We Are Being Ruled By Saruman

 Perhps you have read the book by J.R.R. Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings. It is an epic tale of a thousand pages, or so it seems.  Maybe, instead, you like me have the movie adaptation of the Lord of the Rings (not the newest Jeff Bezos monstrosity.) But did you know it is a religions and very Catholic work? Each week at Crisis Magazine Joseph Pearce does a column on a particular work of great literature in a nutshell .  This week it is The Lord Of The Rings In A Nutshell.

Some of the symbology in The Lord of the Rings is obvious. Sauron is clearly the Devil, and the ring of power is Original Sin. Whoever puts the ring on becomes invisible to everyone else by becomes visible to Sauron. Mordor, where Sauron reigns is, of course, Hell itself.

The power of the Ring is, therefore, an allegorical depiction of the power of sin. The act of putting on the Ring is the act of sin. The Ring-wearer is living in sin. He becomes invisible to the good world that God has made, excommunicating himself from the light of goodness, truth, and beauty; but he becomes more visible to the demonic Sauron who rules wherever the shadow of sin shields the sinner from the light.

On the other hand, the one who bears the weight of the Ring, the weight of sin, without succumbing to its power, is bearing the cross. The Ring-bearer is the cross-bearer. In this sense, Frodo Baggins is both a Christ figure and a figure of one who follows Christ by taking up his cross. It is, therefore, not surprising that Frodo leaves Rivendell on December 25 and arrives at Mount Doom (Golgotha) on March 25, his journey matching the life of Christ from the Nativity to the Crucifixion.

But go read Pearce's article. It is not long, but unless you have made a study of Lord of the Rings, you may miss the the fundamental richness and religious nature of this entertaining tale.  If you haven't yet seen the original movie version, you can purchase it here.