I'm going to start right off by saying this: I might be totally off here. But I'm going to say it anyways because it seems like no one really has a great grasp on what/who the Valar are.
So they are definitely divine, right? They have some aspects of gods, some aspects of angels. But Tolkien never decisively says that they are one or the other. So to make my argument, I'm going to list some features of the Valar to see what/who they most closely line up with in Christianity.
1. The Valar enter Arda after its creation. They exist in the physical world.They are present on the same plane as other being in Middle Earth.
2. The Valar help give order to the world. They shape it in some way but are definitively not Creators (capital C) in their own right.
3. The Valar were created by the mind of Eru. They were "molded' by Eru's thought. They exist as some kind of image or mirroring of Eru and his mind. This means that they are similar to Eru and come from him in a very important way.
4. The Valar have "servants" in the form of the Maiar. The Maiar are decidedly less powerful than the Valar but still possess some important task in the world. The Maiar serve particular
5. The Valar have various and mysterious powers. Different individuals are able to control different elements and do possess unique abilities that are definitely at least somewhat divine.
6. The Valar are godlike in some way. Tolkien refers to them as "the 'gods'"
So basically, my argument is that maybe the Valar are Christ figures? Maybe the Valar are only Christ figures if we follow the theory that Christ was originally an angel? Or maybe I'm really off altogether. Let me know what you think.
-AEH
So they are definitely divine, right? They have some aspects of gods, some aspects of angels. But Tolkien never decisively says that they are one or the other. So to make my argument, I'm going to list some features of the Valar to see what/who they most closely line up with in Christianity.
1. The Valar enter Arda after its creation. They exist in the physical world.They are present on the same plane as other being in Middle Earth.
2. The Valar help give order to the world. They shape it in some way but are definitively not Creators (capital C) in their own right.
3. The Valar were created by the mind of Eru. They were "molded' by Eru's thought. They exist as some kind of image or mirroring of Eru and his mind. This means that they are similar to Eru and come from him in a very important way.
4. The Valar have "servants" in the form of the Maiar. The Maiar are decidedly less powerful than the Valar but still possess some important task in the world. The Maiar serve particular
5. The Valar have various and mysterious powers. Different individuals are able to control different elements and do possess unique abilities that are definitely at least somewhat divine.
6. The Valar are godlike in some way. Tolkien refers to them as "the 'gods'"
So what figure(s) in Christianity do these characteristics most line up with? In my opinion, they seem to be Christ figures. Jesus Christ, the son of God, etc. Both Jesus and the Valar walked the Earth. Obviously Jesus did so for a shorter time but he was still in a physical form in this realm as a human shaped figure. So were the Valar! Both Jesus and the Valar gave order to the world. Jesus laid down various laws and set examples for how human kind should act, think, pray, and worship. However, just like the Valar, Jesus never did any Creating (another capital C). He was a messenger between God and human beings. So were the Valar! Both Jesus and the Valar were created by the God figure. The Bible says that “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Therefore, Jesus was created by God. The Valar were created by Eru! Both Jesus and the Valar have disciples. As we all know, Jesus had his twelve disciples and the Valar had the Maiar. Side note: Both Jesus' disciples and the Maiar were capable of turning away from their masters and performing "evil" acts against their former lord (Lord). Examples: Judas and Sauron. Both Jesus and the Valar have various powers and are capable of various (what we would call) miracles. The Valar had abilities to control light and fire, they were able to transform themselves, and they had an otherworldly effect on other beings. Jesus, on a similar note, was able to turn water to wine, was able to heal the blind, heal the sick heal the lepers. Not exactly the same kind of "magical" capacities but I can definitely see some similarities. Both Jesus and the Valar are both made in the image of God and considered to be Gods (capital or lowercase G?) Jesus was considered to be made completely in the image of the Creator of the earth, so were the Valar. Jesus is considered to be an equal to God as we see in Philippians 2:5-7: “who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God." Now, it get a little tricky to say the exact same about the Valar but the fact that Tolkien refers to them as gods at all and also says they came from Eru is good enough for me!
The biggest point I see against my argument is the fact that the Valar were capable of "sin" while Jesus Christ was not. And I totally see how this is a big deal. Jesus Christ would have no true importance if it were not for his complete freedom from sin and his consequential death on the cross. And the Valar have no similar huge redeeming moment of human kind like this. Also, Melkor and his turn away from the path of the rest of the Valar. And I completely agree that this feels more like a Lucifer moment, making the Valar more closely resemble angels. BUT, I would like to point out that some churches do teach that Jesus was an angel. I'm not sure I agree with this and I'm almost positive that most churches also do not agree. However, it would work out very well if Jesus was an angel. I mean, that means the similarities between Jesus and the Valar are almost eerie. But I get that there are some things that don't exactly match up. And I'm not quite sure how to reconcile this. But, I figured I'd try something out.
So basically, my argument is that maybe the Valar are Christ figures? Maybe the Valar are only Christ figures if we follow the theory that Christ was originally an angel? Or maybe I'm really off altogether. Let me know what you think.
-AEH
2 comments:
There are some major problems with this theory theologically. The Arian Controversy was an important episode in the early history of Christianity which condemned the idea that Christ is a creature and not one with the Creator himself (the Word of John 1 is referring to Christ) and that Christ was not merely a human being but merely took human form. That said, there is something very interesting about the "incarnational" aspect of the Valar—that they enter into Arda and are in some way bound to its fate. The biggest difficulty with your claims in-universe is that Tolkien does at times point to the Creator's need to enter into his creation to heal the wounds Melkor has inflicted, and this is connected closely to the mysterious destiny of Men.
~LJF
LJF has already pointed to the theological difficulties with this theory—it is anti-Trinitarian! BUT: I think you are right that Tolkien is trying to reconcile the act of creation with the Incarnation in some way through the dual role of the Ainur/Valar as both "angels" and "gods." It is also true that there is a tradition in Christianity of identifying Jesus with the Great Angel of the Old Testament, which Tolkien seems to reference in his description of Earendel. The real problem in-universe is that almost every character Tolkien creates has some Christ-like qualities—almost as if the whole of Creation was imbued with Christ's likeness! RLFB
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