Great Eagles of Middle Earth!

I've been hearing lots of talk lately about what everyone perceives as the BIG FLAW of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  It always comes back to the eagles.  Why didn't the eagles just take the ring to Mount Doom?  Why didn't the eagles just take the dwarves to the Lonely Mountain?  I'll explain why this doesn't happen, but first I'm going to give you some background on the Middle Earth pantheon.

The god of all Middle Earth is called Eru.  He sent the Valar to create the world.  The Valar are basically “high angels”.  The head of the Valar is Manwe.  He is the Valar of the air.  The Great Eagles (giant eagles) are his personal servants.  We are in the 3rd age of Middle Earth.  Man was created in the 2nd age.  Elves were created and ruled the 1st age.  Melkor (a.k.a. Morgoth) was the one Valar who rebelled and became the “Satan” of this world.  The lesser demons that followed him were called Balrogs.  Sauron was one of these lesser angels.  In the 1st age (and even before, when no intelligent life was on Middle Earth) the “angels” and “demons” were constantly warring over Middle Earth and each epic battle would reform the surface of the earth.  The last time this happened was at the end of the 1st age.  Whole nations of elves were destroyed by landmasses being relocated to the bottom of the sea.  “God” said that enough was enough and forbid the Valar from ever interfering in Middle Earth again.  The good thing is that Melkor was finally chained forever in outer space.  Most of the balrogs were destroyed or buried (Sauron being one that laid low for quite a while).

The Valar saw Sauron gradually coming to power but they couldn't do anything about it.  So they helped by sending 5 “lesser angels” called Maiar to Middle Earth so help fight battles not by using their great power, but by influencing mankind to make the right decisions and teaching them to defeat the great evils on their own.  Gandalf was one of these maiar (though the people of Middle Earth called them istari or wizards).  The 3rd age was ending and man would inherit the earth from the elves, so it was important for them to figure out how to stand on their own and not be so dependent on gods and elves.  This is why Gandalf VERY rarely uses epic powers.  When he went up against that balrog in Moria, it was like two Maiar squaring off against each other.

The other ace that the Valar kept in Middle Earth were the Great Eagles.  They were the spies for Manwe who would tell them what was going on.  And very rarely, at the last possible minute, they would help Gandalf if he needed it.  Gandalf, after all, was a direct maiar of Manwe himself.  This is why they would show up when they would and it is also why it was so important for them not to just take the ring to Mordor or help out with menial dwarvish quests.  Man will not attempt to step up and accomplish great and wonderful things for the world if he knows God or the angels will do it for him.

I feel this applies in our own world as well.  We blame God for the evils that exist in this world that He “loves”.  But what we should be doing is drawing inspiration and courage from Him and standing up to do great deeds for our world.  What goes on in this world is in our hands.  I've heard it said that God is love, yet too many of us sit back getting all the love without passing any on.  God (Who is love) created us in His own image.  It is time we start living up to that image.

The Spirituality of The Dark Knight

I thank God for movies. It may sound shallow. But a good movie allows us wisdom and understanding by telling us something we already know through another perspective. Christ relied on this method for most of his ministry. I've seen The Dark Knight twice in the theatre and lots more at home. It's probably one of the best movies I've ever seen. On my first viewing, when the credits rolled after the closing scene, I felt my heart pounding and tears flooded my eyes. I know it's ridiculous to have that kind of reaction. And at the time I didn't fully understand what I was reacting to. Even on the surface, The Dark Knight is an amazing movie. It's about the Joker using his genius to create these impossible odds, and Batman using every ounce of himself to beat those odds. The Joker says at one point, "This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object." And that's it in a nutshell. But underneath it all, we have something deeper. We have a very spiritual movie. And Batman and the Joker echo respective caricatures of Christ and Satan.

When Batman first arrives on the scene in Batman Begins, it's all about changing a city from the inside out. Is the city worth saving? Ra's Al Ghul has tried to give the city a chance but it's so corrupt that he sees no other choice but to burn it to the ground and start anew. Bruce Wayne was born in this city. His father's life was based on assisting the less fortunate, though in the end, he was slain by the less fortunate. Bruce could have sought revenge. He could have just turned his back on the city and walked away. But when the smoke cleared he chose to save this corrupt city, because he loved it. The city is corrupt indeed. Most of the cops are dirty. The mob operates relatively untouched. And life goes on in Gotham City. No one feels they are doing anything especially morally wrong. This is just how life is. And it's up to the Batman to show them otherwise. And he does. He teaches these Pharisees and leaders what they are doing wrong. He puts fear in them without sinking to their level. And he speaks to Ra's Al Ghul on behalf of Gotham. Batman believes that the city is worth saving. At the end of Batman Begins we get a no holds barred brawl between Ra's and Batman. Now while we believe that Christ speaks as our defense attorney to God, He certainly doesn't go after God with bat-shaped ninja stars in a giant cage match. After all, let's not forget that this is a comic book movie. As the movie closes, the city has been given not just a protector, but hope.

For those who haven't yet seen The Dark Knight, flee from this page lest your eyes behold spoilers! 'Cause from here on out there's spoilers a-plenty! As The Dark Knight opens up, the city is in a much different place. The mob still lives but operates in secret. They fear the police now instead of working with them. Thanks to Batman, Gotham City is on its way to becoming morally self-sufficient. Granted, Gotham still has a long way to go. Batman copy-cats are everywhere and their involvement does't make the city any better. Christ had to deal with a similar problem with the zealots. Basically, although they mean well, they end up causing more trouble than helping. What the citizens of Gotham needs is someone that they can aspire to be. And Batman, as a masked vigilante, doesn't exactly fit that role. Enter Harvey Dent. The everyman. The Christian. He believes in what Batman stands for. He believes in beating the criminals without sinking to their level. And for the first time, Gotham has a hero without a mask. This is that someone that the average citizen can aspire to be. He respects Batman, and acknowledges Batman's way of going around the police and their laws while never compromising his morality. But unlike Batman, as a public figure, he is bound by the law. And therefore, quite human. Harvey Dent is Gotham's proof that Batman can take a filthy city, give them their hope back, show them that they can be better, and that they can produce good fruit. Once, Batman was Gotham's guardian. But now they no longer need one. The people of Gotham protect their own. This is no longer a city where criminals are welcome.

Enter the Joker. Here is a criminal who appears to have no motives. He does't care about money, or fame, or power. He seems to have come from nowhere. What he tells us about his past is later revealed to be lies. It seems that perhaps he is motivated to "kill the Batman", but we later learn this to be false. His existence is only motivated by being the exact opposite of Batman. He could care less about breaking the police's laws. Rather, he lives to break all the laws of morality and to prove that the city of Gotham, by human nature, is just like him when pushed hard enough. He wants to watch the city burn. He lives for chaos. He loves seeing the citizens of Gotham sin against each other. And yet his number one target isn't Batman. He knows he can't corrupt Batman. He knows Batman is his opposite. But then, Batman isn't the city's White Knight. That position belongs to Harvey Dent.

And so the Joker bends all his forces to tearing Dent down. Batman is Gotham's guardian. But Dent is the city's heart and hope. If he falls, the city falls. Joker pushes and pushes and pushes. And when Dent falls, he falls hard. His belief in the justice system has failed. His belief in right over wrong has cost him everything. All his work in cleaning the city, while abiding the laws has been in vain. And so he turns from his faith to a new law. If justice does't work, then his new god is luck. And as a human, he sticks to this new rule ruthlessly. He used to believe that Harvey Dent creates his own fate. Once a master of his own fate, now he has given up and allowed fate to be his master. He is tired of fighting and so has chosen to let fate decide where justice lies. The laws of humanity no longer apply when confronted with unstoppable fate. And in his faithless logic, how can he be held accountable for what fate brings to his victims? This is a Christian who has lost his faith. Pushed too hard by Satan. In the end, Harvey commits unspeakable sins against the city, trying to comply with his new fate-based justice. And though Batman has to stop him, in the end he chooses to take the sins of Harvey Dent on himself. No one needs to know that these crimes were Dents doing. He knows the city will lose hope in itself if they learned this truth. And so to show his love for Dent, and his love for Gotham, Batman takes the blame for Dents crimes.

The final frames show Batman persecuted by the city that he came to protect. Persecuted not for his crimes, but for theirs. For no other reason than love and a belief that man can be better. The credits roll. The lights go up. And in my tears is the realization that Christ's sacrifice reveals Himself as a real life superhero. And though I've lived my life in sin, He will not allow me to die a villain. It's not a perfect comparison. After all, Christ didn't tell this story. Christopher Nolan did. But for a tale of spiritual morality, it makes for some pretty sublime viewing.