The Mythology I Believe in

If people ask me if I read the Bible, I admit- not all of it. The New Testament in full, yes. The old testament, about a third. The prophets do not interest me one bit.
But I don't take the old testament seriously- it's a cultural collection of historical myth. The bits that claim to be the history of the Jewish people, all well and good, but they are no more honest than Geoffrey of Monmouth's history of the Kings of Britain, which chronicles all the ancient Kings of Britain, descendants of Trojan colonists, right the way up to King Arthur, final destroyer of the Roman Empire.

I love historical myth and legend. I find it fascinating that the current King of Sweden is Carl XVI, because a 16th century Swedish pseudo historian invented three thousand years of non existant Swedish kings, including six called Carl.

Hindu myth is interesting, as is Greek myth, but Celtic and Norse, far more so. Their tales breathe fantasy, but it's fantasy you can believe in- it feels real. Their capricious Gods, their otherworldly yet worldly elves and fairies.

When we read them, we see with our ancestors' eyes, there is no clear line where the age of legends ends and becomes the age of history.

And then, there is that strange series of legend that has a unique orgin.

One man did it in a lifetime.

One man sat down and CREATED a whole mythology and legendary history of the world.

And just as the pinnacle of Greek myth is the Iliad, of Roman myth, is the Aeneid, just as Norse myth is encapsulated in the Eddas, his mythology had it's pinnacle.

The Lord of the Rings.

It is not just a book.
It is a theological contribution of a Catholic thinker.

It even has within it, a Messiah for our age.

The Messiah of a generation which needs no human figures to worship.
It can listen to the Messiah of a fictional text.

He is our Buddha, our Zoroaster, our Gilgamesh.

Gandalf the Grey.

You see, devout Christians ask what Jesus would say.

Yes, I acknowledge Jesus as the greatest philosopher whoever lived.
But not as great as the wizard from the pages of fiction- who's wisdom defeated the Sauron impulse, defeated Mordor.



Because I don't believe in the Devil. But I do believe the Sauron impulse exists- the wish for power, for power's sake.

That's what we're fighting. That's what the Lord of the Rings says- fight the power impulse- power is dangerous, it is so hard to use it without being corrupted by it.

It is the clearest statement of what the battle between Good and Evil is all about, that has ever been made.

It describes the human condition. What are we? We can't be Gandalfs- that's the point, he is the Christ figure, so who are we?

Are we Frodo?
Are we Gollum?
Are we Galadriel?
Are we Saruman?
Are we Eomer?
Are we Boromir?
Are we Arwen?
Are we Eowyn?

I think the character I can emote to, is Boromir. I so feel for Boromir, because I would have succumbed the way he did. He has fought so long in the frontlines against evil, his heart is driven only be the need for victory against evil, and he cannot see what it is he opens himself up to.

But in life we meet Sams and we meet Aragorns too. They keep us on the straight and narrow, and maybe us Boromirs get to die protecting two hobbits after all.
Bormoir dies redeemed.

What a powerful message. Gollum. Gollum saves the world. And remember Gandalf's words...
'Pity? It was pity stayed his hand. Deserves to die, I dare say he does. Many that die deserve life. can you give it them? No. So do not be so eager to deal out death to others. Maybe, in same way we cannot understand, Gollum has his part yet to play in this tale.'(This may not be word for word correct- it's from memory)

That's the message of the Lord of the Rings too.
Don't hate- vengeance is not yours to give.

Gandalf is against the death penalty.
So, to be honest, I do often wonder what the old Wizard would have said to me. It is Gandalf who is the key sage in my worldview.



I am not really ashamed to say, I'm an LOTR nut. It IS a myth for our times, set three thousand years after the downfall of Atlantis, in the world before the Great Flood, but long after the explusion of Adam from Eden. It is the history of that age the Bible just spans in a few generations, but in this new mythology of pre-history, becomes the age of legend.

And how much BETTER a creation myth is the Silmarillion's 'Eru, the One, that is Illuvatar, said 'Ea', let it be, and the World was.', than any before or since.

It is the finest creation of all mythology and legend in human history.

It is out of all of them, the one most worthy of having serious adherants in the twenty first century.

It is the one that best describes the human condition.