Q: Was J.R.R. Tolkien a Christian?
ANSWER: J.R.R. Tolkien was a lifelong devout Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic Church is one of the oldest bodies of Christian believers on Earth, tracing its traditions and leadership all the way back to the 1st Century CE and Saint Peter the Apostle and companion of Jesus.
Some Protestant writers teach or suggest that Roman Catholics are not true Christians because the Catholic Church has adopted or developed many customs that are not specifically mentioned in the Bible. However, the New Testament only states that anyone who accepts Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior will receive salvation, which is recognized by all major Christian teachings to mean that one who is Saved will not be subjected to eternal punishment for any sins committed during their life.
Roman Catholics are taught that Jesus is the son of God who lived a physical, human life on Earth so that he could ultimately sacrifice that life in atonement for the sins of all men before God. Without Jesus’ sacrifice, the New Testament teaches, we would all have to live perfect lives and fulfill all the requirements of the Mosaic Law in order to be acceptable to God. However, Jesus and his disciples taught that men cannot truly fulfill the law and that therefore the law’s purpose was only intended to teach mankind what sin means and that there must be a just atonement for all the sins of mankind.
The long centuries of conflict between groups claiming to be Christians represent a failure by the leaders of these groups to accept and understand the true meaning of the teachings of Jesus and his disciples, that all believers should live in love and fellowship with each other, forgiving faults and helping one another to understand and share in the expression of God’s love toward his children.
Nonetheless, there are deep and distinct differences of opinion among many Christian groups about what the teachings of the New Testament mean and how they should be followed. These divisions, rather than leading to conflict, should ideally be treated as proof of the fact that the Body (of Christ, our Lord Jesus) has many parts and each part fulfills a different role.
By all accounts and the evidence of his personal writings and fiction, J.R.R. Tolkien was a man who deeply revered God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and he was extremely tolerant and generous toward other people. He has been falsely accused of being anti-Semitic, racist, and narrow-minded but in fact his beliefs are revealed in his works. J.R.R. Tolkien condemned racism and intolerance as an unacceptable way to relate to one’s fellow man.
J.R.R. Tolkien was not merely a Christian, he was perhaps one of the 20th century’s most exemplary Christian writers. He had his faults and limits but he showed a deep understanding of what it means to be a Christian.
See Also:
Are There Any Christian Themes in The Hobbit?
Does the Hobbit Take Place before Or after Biblical Events?
Could the Fourth Age Have Ended with the Noachian Flood?
Is There Religion in Middle-earth?
# # #
Have you read our other Tolkien and Middle-earth Questions and Answers articles?
