillion (mentioned in the video above). He eventually becomes a star - the Morning Star - carrying a Silmaril across the sky.
Some have pointed out the story of LoTR was directly inspired by the elves (the angels) in a series of visions to Tolkien, where they taguht him their langage and stories. Based on this, some argue Lord of the Rings is a literally divinely inspired work of art. Which could be why so many are so passionate about it.
