That’s an interesting observation. I don’t think Tolkien would have minded technologies that were somehow organic with or integrated with nature. The elves are sort of like that, but in a way that leans magical. But I think (although at the moment I can’t produce a good example) they might have some non-magical technologies but that are integrated with nature. I think Tolkien might have embraced something that he didn’t see as destructive to nature.
I think one of my favorite bits of elvin “technology” on display was when Samwise and Frodo both let themselves down the precipice on the rope that Galadriel’s kin had woven for them. Sam was then sad at the thought of needing to leave the rope behind as it was tied to the stump way above and they had no way of getting it down too after they had let themselves down. So he gives it a sad “farewell tug” and to their astonishment (and Frodo’s consternation about what they had just been enrrusting their lvies to) the rope came loose and slithering down to them! But Sam was certain that the rope had Elvin properties of “knowing” what its masters needed. The fibers of it were also extremely repulsive to Gollum and presumably other evil creatures. Not your standard issue Home Depot rope.
But yeah - it would be just like elves to have tech made from natural stuff and with good spells woven in. Sometimes I think our real-world tech would probably be more of the orcish sort than the elven sort.
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Maybe Wendell Berry could advise on the development of non-magical, real-world, organic technologies that are more elvish than orcish. : )
I nominate bicycles.
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What a lovely nomination.
I second it!
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That’s a good one. However, we have an interesting example in our town of a difference of opinion on how advanced those should be. There are 2 Amish congregations–one to the east, and one to the west. One’s bishop says that they can use pedals, but the other says no–you have to limit them to scooting. Interestingly, though they don’t use city electricity, they do use advanced solar cells to make electricity (way better than we do!).
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Yeah… You’ve got watch that city-supplied electricity. I’ve heard they fluorinate the stuff. Also probably genetically modified to sneak vaccines into you through any devices you glance at. 5G will do that.
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These things (what is made of the, I mean) are utterly baffling to me. In our area (especially in church libraries) the Amish are highly romanticized. It is beyond my comprehension. Pedals or no is beyond a question of effect on the land or anything environmentally useful or spiritually useful. I am baffled by these considerations and what they stem from.
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Amish (at least generalizing from the explanation attributed to one particular Amish bishop) have tried to cultivate the habit of always asking “what effect would the presence of this item have on family and community?” And if the answer is something negative, then they may choose to restrict or reject that item accordingly. So, for example, if a particular bishop thinks that telephones will have a negative impact on family time around the table, they may choose to say - no telephones in the house. It isn’t that they think telephones are evil - and in fact they very much use them (down the street or at work).
So it could be that the particular bishop who didn’t like pedals had decided that if people could go too far on pedaled bikes - he felt some need to limit that for his community. Just speculating - and not saying these ruling bishops always make good decisions. But there usually is some motivation like that behind their policy. It’s them attempting to be masters of technology rather than slaves of it like all the rest of us. It’s ironic that they probably came closest to succeeding in that, at least in this country.
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The screenshot in the post of yours was what I was thinking of.
Oh, Merv! If I have given the impression that impression then shame on me! LotR isn’t “just a great story”, it’s a masterwork of Dwarven proportions. It’s a literary Sistine chapel, the speculative fiction equivalent of the Bayeux Tapestry. The Lord of the Rings changed the shape of Western High Fantasy forever to the degree that everything that comes is in many ways a footnote to Tolkien’s Worldbuilding Genius. He masterfully weaves together different narratives, character arcs, and the fates of people and places with glorious care. Not to mention it directly inspired Dungeons and Dragons and countless other games both board and video.
But there is more to it than just that. You see for me, the power and value of a story rests on the degree to which it reflects or deflects attention away from The Story of God’s rescue of his world and his people in the gospel. In that sense, Jesus is the hero with the face of a thousand, the hero that all our stories leave is either us wishing or wanting for good or bad. So you see, for me, Jesus is present in the Lord of the Rings to the extent that the story delights and glories in what is true, good, and beautiful. But I don’t need to find Jesus hiding under every rock in Fangorn forest or try to work out if Tom Bombadil represents John the Baptist(!) for that to be the case.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that all these so-called allusions to Jesus in the book cheapen its worth rather than enhance it. Since, in my opinion, it reduces the story and its multi-faceted brilliance to a bunch of weak foils that only exist to deliver a collection tired Christian Aesops - many of which crumble under closer inspection (cf. Samwise the Most Heroic). Rather I would argue, that if Aragon makes a person think of Jesus it is because the qualities of man and his actions make us long for the return of our true King.
All this is, of course, my opinion. As I have said before, if people want to see a figure of Christ’s office in Aragon, or anyone else, they are welcome to. I simply disagree, as I disagree that LotR is ‘just a great story’. 
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I think it is true of many (all?) great books that they do not beat you over the head with shallow allegories and symbolism, but interweave that in the story as we do in life. To me, Lewis’s Narnia was a too obvious to be interesting for adults, but of course, it was aimed more at children, so that can be forgiven. In my opinion, the best of Christian fiction is more like Robinson’s Gilead series, where flawed people show flashes of God’s love in their lives. Much the same in LOTR.
I watched the first two episodes of Rings of Power, it seems to have promise, but we will see if the scriptwriters can manage to retain a bit of Tolkien’s magic.
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Liam, this is gorgeously written! I’m bookmaking it, so I can reread it again, when I need a lift.
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Yes. Yes. Yes. I am averse to didactic stories. I love the frustrating, complex people of the Gilead novels. And the goodness of them in their frustrating complexity as well. And writing I find gorgeous to convey the stories is a delight.
I’ve enjoyed it so far. It does suffer from the Streaming Services’ paint-by-numbers approach in places, but if you approach it as a piece of multimillion-dollar fan-fiction then I find that helps 
. But some interesting themes have been kicked up, especially the extent to which Galadriel is willing to fulfil her oath.
Here is a very good video explaining some of the Christian themes in Lord of the Rings:
Christianity in the Lord of the Rings
Enjoy!
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Watched the whole thing. An interesting collection of fan theories, but I think a lot of them are rather superficial if I am honest. Sorry, I really did watch with an open mind, but I think most of them can be debunked by a careful reading of the book.
For example, Gandalf saying that he would return at dawn on the fifth day and Jesus saying he would rise on the third day is hardly a smoking gun. Especially, since Gandalf wasn’t dead nor did he return alone (ala Jesus), he was on a quest to find the banished Rohirrim. And what of the Ents who box in the Armies of Saruman just as Gandalf returns?
The thing the video misses about the Battle of Helm’s deep is that Saruman’s banked on Théoden fleeing to the ancient fortress knowing that its walls were thick but it had no functional exit. So he planned to trap them, breach the walls, and quash Rohan in one swift move. But in the end, it is Sarauman’s forces who become trapped between Rohan and the Elves in the front, the ents in the rear and Gandalf at the flank. In my opinion, the battle says more about the arrogance of evil and the power of putting aside old grievances to unite under the banner of goodness and justice than about the resurrection. Something I am sure those in the thread reflecting on the political lessons of the book for the US may appreciate.
There does, however, seem to be some merit to the theory that the Secret Fire was seen as representing the Holy Spirit in Tolkien’s worldbuilding:
This is an alternate name of the Holy Spirit in Tolkien’s mythos, like Eru is the name of God. Clyde S. Kilby mentions a discussion he had with Tolkien: “Professor Tolkien talked to me at some length about the use of the word ‘holy’ in The Silmarillion . Very specifically he told me that the ‘Secret Fire sent to burn at the heart of the World’ in the beginning was the Holy Spirit.” Source
I shall have to look more into it. Thanks again for sharing the video.
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At a family reunion, in talking to the husband of one of my wife’s many cousins, I found out that he (or some of his family, anyway) are of Amish extraction. It was pretty interesting, because it seemed that his understanding of rules for driving were a lot different from the rules around here. Your explanation makes a lot of sense. Thanks. (unfortunately, I did not wind up talking much more with him).
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There are scholars giving lectures at Christian colleges who are saying much the same thing.
A surprising appeal to authority from you, BeagleLady. There are, after all, scholars at Christian Colleges saying a great many things. But just because an idea is repeated often does not make true. Neither does teaching in a Christian College make one defacto correct. For example, if you can disagree with the many professors in Christian colleges explicating the virtues of Reformed Theology then I can disagree with them about their views on the LotRs, wouldn’t you agree?