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Gaby Taylor
Mr. Olszyk
Jesus Christ and the New Evangelization
13 Mar 2015
"If You Liked It Then You Should Have Put a Ring On It" by the Ringwraiths
The Lord of the Rings, written by J.R.R. Tolkien and made into movies by Peter
Jackson, is an epic trilogy ultimately about the battle between good and evil. It is all
centered around a ring, known as the Ring of Power. With this ring, Sauron, the ruler of
evil, has the ability to take over all of Middle-earth. Gandalf formulates a fellowship of
creatures, such as dwarves and elves, to take this ring back to Mordor - where it was
created - and destroy it. However, it isn't any of the creatures in this fellowship that can
destroy the ring itself. A humble hobbit is selected to take the ring back to the origin of
evil. His journey is not without its struggles, of course, but then again, neither is the
Gospel. And The Lord of the Rings is a story that subversively represents the Gospel and
the history of our faith. Just as in Christianity, The Lord of the Rings demonstrates that
good always conquers evil through sacrifice.
The first important theme in this work is that good will always defeat evil. Tolkien
makes it clear that no matter how hopeless the situation gets, evil has already lost. As
Samwise Gamgee says, ". . . there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth
fighting for" (Tolkien). Christians must continue fighting the battle against evil and sin, so
that it never has the impression it has won. The second important theme in this work is that
true love is sacrifice. In order for good to beat evil, sacrifice is necessary. These sacrifices
are evident throughout the whole story of The Lord of the Rings - as it is throughout the

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whole Gospel. Tolkien once claimed that "The Lord of the Rings began implicitly as a
Catholic novel, but as it unfolded, it became explicitly Catholic" (Barron). As Tolkien
discusses this story of good versus evil, it soon becomes clear the Gospel was the ultimate
inspiration. These books and movies are so popular because people believe Tolkien to be
an escapist author: his work "enables its readers to flee from the horrors of modern life, to
find refuge in a mythical and unreal world" (Wood 1). However, Tolkien was a soldier
during World War I, so he witnessed suffering and evil first hand. This helped him better
write about such evil that plagues society today, and in turn, through this story, forces his
readers to confront evil to defeat it.
The characters in this story symbolize characters in the Gospel. However, there is
not one single Christ figure. Many of the characters that fight on the side of good embody
Christ-like characteristics. But there are four main characters that strongly represent Christ.
Frodo, Gandalf, and Aragorn symbolize the biblical priest, prophet, and king (Barron).
Christ is the priest, prophet, and king. Frodo is the priest, because he must make the
sacrifice. He must give up his life to save Middle-earth. Likewise, Jesus sacrifices his life
for all of humanity. Also, Frodo doesnt bring a large army to Mordor; he sneaks in and can
go straight to the heart of darkness to destroy the ring, and thus, darkness. Jesus can
wander into our hearts, go straight to the darkness and sin, die our death, and thereby
disempower it. Next, Gandalf is the prophet because he is the character full of wisdom and
teaches the others what to do. Similarly, Christ came and taught his Apostles what to do.
Also, Gandalf battles a great dark figure, tumbles down into the abyss. He dies and rises as
Gandalf the White. Before he falls and dies, he states that he fights for the shadow of fire
(Barron). This represents the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit fights for good - and ultimately

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wins. Finally, Aragorn represents the king. Aragorn is both literally the king - because of
his ancestry - and metaphorically the king. Aragorn leads the fellowship and is able to
make decisions based on what he knows is best. Jesus is the king of Heaven and Earth. He
didn't come in the king-like form expected of him; rather, he came humbly. Aragorn is
humble in all his actions. Also, just like Christ, Aragorn goes to the realm of the dead and
calls them back to fight. When Jesus died, he descended into Hell as well. While Frodo,
Gandalf, and Aragorn all represent Christ in some form, so does Samwise Gamgee. Sam is
the quiet almost-sidekick to Frodo. But at the end, when Frodo must throw the ring in the
fire, he is ultimately seduced by the ring. It is only because of Sam that the ring is
destroyed. Sam's truly humble nature protects him against the power of the ring.
Just as there are evil people in the Gospel, there are evil characters in this story.
Sauron represents sin and the devil. He is an eye that can see all, but the eye lacks
substance. Similarly, sin lacks substance. In fact, sin is not a thing; rather, it is a lack of a
thing. This motif is seen in the other creatures as well. Gollum, through his own sin,
became a deformed hobbit. He lost the hobbit qualities due to sin. The Orcs are deformed
elves. They were once majestic creatures but chose to sin, and therefore lost their beauty.
Even the Ringwraiths symbolize sin, as they are just a cloak with nothing inside. All of
these evil characters represent sin, but they also are reflections of things from this history of
Christianity. Sauron represents the devil, as he fell from goodness. The orcs are the fallen
angels, the demons. The Ringwraiths represent our daily temptations. They seem like
nothing scary, but once you give into sin they have a hold of you. The cloaks aren't too
scary by themselves, but once one gives into the power of the ring, the Ringwraiths

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themselves can locate the ringbearer and take them. Finally, Gollum represents what we
become. By falling into sin constantly, we as humans lose ourselves.
The battle between good and evil is at the heart of this story. The good must defeat
the evil for the sake of Middle-earth. Similarly, Christ had to defeat sin and death for all
mankind. He did this by allowing the evil of the world to spend itself on him. Frodo had to
ultimately undertake this sacrifice. He had to give up his life in the Shire to travel into the
heart of darkness and destroy the object of sin: the ring. The interesting similarity between
the Gospel and The Lord of the Rings is that in each circumstance, when evil must be
defeated, the good side doesnt pick a great warrior or some powerful king. They pick the
smallest and humblest people: a baby in the case of the Gospel, or a hobbit in the case of
The Lord of the Rings. Through their willingness to give themselves away in love, this
makes them the greatest people. And through sacrifice, good defeats evil, just as God
determined in the beginning.
Both the books and the movies are excellent portrayals of its religious subject
matter. These books tell the story of the Gospel, tell "our" story. But rather than outright
repeating the Gospel, Tolkien embeds the Gospel as the underlying theme of his book, with
its deep background and implicit hope. A common complaint against people who interpret
this work in Christianity is that since it contains no formal religion, they are wrong to find
any traces of the Gospel in his book. However, the religious significance arises out of its
plot and characters, its images and tone, its landscape and point of view - not from any
heavy-handed moralizing or preachifying (Wood 4). Because of the subversive nature of
the work, The Lord of the Rings is very popular. People all over the world enjoy the movies
and British readers still consider the books to be the most popular yet. The best part about

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this work is that it doesnt say to believe or not believe. Rather, it tells the story of what it
is Christians believe in. In todays secular society, hiding the message of the Gospel in this
mystical and fantastical epic allows the Word to be spread; oftentimes without people
realizing it.

Works Cited
Barron, Fr. Robert. Fr. Robert Barron on The Lord of the Rings. Online video clip.
YouTube. YouTube, 11 May 2007. Web. 05 Mar 2015.
J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings. Ballantine Books, New York. Copyright 1954-1974.
Volume I. The Fellowship of the Ring.
Volume II. The Two Towers.

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Volume III. The Return of the King.
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood and Ian
McKellen. New Line Home Entertainment, 2004. DVD.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood
and Ian McKellen. New Line Home Entertainment, 2001. DVD.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood and Ian
McKellen. New Line Home Entertainment, 2003. DVD.
Wood, Ralph C. The Gospel According to Tolkien: Visions of the Kingdom in Middle-Earth.
Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2003. Print.