Viewpoint

Congratulations, you've found Viewpoint, an exclusive page on my blog, the place I put everything that is not necessarily proper to put on the main blog, but things that are still very important topics.  Browse with caution and enjoy,

Seth Reid,
Owner of the Narrowing Road,

Tolkien vs. Rowling

This topic is one that has been thoroughly debated and discussed in many homes, churches and internet forums.  Many families think that both J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling’s work are completely wrong and should not be read, I do not necessarily agree with this stance, however, it is not completely a bad stance, I’ll discuss this later.  Many families think that both Tolkien and Rowling’s work are okay, and some think that it’s good for children’s imagination, once again, I disagree.  Some people think that Rowling’s books are not okay, however Tolkien’s are, this is my viewpoint, and I’ll explain further in the essay.  People choose these stances sometimes based on facts and the Bible, sometimes they don’t.

The core factor that leads into either banning both authors or allowing both authors is that people think that the magic is the same.  Another issue people see that leads into either stance is that they are both a ‘battle’* for good and evil, or that neither one is a justifiable mean for battle and should be avoided. 

The issue of magic in fantasy is an entirely different subject.  However, for this essay’s sake let’s assume that it had been decided that some ‘magic’** is okay, depending on how the magic is portrayed or the meaning behind the magic in a book.  Let’s look at Tolkien’s magic.  First we have to understand that there are two races in his world that uses magic, the Elves, and the Istari, or more commonly known as the wizards.  For the elves magic is a form of art, almost like a sixth sense to them.  They are born with it, they know no other besides it, and in this way, the elves magic is different then Rowling’s magic.  There’s another race however, who’s magic is much deeper and in a sense, more powerful then the elves.  To understand this race I’ll give a brief history of them.  The Ainur resemble what angels may be, they lived alone with Eru, the god of Tolkien’s world.  When Eru showed them what was to come in the void, a great land with plants, mountains, and people, some of the Ainur went down into the void.  When the Ainur went into the void there became to levels of authority and power, and they were no longer called the Ainur.  They were called the Valar and the Maiar, the former being the greater.  After years of war and rebuilding of Middle Earth the Valar chose five Maiar to go to Middle Earth as advisors and helpers in general to the elves and men in their war against the dark lord.  These Maiar became the Istari, but they were called*** wizards.  These ‘wizards’ have god-given power as angels do, because, in a way, they are angels, or an allegorical resemblance of angels.  Thus their power is real, angels in the real world do possess power, though it is not their own, it is given from God, such as Tolkien’s Istari’s power are from Eru.  Rowling’s magic needs no long explanation, simply put, it is sorcery, with spells and occult symbolism**** which the Lord speaks against in the Bible.

The second issue of good vs. evil branches into several sub-issues.  The first sub-issue is whether either one is a justifiable means for battle, however, for this essay’s sake, we will again assume, at some point I hope to have an essay posted on this topic as well.  We’ll assume that battle for a good reason is okay.  Since I have not actually read the Harry Potter saga (though the research I’ve done is large enough to make a reasonable argument) I’ll say that the reason Harry Potter fights is a good reason; I know from reading Tolkien’s work that his battles are for a good cause.  So that rules out sub-issue number one.  Another sub-issue is how clear the lines between good and evil actually are.  In Tolkien’s books the sides are extremely clear; there is no doubt who is good and who is bad.  There is no mistaking orcs or goblins for the good guys, nor is there any mistaking the wicked men from the Rohirrim or Numenoreans, it’s just not possible to mistake the good guys for the bad guys in Tolkien’s work.  However, in Rowling’s books, it seems to be a recurring theme of mistrust.  The ones you grow to think are good and are on your side turn out to be evil, and vice versa.  The lines of good and evil are significantly blurred.  Another issue with Harry Potter is that he and his friends frequently break the rules of the school (Hogwarts), but very few of the times they get caught are they actually punished.  The Bible teaches that we need to respect our authorities and if we disobey we will be punished.  This is against the Bible as well as morally and ethically wrong (there is a difference between the two).

The final issue is that of Tolkien and Rowling’s belief in God.  The following is a quote from Tolkien about God,

            “So it may be said that the chief purpose of life, for any one of us, is to increase according to our capacity our knowledge of God by all the means we have, and to be moved by it to praise and thanks.  To do as we say in the Gloria in Excelsis… ‘We praise you, we call you holy, we worship you, we proclaim your glory, we thank you for the greatness of your splendour.’”

Obviously, Tolkien strongly believes in a sovereign, all-powerful, and involved God of mercy.  To my knowledge, the only public statement of God is a small and somewhat disrespectful statement by Rowling she made in an interview in 1999. 

           

“Well, as it happens, I believe in God, but there’s no pleasing some people!”

That, in my opinion is quite rude to the interviewer as well as disrespectful to God.  If one truly is a believer, I do not believe that their response to a question of their belief would be this.  And with the previous mark I do not believe that Rowling is a follower of Christ, even if she does ‘believe’ in God.  This difference between Tolkien and Rowling is tremendous and is something that will dramatically change their writings for the better or worse.

Some think that there is no distinction between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings (as well as Tolkien’s many other works), and that they should be altogether avoided or both are fine.  I’m not saying either one is wrong or right, that’s a personal conviction, I would like to disprove the thought that it is wrong to allow Lord of the Rings and disallow Harry Potter, something many people accuse parents of, accusing them of bad judgment.  All this said, I have not said everything and I hope you will look into this subject and seek guidance from God.

           

*I put this in single quotes because the word battle alone is an issue for believers, something I will cover another time.  That issue is whether we should be involved in fighting, even for our countries and loved ones. 

**The word magic is a loose word.  Someone once told me to stop thinking about the terms and think about the meaning behind them.

***Simply because they are called wizards does not mean they actually are, if someone called me Bob, does that make me Bob even though my name is Seth?  I think not.

****Rowling admitted in an interview that she did research on the occult in order to make it more realistic.