The third rail of Fantasy literature is whether or not The Lord of the Rings is a Christian work. And Jack Posobeic decided to test that assumtion by licking the rail.
The Hobbit? It’s a frickin’ book for kids. What? Are we now going to condemn Goodnight Moon as being some sort of pagan lunar worship?
Dude. It’s a work of fiction.
Anyway, here’s an image of the post in question:
Yes, he actually called Lord of the Rings “pagan.” There’s a video embedded in that tweet.
I’ve generally grown tired of Con Inc. and their YouTube-level edgelordery. They’re not entertaining (as opposed to Rush Limbaugh, who WAS entertaining). Many of them seem like plants from the DNC. Moreover, they are about as effective with messaging and getting things done as old-guard Republicans. You know, the people who only have their jobs because the Democrats are batsh*t crazy.
Moreover, all of these edgelordery traits are being used to effectively undermine long-standing beliefs within what was once a traditional Anglican culture. You know, the stodgy stiff upper lip type stuff. You know, the culture and beliefs held by people who actually fought wars, saw their countrymen slaughtered en masse, only to come home and work the coal mines or drive a cab. Then, if they were lucky, they’d retire on a pension.
Needless to say, I’ve had Jack Posobeic blocked on X for a while now. I forgot the reason. Probably because he was belching out some dumb crap. This controversy only reaffirms the wisdom of that decision.
The other side of this coin is the Tolkien devotees (which I also am) and self-described Tolkien “scholars.” These are the guys who live and breathe everything Tolkien. They know his letters backward and forwards, and can recite passages from The Lord of the Rings with a skill that would even make Alan Lee blush. And when you jump on Tolkien, they come for you with pitchforks and torches in hand.
Trust me, I learned this the hard way. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t discuss Tolkien anymore on author panels. SOMEONE in that crowd will correct you, even if they are wrong.
Despite this, the corps of Tolkien diehards is one of the reasons why publishers fear touching The Lord of the Rings like they have other works. The backlash would be hot and heavy. Something that poor Jack is learning now.
Are The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit pagan stories? The answer is: no. They’re frickin’ fictional accounts. BY THEIR NATURE, they’re fictional accounts. Are they fundamentally Catholic works?
Well, that one isn’t a lock either.
Mind you, I’m one of those guys who subscribes to the belief that The Lord of the Rings doesn’t contain any religious significance whatsoever. I mean, it certainly contains elements of Tolkien’s faith, especially revolving around subjects such as beauty, grace, and mercy. It also works with bold colors when it comes to good and evil. Elves good. Orcs bad. M’kay?
But elements like a Christ figure, Salvation (which actually occurs in the text, namely Boromir), forgiveness, and even Divine Will appear in the book. In fact, some of this is echoed in the first book of The Silmarillion. I mean, like, it’s right there.
The Hobbits = David. Sauron = Goliath. Sauron didn’t give the Hobbits a second thought. He was too busy concentrating on the Elves and Men, and too arrogant to think a bunch of small folk posed any threat. Kinda like Goliath’s arrogance when confronting David.
Seriously, how can you not see this?
And Gandalf’s remark to Frodo, “It was pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand.” Guys? The pagans were not big into pity.
The March of the Ents? That was actually inspired by Macbeth. It’s not exactly a pagan work.
But, okay, if this is a pagan work, show me Odin, Freya, Thor, and Loki.
Don’t bother. They’re not there.
Tolkien was a man of his time. Both he and C. S. Lewis had similar sentiments regarding myths and legends and were well-versed in the classics. That doesn’t mean that they were embracing pagan ideas (especially when Catholic schools TAUGHT these things). These sentiments were part of the lost Romantic era of writing. No, I’m not talking Harlequin romances. Narnia and The Lord of the Rings were both considered works from the Romantic era. You can look this up for more details.
These guys were classicists. Meaning they knew and studied the classics. Much of their writing was influenced by the classics. It didn’t mean that both of them bowed down and worshipped Athena. Someone tell Jack this before he goes off half-cocked and says something along those lines.
And the irony here is that C. S. Lewis actually put mythological creatures into his Narnia books. Yet, Posobeic chose Tolkien as the hill to die on. Honestly, I’d love to see one of these vapid talking heads say the same thing about Lewis. You know, one of THE most recognized Christian apologists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Tolkien played a significant role in the conversion of C. S. Lewis to Christianity, by the way.
Tolkien was also a Roman Catholic traditionalist. I believe he was up in arms over Vatican II and was a big supporter of the Latin Mass.
Yeah, a real pagan-loving guy.
Likewise, Posobeic isn’t taking shots at Lewis, no doubt because of Aslan. That and the fact that Lewis’s apologetics was quite extensive. No doubt, because people would be throwing copies of the Screwtape Letters at Jack’s head, everywhere he went. It’s probably the only form of literature the guy knows. Whatever.
But now, Posobeic is getting curb-stomped by the Tolkien fan club. It’s kinda funny to watch. Hence, we see the third rail of literature in action—the literary nerd-rage of the Tolkien devotees. The very same rage that kneecapped The Rings of Power (and rightfully so), and forced a rewrite of one of the Lord of the Rings movies when the fans found out that Arwen would be fighting at Helm’s Deep. I mean, that was back when we had directors who actually cared about the source material.
I suspect that Jack assumed his remarks would be seen as a backhand to Steven Colbert, who is supposedly going to write the latest lackluster Middle Earth fanfic to slop its way out of the entertainment sector. If it was, maybe it’ll teach ol’ Jack to take better aim. Because the same fans that are dogpiling on Posobeic right now are going to be the same people trying to corner the market on tar and feathers after Colbert’s second-rate garbage hits a screen somewhere.
Is The Lord of the Rings a Christian book? I don’t believe so. The guy who wrote it was very Christian. There are some Christian themes in there. Was it pagan? Pffth! No.
It’s a story. I’ll let the good professor tell you in his own words (the foreword of the second edition of The Lord of the Rings):
…as for any inner meaning or 'message', it has in the intention of the author none. It is neither allegorical nor topical. As the story grew it put down roots (into the past) and threw out unexpected branches: but its main theme was settled from the outset by the inevitable choice of the Ring as the link between it and The Hobbit.
…and…
Other arrangements could be devised according to the tastes or views of those who like allegory or topical reference. But I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse 'applicability' with 'allegory'; but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.
If we are to believe the good professor here, Jack has pagan thoughts.
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