Although Lord of the Rings gives us valuable counters to evil in our world there are several errors which cause concern.
The first of these is the dehumanization of the enemy.
Evil is represented as non-human and therefore we can kill them without remorse.
The other error is the sword.
Using violence to resolve conflict, however dire, is never the answer.
So where does this leave us?
White, light, goodness - these things remain.
But mature religion teaches the humanity of our enemies and urges us to forgive, redeem, even love them.
The sword is never the answer.
The answer is Love.
Photo Credit: pooshda Flickr via Compfight cc
Agreed! Dehumanizing our opponents is wrong; and violence is no solution. The Rings can be appreciated as metaphor, but many pick up on the dehumanization and violence instead.
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