In the beginning was Eru, the One, who also was called Iluvatar.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cAnd he made first the \u2026 Holy Ones, who were the offspring of his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made. And he spoke to them, propounding to them themes of music; and they sang before him, and he was glad.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
This \u201cGreat Music\u201d went out \u201cinto the Void, and it was not void.\u201d But something went wrong. The greatest archangel, Melkor (\u201cHe who arises in Might\u201d), became proud and rebelled. Great was his fall into evil and he became Morgoth (\u201cDark Enemy of the World\u201d). His chief servant was Sauron, who created rings of power to rule the world and \u201cOne Ring to rule them all.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
The rest is a long story. Like all myths, those who want to understand \u201cThe Lord of the Rings\u201d trilogy must start at the beginning \u2014 with the author\u2019s creation story in \u201cThe Silmarillion.\u201d J.R.R. Tolkien knew what he was doing in his tale of elves, dwarves, hobbits and men. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe Lord of the Rings,\u201d he wrote to a friend in 1953, just before book one was published, is \u201ca fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.\u201d Yet Tolkien also told Father Robert Murray it was his desire to stay theologically orthodox that led him to avoid being too specific, despite the biblical parallels in the creation story. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cThat is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like \u2018religion,\u2019 to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and into the symbolism,\u201d wrote Tolkien.<\/p>\n\n
The result is a stunningly ambitious myth, yet one that lacks the clear symbolism of an allegory or parable. Believers who share Tolkien\u2019s faith can follow the roots into Catholic imagery and tradition. Clearly the evil in Middle Earth is good that has been twisted and perverted. The humble are tempted, yet triumph through sacrificial love. One age passes away, before a glimpse of a world to come. There is much more. <\/p>\n\n
Yet millions have read an epic tale of non-doctrinal good vs. undefined evil \u2014 period. It all depends on one\u2019s point of view, especially when it comes time for other artists to re-create the myth with the help of a camera lens. When \u201cThe Lord of the Rings\u201d begins reaching theaters in December, will the myth remain centered in its creator\u2019s faith? <\/p>\n\n
\u201cTolkien could not create from nothing. Only God can do that. But he was able to sub-create an entire world using his imagination, his beliefs and his experiences in the world around him,\u201d said British writer Joseph Pearce, author of \u201cTolkien: Man and Myth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThat is certainly what he set out to do with \u2018The Lord of the Rings.\u2019 \u2026 But if you tear the myth away from Tolkien\u2019s worldview, then the story isn\u2019t going to make sense any more. It may, literally, become incoherent \u2014 a neo-pagan fantasy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
This is especially true since Tolkien\u2019s work includes images and ideas drawn from legions of myths, legends and traditions. His goal was to create a myth that combined elements of others, Pearce said, \u201cwith the whole story illumined from within by a Trinitarian, Christian light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n