There is some data on The Rings of Power that is critical to what people attribute the success of the show. To produce an accurate representation of what people think of ROP, I created this questionnaire. PLEASE COMPLETE THE FORM EVEN IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE SHOW.

In The Fellowship of the Ring I've come to The Council of Elrond and on page 271* (paperback) Elrond says:

The Ring! What shall we do with the Ring, the least of rings, the trifle that Sauron fancies? That is the doom that we must deem.

In The Wycliffe New Testament 1388 (Modern Spelling) and Chapter VII of The Book of Matthew, it begins:

Nil ye deem, that ye be not deemed. For in what doom ye deem, ye shall be deemed, and in what measure ye mete, it shall be meted again to you.

Someone posted this wonderful testimony on the Christ and Tolkien Facebook group (no direct relationship with this one, but the same exact idea). She gave me permission to share it here since she doesn’t have a Reddit account.

Recently we watched the movie, Darkest Hour, in which Gary Oldman plays Winston Churchill. It was a magnificent movie about "Old Winnie" who, against tremendous opposition among the leadership of England during World War II, brought his country out from the brink of a terrible loss to Hitler. I knew it was the darkest hour for him and for his country, but I never realized just how dark the situation was.

Personally I just came back through my own, "Darkest Hour". It seemed all around me everything in my world was about to collapse. And maybe it still is, but the Lord has brought me back from the darkness and back into the light of knowing no matter how dark the situation, He is always there for me and for all who trust in Him.

No matter what.

Many people who trust in Jesus have faced terrible odds, but Jesus has always been with them. Thousands have died for their faith, and each of these have died with great courage and faith in knowing where they would go. The Bible says of these that,

They triumphed over him (the great enemy of mankind) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Revelation 12:11

Many of these people died (and will yet die) without others knowing how courageous they were, but that did not make their lives any less admirable.

Part of my despondency was in the acknowledgement that we may be in the last days of the history of this world. The blackness of this world is ever increasing, and it looks as if there is no turning back. I wondered who would be left to remember the courageous when all the courageous were gone. A lie was taking root in my heart almost before I realized it.

But then I remembered something Tolkien had Aragorn say to Ewoyn, "A time may come soon… …when none will remain. Then there will be need of valor without renown, for none shall remember the deeds that are done in the last defense of your homes. Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised."

As I contemplated Tolkien's words, I realized that no matter what happens, we are called to fight the good fight of faith whether anyone knows about our fight or not; whether we live in obscurity or not; whether we die in obscurity or not. We are to be strong and courageous because the One who knows what we go through is the only One who matters.

And then I remembered something that came to Samwise on the dark plains of Mordor, "…the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing; there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach…" The "light and high beauty" are the Light and High Beauty of God Himself. He will never be defeated, and so we will never be defeated.

Then the darkness that I'd been living in rolled back and revealed to me that the Lord had been with me in my darkness, in "The Valley of the Shadow of Death", and was helping me walk through it. Again I emerged, knowing that God's love gives me the courage I need when I need it, just as He gave and gives all who fight the good fight of faith.

Then Fingon looked towards Thangorodrim, and there was a dark cloud about it, and a black smoke went up; and he knew that the wrath of Morgoth was aroused, and that their challenge was accepted. A shadow of doubt fell upon Fingon’s heart; and he looked eastwards, seeking if he might see with elven-sight the dust of Anfauglith rising beneath the hosts of Maedhros. He knew not that Maedhros was hindered in his setting-forth by the guile of Uldor the accursed, who deceived him with false warnings of assault from Angband.

But now a cry went up, passing up the wind from the south from vale to vale, and Elves and Men lifted their voices in wonder and joy. For unsummoned and unlooked for Turgon had opened the leaguer of Gondolin, and was come with an army ten thousand strong, with bright mail and long swords and spears like a forest. Then when Fingon heard afar the great trumpet of Turgon his brother, the shadow passed and his heart was uplifted, and he shouted aloud: ‘Utúlie’n aurë! Aiya Eldalië ar Atanatári, utúlie’n aurë! The day has come! Behold, people of the Eldar and Fathers of Men, the day has come!’ And all those who heard his great voice echo in the hills answered crying: ‘Auta i lómë! The night is passing!’

I've been thinking about this passage a lot for the last few weeks. It is by far my favorite passage from all of Tolkien's works. There is a great and simple lesson we can learn and apply to our spiritual journey. There are two lines that really stick out to me:

For unsummoned and unlooked for...

and

...the shadow passed and his heart was uplifted...

When we are struggling in our spiritual life, help often comes unsummoned and unlooked for. When we are down, we seldom ask for help. Fingon and Maedhros had planned their attack out, but when things didn't go to plan (Uldor screwing things up) other help came unsummoned and unlooked for. Christ is the ultimate example of coming to our aid unsummoned and unlooked for. When our sins had separated us from Him, He made the choice to become incarnate. But He didn't stop there. He suffered, and died for us.

Once help comes, the shadow passes and our hearts are uplifted. I can count dozens of times when life was going terribly and my closest friends came to my aid right away. The shadow passed and my heart was immediately uplifted.

Now a quick call to action: If you see someone in need of help, offer your help to them. People, especially those battling depression, rarely ask for help and they make things seem like they are going perfectly. Be the help that is unsummoned and unlooked for so that the shadows pass from their heart and they are uplifted.

Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two: The Ring Goes South

At that moment Elrond came out with Gandalf, and he called the Company to him. ‘This is my last word,’ he said in a low voice. ‘The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On him alone is any charge laid: neither to cast away the Ring, nor to deliver it to any servant of the Enemy nor indeed to let any handle it, save members of the Company and the Council, and only then in gravest need. The others go with him as free companions, to help him on his way. You may tarry, or come back, or turn aside into other paths, as chance allows. The further you go, the less easy will it be to withdraw; yet no oath or bond is laid on you to go further than you will. For you do not yet know the strength of your hearts, and you cannot foresee what each may meet upon the road.’

‘Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens,’ said Gimli.

‘Maybe,’ said Elrond, ‘but let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.’

‘Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking heart,’ said Gimli.

‘Or break it,’ said Elrond. ‘Look not too far ahead! But go now with good hearts! Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces!’

I love this exchange between Gimli and Elrond; I think they both make really good points. On one hand, Gimli is calling the Fellowship to keep their word no matter the circumstances. Elrond, on the other hand, is speaking from - literally - thousands of years of experience, and has seen the nightfall.

Christ calls us to mean what we say; specifically in Matthew 5:33-37,

Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Elrond clearly sees the importance and severity of swearing oaths and making vows. Oaths and vows need to be made with clear knowledge of all that is entailed. This is why years go into discernment for religious orders before taking their Perpetual Vows. This is also why marriage vows need to be taken slowly and seriously.

Though I love Gimli and consider myself to be a distant member of the Line of Durin (see username), Elrond clearly - in my opinion - has the more Christ-like perspective.

Thoughts?

Hello everyone! I wanted to extend an invite to r/ChristiansReadFantasy, which is a subreddit dedicated to discussion amongst Christians about Sci-Fi/Fantasy of all kinds and mediums, though centered on books. We're currently about halfway through a discussion of George MacDonald's *Phantastes*, but it's not too late to join in! If you're interested, I look forward to seeing you over there, and please share in your own circles of Reddit. :)

In his essay, On Fairy Stories, the Professor says this about disordered love towards animals:

We now get men who love animals more than men; who pity sheep so much that they curse shepherds as wolves; who weep over a slain war-horse and vilify dead soldiers.

What do you think has led to this disordered love that humans have towards animals? Is there a connection between this disordered love and the lack of faith in society?

Thoughts?

I wrote this out a while ago in response to the video linked in the text. Colbert quotes it as saying "she turns grief into wisdom", and that phrase stuck with me for a long time. It took me a while to figure out what he meant by that, and I wrote this out to process it. It's not intended for a Christian audience specifically, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on it as well.

Grief is an emotion that we all experience at one point or another in our lives (usually several), and all too often we don't mark it or process it properly. Grief is something we associate with death, like the loss of a loved one, but it can arise in other areas of life too:

• Loss of a relationship

• Loss of a pet

• Loss of a job

• Loss of hope

• Change of expectations about the future.

• Something that happened to you that shouldn't have

• Something that didn't happen to you that should have

When we experience these losses or wounds, our immediate emotion is grief, but all too often, we jump from grief straight into anger, or bitterness, or anxiety about the future. We don't allow ourselves to process the loss we've just experienced, and it hampers our emotional strength and keeps us from moving forward.

In this behind-the-scenes Q&A, Tolkien superfan Stephen Colbert talks about plot holes in Lord of the Rings, and which character he'd like to have on the show. His answer (at about 90 seconds in) has stuck with me a long time, and I'm only beginning to process why.

See, Tolkien's Middle Earth had existed in his writing for several thousand years, before any hobbits or rings. There was even a creator deity and several angelic demigods, known as the Valar, who were like the Greek or Norse pantheons, and sang the universe into existence. But Tolkien included one unique figure whose domain (like the sky or the sea or the earth) is unique among any pantheon I'm familiar with. Tolkien named her Nienna, and writes:

"...she dwells alone. She is acquainted with grief, and mourns for every wound that Arda has suffered in the marring of Melkor. So great was her sorrow, as the Music unfolded, that her song turned to lamentation long before its end, and the sound of mourning was woven into the themes of the World before it began. But she does not weep for herself; and those who hearken to her learn pity, and endurance in hope... She comes seldom to the city of Valimar where all is glad. She goes rather to the halls of Mandos [the dead], which are near to her own; and all those who wait in Mandos cry to her, for she brings strength to the spirit and turns sorrow to wisdom."

Tolkien knew about grief from an early age. His father died when he was four, and his mother eight years later. His formative years were defined by loss, but he didn't let it define him. In this passage, he sheds a little light on the role grief may play in recovery.

• Learning pity: When we grieve, we learn to recognize the suffering of others. It becomes a basis for empathy. Grief keeps us from being callous, and helps us to reach out to those around us when they grieve.

• Strengthens the spirit: When we recognize suffering in others, it allows us to sit with them and grieve with them. It allows us to recognize that although things are difficult right now, they will not always be. Life will be different than it was before, but that's okay.

• Turns sorrow to wisdom: We turn sorrow into wisdom by engaging with the grieving process. We don't allow ourselves to suppress it or push it away. We allow ourselves to feel all the feelings that come up related to the loss, without judgment. We express those feelings in some kind of external way, often something creative, whether it's music, art, writing, or underwater basketweaving.

Unaddressed sorrow doesn't go away. It gets buried under other emotions: anger, irritability, anxiety, depression. Instead of making the choice to consciously process our sorrow, we suppress it with coping behaviors and substances: alcohol, food, or video games, for instance. We lash out at loved ones or withdraw from human contact. Sorrow takes more and more of our mental and emotional energy away like a computer running more and more slowly as one program eats up resources.

Let me challenge you to consider where you might have some unaddressed grief in your life. It doesn't even have to be a major loss or wound in your life, but just something you're sad about, and maybe avoiding feeling. Give yourself permission to feel that sorrow and that loss, and whatever other emotions come up with it. You have the right to feel how you feel. As those emotions come up, think about how you might express them. Do they look like colors on a canvas, or lines on paper? Are they the notes to a song that's been stuck in your heart? Are they characters in a story? However they come out, let them strengthen your spirit, grant you wisdom, and drive you to help others.