Tolkien and 10 weapons against evil

J.R.R. Tolkien has a following that reaches across generations.  There aren’t many people of any generation who haven’t read the books or seen the films.  It spawned other fantastic adventure stories.

Tolkien credited his friend C.S. Lewis with encouragement to continue with his work on Lord of the Rings.  And C.S. Lewis credited Tolkien when Lewis was thinking about Christian faith  who suggested that the greatest story of all might, in fact, be true.

They were different in what they wrote.  C.S. Lewis is known as the greatest 20^th century Christian apologist.  His Narnian Chronicles are also a favorite.  They function as Christian allegory where Aslan, the lion, represents Christ.  J.R.R. Tolkien also expressed his faith in The Lord of the Rings. But instead of writing an allegory, Tolkien wrote a story which, according to his letters, included themes that were a part of his own Christian faith.

With appreciation to Peter Kreeft’s, Philosophy of Tolkien (Ignatius Press), I have used Kreeft’s inspiration of 10 weapons against evil, adding  quotes from Tolkien’s books and later letters.  The weapons are neither swords nor spells.  They are moral, spiritual and communal strengths that may look weak in comparison to brute strength, but end up being decisive.

1. Pity and mercy.  Bilbo is merciful toward Gollum, which is depicted as a hidden strength that may look like weakness.  (Later, so is Frodo).  “For now that I see him, I do pity him.”  In The Fellowship of the Ring, ch 2, The Shadow of the Past, “Many that live deserve death…do not be too eager to deal out death.”  Tolkien frames mercy as something evil cannot understand and so cannot defend against. In a 1963 letter, Tolkien reinforces pity and mercy has a providential role.
2. Humble courage.   The world is saved by Hobbits, the least powerful, but also the least power hungry.  In The Fellowship of the Ring, book 2, ch. 2, Frodo volunteers “I will take the Ring…though I do not know the way.”  Elrond declares the improbable: “it is “the hour of the Shire-folk.”  Sauron’s blindness is pride:  he cannot imagine anyone choosing to destroy power rather than seize it—so humility becomes a weapon.
3. Endurance against despair. The long journey, with all its hardships, fear, and despair itself becomes a battlefield.  The weapon is staying constant through all of it.  Frodo’ perseverance and Sam’s steady loyalty defeat evil’s strategy of exhaustion and loss of hope.   In The Return of the King, bk 6, ch 3, “He knew all the arguments of despair and would not listen to them.”
4. Friendship and fellowship. Evil isolates us and turns us inward with fear, suspicion and possessiveness.  The weapon against it is a shared burden.  In  The Return of the King, bk 6, ch 3, Sam says “I can’t carry it for you… but I can carry you.”
5. Hope beyond “optimism.” Tolkien distinguishes between hope and sunny optimism.  Hope is choosing to act rightly even without guarantees.  Tolkien uses the word “estel,” the deep conviction that good is worth fighting for, regardless of outcome.   The motive is not winning, but faithfulness. Aragorn embodies this high hope.  In The Return of the King, ch 2, The Land of Shadow, Sam has a star moment.   “In the end the shadow was only a small and passing thing.”
6. Renunciation of power/refusing domination. In The Fellowship of the Ring, bk 2, ch 7, “The Mirror of Galadriel,” Galadriel refuses the Ring.   “I pass the test…and remain Galadriel.”  So does Gandalf, Faramir and Aragorn, each of whom wins a key battle by not grasping
7. Moral integrity. Refusing “victory by the enemy’s weapon.”    In The Two Towers, bk 5, ch 5, The Window on the West, Faramir refuses to take the Ring even to save Gondor  “I would not take this thing … Not were Minas Tirith falling…”
8. Seeing through manipulation and propaganda. In The Two Towers, bk 3, ch 10, “The Voice of Saruman.”   “All that it said seemed wise and reasonable.”
9. Healing and restoration as the true counter to evil. In The Return of the King,  bk 5, ch 8, The Houses of Healing, “The hands of the King are the hands of a healer and so shall the rightful King be known.”
10. Providence/grace, the sudden joyous turn (eucatastrophe). In a letter to Eileen Elger in Sept 1963, he described Frodo as an instrument of Providence.  In Tolkien’s On Fairy Stories, he wrote: “I will call it “eucatastrophe.”  (how appropriate for a philogist!).

The closing words of Jesus in the Lord’s Prayer are deliver us from evil.  They remind us that life is difficult and not without dangers, toils, and snares.  Tolkien offered an incredible and entertaining story to the world, and so much more.