Just finished reading a long, very boring article on the religious symbology in the "Lord of the Rings" movies (and books) in an online literary journal. I think I can sum it up much more simply. We identify with these stories because, for one, Tolkien created a unique world in Middle Earth, and the stories deal with archetypes ("an inherited pattern of thought or imagery based on collective past experience and present in the collective subconcious") that are universal. With themes of good and evil, white and black, the heroes rise above their circumstances and do that which is possible within us (which is God-given).
Good always wins. This may not always seem apparent, but good always prevails. Those that hate have already lost; they're lost by virtue of what they are and their separation from God.

There, my summary of the religious symbology in the "Lord of the Rings."

---

Now, I know I said before that this wouldn't be a political blog, but I just had a thought to share. I think that Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh should get married and go on a very long honeymoon. Out of the country. Where? To France, of course. The French countryside, where they'll find a charming old farmhouse in need of renovation. They'll write books about their experience and how they're learning to get along with the villagers, none of whom speak English. They get along with the villagers very well. So they write their books (something akin to Peter Mayle's "Year in Provence" series) and find themselves so deliriously happy in their adopted home that when at last we hear from them, they'll share their experience of how they've adopted three ethnically-diverse orphans and live a happy, idyllic life. The end.

▼ Comment on this post...