Bringin' it back to Wolfe by the long road

Alan Lewis · 18 Apr 2007, 01:17 · from 2007-April.txt.gz

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From: alanarc1 at optonline.net (Alan Lewis)
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 21:17:25 -0400
Subject: (urth) Bringin' it back to Wolfe by the long road
References: <869511.1580.qm at web32415.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <028e01c78157$535ed450$2a287645@VALUED7B9600FA>

>> Only in the same limited sense that Middle-Earth is
>> "Christian."
>>
>> There is no Christ, no Theoanthropos.

>
> Except that an argument can be made that Able is the
> Christ figure.  Or Severian. Or Silk. Or Latro. That
> at least gives it an overtly Christian template.
> Tolkien's world doesn't possess this, only vaguely
> Judeo Christian values presented as a sort of Natural
> Law.
>
> Don

Okay, I'm not as die-hard a Tolkien scholar as some here seem to be, but 
turnabout is fair play with this point.  I would plausit an equally valid 
argument could be made for any of the main heroes from LOTR for a Christ 
figure for that matter.  Gandolph sacrifices himself for his friends and 
comes back from the dead.  Frodo bears the burden of carrying the ring to 
save the world, and 'dies' and comes back on the wings of eagles.  Aragorn 
travels through the land of the dead and harrows hell.  All loosely speaking 
of course, but these people all seemed Christ-like to me in the exact same 
way that Able, Severian, and Silk did.  I'd be curious to have Don expound 
on how Latro is.

Alan

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