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Lecture Symposium Tackles
Tolkien and Terror
Dr. Ralph Wood explains
the Christian qualities
embedded in The Lord of the
Rings to students
during Campbell University's 2004 Annual Lecture
Symposium.
Photo by Bennett Scarborough |
J.R.R. Tolkien's world of
Middle Earth-a place filled with elves, hobbits, evil spirits, and
talking trees-might seem like a form of escapism from the world we live
in today, but according to Dr. Ralph Wood, that fairy-tale world
actually allows readers to face reality. Wood, professor of Christian
theology and literature at Baylor University in Waco, TX, explained some
of his views on Tolkien's work at Campbell University's 2004 Annual
Lecture Symposium on Tuesday, March 30. Wood is the author of the book
The Gospel According to Tolkien.
"The truth is that the
Rings constitute a
gigantic escape into
reality-out of the prison of terror and the culture of death through
a re-visioning of a redemptive way of life that can be discerned
within it," Wood said.
In a
lecture titled "J.R.R. Tolkien: Writer for Our Time of Terror," Wood presented
his view that Tolkien's work was a pre-Christian epic injected with a number
of Christian qualities.
Using
quotations from The Lord of the Rings,
Wood pointed out two important words in the text: errand and quest. For
Tolkien, Wood explained, an errand is not a simple task-it is a crucial
mission, a quest. Wood warned against comparing a quest to an adventure,
citing the adventure-driven culture of the present-day. "A quest is a place
where you never volunteer to go," Wood said. Wood also pointed out that Frodo
is not elected to carry out the quest for any special reason; he is just as
capable of evil as anyone. But the fact that he was chosen enables him to
carry out that mission.
To
illustrate the Christian quality of The
Lord of the Rings, Wood addressed many of the similarities to
Christian principles found within the work, including those of creation,
calamity, correction, and redemption.
Wood
discussed the nature of evil in the world of Middle Earth, a resistance and
refusal of the divine harmony that led to the creation of the Ruling Ring and
the subsequent terror that ensued. He connected the three corrupting powers of
the ring-the power to overcome death, the power to become invisible, and the
power to coerce the will of others-to issues being faced in modern-day
society.
Overcoming death, Wood explained, is something people are obsessed with in our
own time, as witnessed through scientific innovations that constantly seek to
prolong life. "The ring gives longevity of existence, but not quality of
existence," Wood said. "Isn't ours a world in which we're living longer and
longer but not better and better?"
Becoming
invisible represented the power of magic, which Tolkien viewed as evil. He
felt that magic was an attempt to speed things up out of their natural
process. For him, anything worth having was meant to be acquired slowly. Wood
explained that Tolkien himself was against many modern machines of his own
age, including the automobile, because he saw mechanization as an evil
shortcut around doing things best.
The
third great evil of the ring was its power to coerce the will of others. As
Wood explained, the ring does not just seduce those around it; it bullies
them, as when Frodo was finally overwhelmed by the ring's power in the end.
Wood compared the ring's coercive power to the totalitarian regimes in the
East as well as the totalitarian temptations in the West.
The
lecture symposium also included two panelists: Dr. William Tate, an associate
professor in Campbell University's English Department, and Dr. Adam English,
an assistant professor of Theology and Philosophy in Campbell's Department of
Religion and Philosophy. Following their comments, Wood fielded questions from
the audience.
The
evening was one of a number of events celebrating the inauguration of
Campbell's fourth president, Dr. Jerry McLain Wallace, which will take place
on Friday, April 2.
Founded in 1887, Campbell
University is North Carolina's second largest private institution of higher
education and the second largest Baptist university in the world. Located in
Buies Creek, NC, just east of the center of the state, Campbell combines
academic excellence and Christian commitment.
Bulletin 0089 |
