''Suicide'' in The Lord of the Rings...

I have just voted on that poll of the University of Bath on assisted suicide. Is there a more monstrous concept? Imagine standing before God on the Day of Judgement and having ''accomplice in the murder of a loved one'' on the list of one's sins. I shiver to think of my own position on that dreadful Day, and I have never made recourse to anti-Evangelical and anti-Life ''answers'' to problems that can be resolved through earnest prayer and repentance. If only people had thought not only for this life but for eternity. It basically means that not only the poor terminally ill victim has the ultimate sins of Pride and Despair on their conscience but also the accomplice in their unfortunate death. At least two people written out of the Book of Life...not to mention the lunatic Babel-building doctors and scientists who devise such abominable notions, and all in the name of ''mercy.'' Evil delusions and lies...

Suicide is dealt with few times in Tolkien, but where it is mentioned, it is rightly seen as tragic. Those familiar with The Lord of the Rings will perhaps remember this passage:

'''He will not wake again,' said Denethor. 'Battle is vain. Why should we wish to live longer? Why should we not go to death side by side?'
'Authority is not given to you, Steward of Gondor, to order the hour of your death,' answered Gandalf. 'And only the heathen kings, under the domination of the Dark Power, did thus, slaying themselves in pride and despair, murdering their kin to ease their own death.''' (The Lord of the Rings, Book V, Chapter VII, The Pyre of Denethor).

One of the early critics of The Lord of the Rings (I can't presently remember his name) criticized the book for containing no reference to religion. Sorry, mate, you've completely missed the point! It was Tolkien's genius to make little mention of cults (where they are mentioned, they are associated with worship of the Dark Lord, who surrounds his abode with fire) or religious practices - and yet the absence of any overt religion makes the very air of Middle-earth heavy with a deep and refreshing religious fragrance. You only have to have senses to perceive it, like small, but significant, nuggets like this quotation. Rather like the Liturgy - God reveals Himself through veiling.

Interestingly, one of the most important ends of the Istari (or Wizards) was to save the minds of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth from corruption, as much as their physical selves and their lands. Their angelic powers (they were angelic beings, the Maiar, akin to the ancient Valar) were directed primarily towards encouragement of Elves and Men to good, to deeds of valour, to unite and endure - ultimately, to put away visions of Despair and ruin. Tolkien saw them as somewhat consonant with our Guardian Angels...except that the only one who remained true to his mission was Gandalf, in a sense, the ''Guardian Angel'' of the West against the tyranny of Sauron. Imagine how he was greeted when the White Ship docked in the Bay of Eldamar...

The above painting is by Ted Nasmith, the famous Tolkien illustrator, and depicts Gandalf coming to the rescue of Faramir with Pippin through Rath Dínen. Again, not as I imagined that Street at all, but then I can't project the images of my mind onto this blog unfortunately...