Christ Permiates Tolkien's Middle Earth

I love Tolkien, period.

CS Lewis gives you a symbol (Aslan), makes him a lion, gives a chuckle, and says, "Want to guess who this is supposed to be, haha, snort. Tolkien thinks more of you and as Lewis comes down to your level to talk to you, Tolkien comes down but then lifts you up his level. Tolkien respects your intelligence, your grasp of subtelty, and basically your ability to comprehend great eternal truth without being spoon fed like a baby.

In the Chronicles of Narnia CS Lewis' Christ figure is obvious; it is Aslan the Lion who is the Son of the Emperor beyond the Sea (Lion of the tribe of Judah; Son of God). In The Lord of the Rings, Christ is not isolated to one individual, I believe, and he is not supposed to be. Tolkien infuses the good in Middle Earth with the distant but yet distinctly real light our Lord. Christ is not Aragorn, Gandalf, Frodo, or any of the others...yet I believe he can be distinctly discovered in all of the characters.

In Aragorn the obvious symbolism of Christ as King is apparent and yet Aragorn cannot be Christ, he is flawed and marred just like all men in Middle Earth. Yet, it is clear that Christ's power of kingship rests on him. He provides healing, he walks through the very gates of death, and he commands allegiance by an example more powerful than any words. Truly, the Messiah as King can be seen in the life of Aragorn. Gandalf glimpses Christ as Prophet, and plays a prophetic intermediary role throughout the epic while Aragorn is assuming his identity and while Frodo is seeking to destroy the Ring. Gandalf is not perfect either having a certain love for the halflings' weed and not always being the most patient individual in the world. Yet, Gandalf wields power on behalf of the good like the great prophets of the Old Testament and is used to encourage the people the stand firm. Frodo to me displays Christ as Priest, Frodo must sacrifice himself and all that he has to destroy the Ring, the symbol of universal sin and the power the evil one has over all men (Sauron is not Satan though, but only a minion which is interesting to me). Frodo will covet the Ring and he will believe false counsel, but in the end his clear sacrfice in giving up the Ring and ending the power of Sauron cannot be ignored.

The minor characters also take on various aspects of Christ and his connection to his world. The Elves (who are presented as part of the good) show God's affinity for his natural creation. The dwarves show God's affinity for resourcefulness and creativity. The halflings show God's love for the relationship and simplicity. Christ and the Gospel can be seen throughout the Lord of the Rings (though imperfectly), in my view, because Tolkien intended to blanket it with so much you did not notice he was doing it.

That makes him greater, in my view, than CS Lewis and a whole lot less bizzare the Charles Williams.