Middle Earth, Dungeons and Dragons, and Virtuous Paganism in America

Walking into my house, I noticed that there were a couple of my friends watching television. It wasn’t unusual that they were watching TV, as I often had friends who hung out at my house, but what they were watching caused me to quickly walk into my living room and turn off the TV. I just stared at them in shock.

“I have very few rules in my house,” I said. “But this is one rule that is never to be broken. You know you are not allowed to watch this in I my house.”

“But you weren’t here. So we thought it would be ok,” they answered.

“No! It is never ok. Never! This is my house and I will not allow the spirits attached to this movie or others like it, to be on my TV. You know better.” It was obvious they didn’t understand.

To them, it was a film genre that I didn’t like. They thought that perhaps the creatures scared me. Or maybe I just didn’t get into fantasy. None of which was true. I wasn’t scared – I was angry because evil spirits laughed at me, because they had been invited into my home. The spirits of paganism, wizards, sorcery, amulets, and curses had walked right in to my house, and my friends had not stopped them.

The movie was The Lord of the Rings, written by J. R. R. Tolkien. Sadly, there are many Christians who insist that Tolkien’s stories are allegory, that they contain many Christian themes such as the battle of good verses evil, representing our walk with God. That they teach about the power of temptation, humility, and pride.

However Tolkien himself said his books on The Lord of the Rings were not allegories. He insisted that any Christian element was happenstance and not intended. What is deeply troubling is that Tolkien, despite being a “Catholic Christian”, was disturbed by his friend and colleague, C. S. Lewis’s writing on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He was rude and unbending in his critiques and comments to Lewis, which hurt Lewis deeply. He had no time for Christian allegory and eventually refused to read any more of Lewis’s writings. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/26815865?read-now=1&googleloggedin=true#page_scan_tab_contents).

Tolkien, rather than writing from a Christian perspective, wrote drawing from his love of pagan Norse mythology. According to Markus Altena Davidsen, “It is no wonder that “Neo-Pagans, Gnostics and other occult-based religionists absolutely adore Tolkien’s works, but are not turning to Christianity for spiritual understanding. Instead, they are extracting new beliefs out of his writings that support and bolster their own alternative religions.” He went on to say, “Tolkien, figuratively speaking, “dropped the ball” and brought aid and comfort to the opposition of our faith.” (2014 doctoral thesis, The Spiritual Tolkien Milieu: A Study of Fiction-based Religion.https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/binaries/content/assets/geesteswetenschappen/lucsor/englishsummary-dissertationdavidsen.pdf)

In the 1900s, Christianity had all but wiped out paganism and there were laws against the old religion. However, in 1951 those laws were repealed in Briton. In 1954 Tolkien (in Briton) published his book, The Lord of the Rings. Today, Wiccan paganism is the fastest growing religion in the United States. There are now more registered witches than Presbyterians. While I am not suggesting that Tolkien is solely responsible for the surge of paganism that is running rampant on the Earth today, it is interesting to note that paganism followed after the publication of his books. He also gives birth to a religion born from his fictional world. Today Tolkien’s religionists have literal beliefs, and believe they are different from those who casually watch the movies, read the books or play Lord of the Rings games. Today games such as Dungeons and Dragons, a game few debate, are demonic in nature, uses charms talismans and rings first used in the writings of Tolkien. To many, these are not imaginary or to be taken lightly. No, they have very real power and create strongholds of demonic influence upon those who are take these games seriously.

Tom Shippey, one of the world’s leading academic experts on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, “argues that the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien is significantly based on such a concept of virtuous paganism.” This, he claimed, came from Tolkien’s love of pagan Norse mythology. Virtuous paganism is a belief that if you are a good person, smart, and dedicated to goodness, then there is a special place for you in the afterlife. It isn’t heaven, nor is it hell. It’s a place reserved for all good pagans. For those who believe in virtuous paganism, it is not necessary to become born again. It is not necessary to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to be redeemed from hell. It is not necessary because virtuous pagans are nonbelievers who are saved from hell by their good deeds, wisdom and personal virtuous.

Ronald Hutton wrote in his book, The Pagan Tolkien, that “Tolkien’s theology has thus changed shape to full-blown pagan Neoplatonism. Tolkien mixed Christian and pagan themes to produce a blend of both. Tolkiens’ writings have a unique theology of its own. If it was Christian, then it was a Christianity so unorthodox and diluted as to merit the term heretical.”(The Pagan Tolkien page 63)

The apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 3:15, clearly states that we must be ready to give an answer for what we believe and why we believe it. I believe that The Lord of the Rings is blasphemous at best and damnable to those who fall prey to the religions of middle earth worship, Germanic paganism and Norse mythology.

Acts 19:17-20

And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, that dwelt at Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. Many also of them that had believed came, confessing, and declaring their deeds.And not a few of them that practiced magical arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed.

We are God’s chosen people. Set apart for glory, captivated by the love and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no such thing as virtuous paganism. There is no righteousness in witchcraft and middle earth religion. It is incumbent upon us to set aside all magical arts, books, movies, games, anything that leads us away from Jesus, and preaches a different gospel, because as Galatians 1:8 tells us, any other gospel is a curse. We must sound the alarm. There is a battle raging, and the enemy is at the door. Don’t let him in.

Ezekiel 33:6-7

But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come, and take any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.

So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.