There and Back Again

We can be confident in our new identity in Christ, and know that because He is in us, that relationship should ideally affect every area of life. In John 15, Jesus taught:
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Biblically speaking, we cannot separate out Christianity from the Christian.  While the world would want to mute or limit the voice of the Church, Jesus enables us to speak and live bold and strong. Because we are in Christ and He lives in us, if we are living for Him and dependent on Him, then fruit will flow forth; we will display the evidence of the indwelling Christ - Christianity is more than what we do, even though there is a practice involved - it is who we are, and that governs what we do and how we do it. 

 

+++++

We can be confident in the Lord, assured, as the old song suggests, that we know Him and that He is in and with us. 2nd Peter 1 encourages us to walk in the confidence of knowing that Christ is in us:
10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.

Our Christian faith is Biblically a part of who we are - it's more than just what we do; our identity is wrapped up in the knowledge of God through Jesus Christ.  We should not be able to just merely separate our faith as just one component of our makeup - God intends for the presence of Christ to be woven within the fabric of the believer whom He indwells.

So, when you have an instance in which people want to pay tribute to a famous writer, who was known for his faith, which was really part of his writings, but who want to somehow edit that element of his life out, that becomes problematic.

And, that is what is happening concerning a proposed project honoring the memory of the late J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of the Lord of the Rings series.  Smithsonian Magazine reports:

The house where esteemed fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien created Middle-earth, led Frodo Baggins to the fires of Mount Doom and mythologized the One Ring to rule them all is up for sale. And as Vivian Marino reports for the New York Times, a newly launched crowdfunding campaign hopes to purchase the property, where Tolkien lived between 1930 and 1947, and convert it into a center devoted to the British writer.

The article goes on to say:

Despite its seemingly admirable aims, the project has come under intense scrutiny. As Alison Flood reports for the Guardian, some Tolkien fans questioned the organization’s declaration that money would not be returned to sponsors if the campaign falls through. (The site’s FAQ has since been amended to note that donations made via PayPal may be refunded upon request, albeit with several caveats.)

And, then there's this:

Others wondered how much the center will focus on Tolkien’s Christian faith. According to the Guardian, Project Northmoor’s three trustees are all active or retired directors of Christian organization, and its public relations firm is “a longtime leader in the promotion of faith-based campaigns.”

So, the project earns the descriptor, "Controversial," in the Smithsonian headline.

Project founder Julia Golding, in a Religion News article, commented on the inclusion of Tolkien's faith perspective; the article relates:

According to Golding, in fantasy writing “there should be a space for everyone” to write, regardless of their faith. “Narrowing the world’s cultural voices is the opposite of what we want to do,” she said.

Tolkien was a serious Catholic and founder of the Inklings, an informal literary group of fantasy writers who gathered to share notes and try out new ideas. Many of the members were Christian, including Tolkien’s close friend C.S. Lewis, author of “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

Lewis incorporated Christian themes far more explicitly than Tolkien, who favored a more demure approach to faith in his books. Golding compared the use of faith in Tolkien to the computer graphics effects used to create Gollum in the “Lord of the Rings” films, all of which won Oscars for their visual effects.  

This means, as Golding says, “despite the rendering and under the surface, you can still feel the faith that’s driving it.”

Well, for one thing, this is a countercultural point of view.  In an age in which there are those who want to remove Christianity and even Christians from the public discourse, here you have someone who recognizes Tolkien's Christian faith as an element of who he is, and it should therefore not be downplayed.  We have seen so many instances in which religious speech is introduced into public gatherings, and people are called out for it.  Consider former coach Joe Kennedy from Washington state - for seven years after games he went to the 50-yard line to pray to God; some students joined him, and the school district put an end to it and eventually fired the coach for expressing his religious faith, which is an inseparable part of him - and us!

So editing out the Christian faith elements from a Christian is an exercise in futility; yet there are some who want to do that in the situation involving Tolkien.  When we consider who we are in Christ, we recognize that is a spiritual impossibility.  But, we have to be careful not to self-edit our Christianity, in other words, not be disciplined to seek the Lord consistently, not being obedient and allowing the power of sin to overtake us.  When our Christianity ceases to be on display, then we need to take a look at where we are spiritually and who we are Biblically.  We can be challenged, using the phrase Ms. Golding said, to make sure our faith is "driving" our lives.