I was recently fascinated to learn that J.R.R. Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings, was friends with C.S. Lewis, the prominent Christian author famous for the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe series.
I dug a little more, and learned that they attended school together and even dedicated books for one another (the next book on my reading list is The ScrewTape Letters by C.S. Lewis and it is dedicated to Tolkien).
It is pretty cool that two of the most famous fantasy authors of all time, not only lived at the same time, but were in the same place, and were friends.
I had heard before that Tolkien’s the Lord of the Rings, was a Christian novel, but it certainly is not a clear allegory, like The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. The problem with this is that you can make just about any book say what you want it to say if you have the proper amount of imagination, and it is not clearly trying to say something.
So, any attempt to super impose a Christian theology over Tolkien’s epic trilogy is usually pretty disappointing.
Then, the other day, I was reading a book about an ancient First Nations RainMaker. It is a fiction but the author is someone who I highly respect as a spiritual person.
His account of the RainMakers ability to be open to his senses, to not let the hard edges of knowledge box him in, and to see and feel nature as a whole, gave me a short shock.
I saw the Eye of Sauron.
I have no problem with this idea of Oneness in Nature and the Universe. I believe it exists and that people can tap into it. This is not where the evil eye comes from.
The evil eye sees you when you put on this ring. As soon as you begin to understand and grasp at the incredible power of the One, evil takes note.
In fact as soon as a human beings get any kind of power, the Eye of Sauron beckons.
The urge to exalt yourself becomes great. There are an exceptional few who can bare the weight without breaking. It is impossible for most of us to not think we are better than other people in some kind of way, even if we are pathetic.
Imagine the incredible weight of having peace that passes all understanding, all powerful love, and wisdom that solves all problems, and resisting the urge to feel superior.
Jesus also says many times that if we believe in him we will have his powers. We can ask for anything from God and it will be ours.
The reason I think we don’t have those powers is that believing in Jesus means we need to fully deny anything resembling pride or love for ourselves. So much so that we would be willing to die to help another person.
This kind of ability is the only kind of ability that would be able to resist the evil eye once you joined into the true power of the oneness of God.
The meaning of the Ring
I certain that the ring in Lord of the Rings represents this all powerful knowledge of the Oneness of God. I recently read a few books by C.S. Lewis and have been continually blown away by his understanding of things.
There is no doubt to me that Lewis’s heart was in the possession of God, and it would make sense that Tolkien also had this understanding.
It is so cool for the two of them to be able to have had each other to talk to. It is also cool that of all the millions of science fiction books, their books, with these inlaid messages of gold were the ones to survive.
It makes me think that even those of us who are not RainMakers have the ability to sense when there is quality in something.
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