|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cirashala
Doriath
Sat, 8:47pm
Post #1 of 2
(30 views)
Shortcut
|
|
Quote from Celebrimbor pisses me off- RANT
|
Can't Post
|
|
"I was there Elrond, the night your father set sail. A mortal man who believed he could convince the very gods to come to war in our aid. I heard your mother pleading with him not to go, asking him, imploring him, why must it be him? And do you know what he said? Because he was the only one who could do it."
~Celebrimbor, #RingsOfPower
This was posted in the ROP Facebook group, and it INFURIATES ME.
THEY'RE NOT GODS!!!!!!! 😡😡😡It's the BIGGEST pet peeve of mine with people who don't understand Tolkien or his works! There's only ONE God in Middle-earth, and that's Eru Iluvatar. The Valar are like archangels, serving Eru Iluvatar by stewarding the world He created in His mind. Tolkien SPECIFICALLY created his world as a monotheistic one, mirroring his Christian faith. Melkor is akin to Satan, and Sauron is a demon in service to Melkor.
While he disliked direct allegory himself, he has said repeatedly: "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 his world is structured the way it is- one God, His "servants of the Secret Fire" (Holy Spirit), His antithesis/fallen Angel (Melkor/Morgoth, and Sauron a demon/fallen angel who serves Melkor), the Valar (archangels), the Maiar (angels), the Istari/wizards (Maiar/specific angels), etc.
This is why Gandalf calls the balrog "A demon of the ancient world"- because it's LITERALLY a demon, one of the fallen Maiar who follow Morgoth (just like Sauron, only Sauron was the strongest/most powerful of the bunch).
One can compare the Valar to archangels, like Gabriel and others. The elves and dwarves' reverence for their chosen Valar (Elbereth/Varda, and Aule/Mahal, respectively) mirrors how Catholics will pray for intercession of the saints on their behalf.
You can deny the obvious Christian/Catholic themes within Tolkien's work all you want, but it's STILL a "Fundamentally religious and Catholic work", as stated BY THE AUTHOR HIMSELF.
Read the Ainulindale. The first part of the Silmarillion that details the creation of Arda. It's the closest treatise to Catholicism/Christianity and the closest area where Tolkien actually does draw allegory in his works. Read that, and what the Valar/Maiar ACTUALLY are, and the themes woven throughout the tales, and then tell me that it's not a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work". You CAN'T, not honestly.
If Celebrimbor actually calls the Valar gods in ROP, I will be FURIOUS. The elves, ESPECIALLY the Noldor who were IN VALINOR and spoke with the Valar directly, and they of all the denizens of Middle-earth would know BEYOND A DOUBT that the Valar are NOT GODS!
The showrunners claim to be intimately familiar with Tolkien, and yet they miss this very critical aspect of the world building? That's irritating!
I am just frustrated at how many within the fandom, even showrunners themselves, simply don't understand the world as Tolkien created it. You take out the fundamentally religious and Catholic work part of it, and you have essentially removed the VERY thing that is the fabric of the struggle of good vs evil within it, and WHY that struggle exists, and WHY the players are who they are!
It cheapens Tolkien down to the level of conjurer of cheap tricks wizardry, not the complex and rich, Catholic/Christian high fantasy that it is. That is what separates it from all the other "magic" worlds- the fact that there is a very real "magic" in the form of Eru's power, and the power that He, as the ONE GOD, has allocated to others. Saruman lost his power because he betrayed God, essentially, and Gandalf took his place, as the devout "servant of the Secret Fire".
Without the Christianity within it, that very powerful scene, and indeed the very fall of Numenor itself, is meaningless. Relegating it to the realm of Greek and Roman polytheistic, pagan mythos destroys what Tolkien's world actually is.
A fundamentally religious and Catholic work.
Tolkien, as a devout Catholic, would be rolling in his grave if he knew that those who represent his world to the rest of the real world have turned Middle-earth into a pagan pantheon.
Rant over.
My writing and novels:
My Hobbit Fanfiction
My historical novel print and kindle version
My historical novels ebook version compatible with all ereaders
You can also find my novel at most major book retailers online (and for those outside the US who prefer a print book, you can find the print version at Book Depository). Search "Amazing Grace Amanda Longpre'" to find it.
Happy reading everyone!
|
|
|
DGHCaretaker
Nargothrond
Sat, 11:19pm
Post #2 of 2
(24 views)
Shortcut
|
So a sacrilege of the writers? Is this more a story concern or a real-world faith concern that makes this point so vehemently?
The Ainur, before condensing from the ethereal vapor into the more corporeal branches of Valar and Maiar, are arguably gods. I don't recall, for example, whether Manwe was written as making himself physically manifest or just vaguely through manipulation of the air, etc.. It's easy to classify non-corporeal entities as omnipotent gods. Close enough. And characters are allowed to be written as making mistakes like this. And maybe the characters can be made to suffer later for their lack of respect? In the story, that is. We'd need to know the writers' intent. I have little to no "faith" in the writers, but I proffer this thought that it's the character rather than the writers because I feel generous today for sake of discussion.
|
|
|
|
|
