The Two Towers (book)

I finished reading "The Two Towers," the second part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, which contains two books - Book III, The Treason of Isengard, and Book IV, The Ring Goes East (The Lord of the Rings trilogy contains 6 books altogether).

The story picks up where "The Fellowship of the Rings" (the fist part) leaves off, at the breakup of the fellowship - that is where Frodo and Sam leave on their own to pursue the path towards destroying the ring of power, Boromir dies attempting to defend Merry and Pippin from the Orcs, the Orcs capture and steal away Merry and Pippin, under orders to capture alive a half-ling (another name for a hobbit), and Aragon, Gimli, and Leglolas, after sending Boromir down the river in a proper funeral boat, begin the chase on foot after Merry and Pippin to rescue them from the Orcs.  (Gandalf the Grey apparently dies in the first part, but reappears in the second part transformed into Gandalf the White - a more powerful wizard.)

As the story develops through deep twists and turns, you find yourself deeply immersed in the world of

Middle Earth, which has a deep, profound, and long history, sometimes conveyed in conversations, but more reflected in the actions of the many characters, the vast geography they travel, and the variety of those who people middle earth.  This is part of the draw which attracts many readers to read these stories again and again - some as often as once a year.

This part of the story revolves around two towers (as the title suggests) - the tower of Orthnac at Izengard ruled by Saruman, the White Wizard (who has turned traitor), and the tower of Barad-dur (which translates into English as the Dark Tower) where the Dark Lord Sauron rules from.  These two loci of evil seek to rule Middle Earth, which the Dark Lord can easily do if he can obtain the ring of power which Frodo bears in order to destroy it, though he must do so in the land of Mordor which Sauron rules.

The Ents

Tolkien continues many of the themes from the first part, such as the corrupting influence of power, the inevitability of decline, duty, the value of fellowship.  He again imparts how myths tend to promote the gospel message (a favorite topic of his).

I especially enjoyed his imaginative creation of the Ents, living trees who guard, shephard, and protect the trees of the forest.  They are so upset with Saruman's heedless destruction of the trees that they finally decide they must attack.  They destroy Isengard and keep Saruman essentially locked up in his tower so he can no longer spread his evil in the region.

Later on, Frodo and Faramir, Boromir's brother, have a long, fascinating conversation which covers much of the history of Middle Earth.  Most important to the plot development, Frodo spares Gollum's life from the hand of Faramir, much as his uncle did back in the original story, "The Hobbit." This will play an important role in the development of the story later on.

I again urge any who have not read these stories to do so.  They stand as a great work of literature.

Part 1: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship of the Ring (Film)

The Lewis-Tolkien Friendship

Predestination - Part 4 - The Bible

The reason many Christian traditions support predestination is that the Bible contains several passages that use that word, or variations of it.  Or else it expressly speaks about how God chose us way before we chose him.

So, for example, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul writes, For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. (Ephesians 1:4-6 - emphasis added)

Soon thereafter, Paul writes, In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.  (Ephesians 1:11-12 - emphasis added)

Chapter 8 of the book of Romans also talks about predestination, twice.  More importantly, the Bible also talks about how God how God elected us, how he chose us long before we chose him, as well as God's sovereignty, all closely related to predestination.  I might discuss this in a future post, especially since it contains two different words for foreknowledge and predestination (since some consider predestination to simply be foreknowledge).

However, the Bible also asserts, time and time again, that God created man with free will.  Any understanding about predestination that denies mankind's free will goes against what the Bible teaches about both predestination and free will.  I will write more about this in a future post.

Part 3 (last post)
Part 1 (Intro)

Predestination - Part 3 - Mystery

As Christians, we accept there are many aspects of our faith we will never fully understand.  We call those aspects of our faith mysteries.

That doesn't mean we should give up understanding as much of our faith as we can.  Christianity is not a mystery religion (in contrast to most world religions).  Instead, it emphasizes reason as holding a vital role in faith, as Rodney Stark does in, The Victory of Reason.  But it recognizes our reason has limits, often expressed as mysteries.

When it comes to predestination, it helps when we recognize the limitations of our reason when it comes to certain issues revolving around predestination such as God's election, His sovereignty, His gift of free will (part of the image of God), His foreknowledge, the assurance of the saints, etc.  Some Christians seem to assert almost an absolute knowledge about these matters.  I tend to be suspect of such assertions.

On the other hand, some Christians seem to all to hastily deny predestination, sometimes along with the other related issues I mentioned in the previous paragraph.  I also tend to be suspect of such hasty denials.

Instead, while I try to ask for support for these positions, I also seek to urge them to recognize some of the mysteries surrounding some of these issues.

I hope to convey, and you will appreciate, some of the mysteries about predestination as I discuss it further in future posts.

Part 4 (The Bible)
Part 2 (Misconceptions)
Part 1 (Personal Testimony)

Predestination - Part 2 - Misconceptions

Many hold a common misconception that only Calvinists teach Predestination, or that they somehow originated this teaching (or doctrine).

Instead, many Christian traditions hold various forms of Predestination, which originates with the Church fathers.  St. Augustine wrote, "A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints," back around 428 or 429 A.D..  He was not the first Church father who addressed this issue.  The Bible itself addresses predestination, but I plan to more fully address that in another post.

Both the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy teach about predestination.  So Thomas Aquinas largely agrees with St. Augustine about this issue.  However, Catholics usually do not like to talk about predestination.

Lutherans also usually do not like to talk about predestination, though Luther largely agreed with Calvin about it.  Luther usually wanted to stick to talking about the Law and Gospel.  Methodists also do not like to talk about predestination since the Wesley brothers emphasized free will, though they closely worked with those who held strong views about predestination, such as George Whitefield (a Calvinist).

Yet, even those who usually do not like to talk about predestination usually agree with the closely related teachings about the Sovereignty of God, as well as Election.  Thus, I usually find more agreement about predestination among Christian traditions than disagreement, even when some want to talk about Election or the Sovereignty of God.

Another common misconception - many equate predestination with pre-determinism (or simply determinism, or just fatalism).  In another words, in this misconception, they believe predestination means God controls (or compels) people and their decisions.  Thus God compels the evil people act out.  This view simply misunderstands the historic teachings about predestination.

A similar misconception - many believe predestination opposes, cancels out, or negates free will.  Simply stated, it does not.

In future posts, I will try to carefully set forth how I understand what historic Christianity usually asserts about predestination, and some variations about this held by various traditions.

Part 1 - Predestination - Personal Testimony

Predestination - Part 1 - Testimony

Detail -  "Creation of Adam" by Michelangelo -  1512

Predestination remains a complex and controversial topic within the Church.  After holding some challenging conversations with some Christian friends, I want to begin to address this topic in this blog.  It may take more than one post here (since I try to keep them short), so I want to begin with a personal testimony.

My parents raised me Catholic.  But when they divorced, I (along with my family) drifted away. In public high school (following parochial elementary school), I became an atheist.  But later, near 20, I converted to a born-again evangelical faith.

For several years, I was proud I made a decision for Christ.  However, as the years went by, I began to realize that all along, God had a plan for me, and moved first to reach out to me, long before I made a decision to accept Christ, and the price he paid at the cross to save me.

Before long following that, I began to realize, that most of what of goes on around me revolves more of what

God does, and less of what I do.  Regardless of what I plan or decide, purpose or determine, it seems to go different, and as I look back, it seems it went according to God's plan all along.  I don't mean what I do is not important, it is.  It just means what God does is more important.  That is why I pray.

So as time went on, it became easier to accept what the Bible describes as predestination.  The Church has taught this through the ages to varying degrees in different tradtions.  When properly taught, it does not take away from the freedom (free will) God bestowed upon mankind in his creation.  However, I will deal with this issue in future posts.

For now, I pose the question: Did you choose God first, or, as you look back, did God choose you first?  Or another way of looking at it: Did you act first, or did God?

Part 2 - Predestination - Misconceptions