Fear and Falling
March 19, 2020
It is said by the Eldar that Men came into the world in the time of the Shadow of Morgoth, and they fell swiftly under his dominion; for he sent his emissaries among them, and they listened to his evil and cunning words, and they worshipped the Darkness yet feared it.
Akallabêth, J.R.R. Tolkien
The first Men awoke in the east of Middle-earth, far from the reach of the Valar. Melkor (or Morgoth) was the first to find them, and he was quick to bring them under his sway. Melkor was the strongest and most fearsome of the Ainur, but he was also conniving and manipulative. With “evil and cunning words” he cast his shadow over the race of Men, bending them to his will.
Death is their fate, the gift of Ilúvatar, which as Time wears even the Powers shall envy. But Melkor has cast his shadow upon it, and confounded it with darkness, and brought forth evil out of good, and fear out of hope.
Quenta Silmarillion: Chapter 1, J.R.R Tolkien
Melkor distorts Men’s perception of the Gift of Ilúvatar. Rather than embracing their freedom from the created world, they see the shackles of mortality. They become blind to the Ilúvatar’s Gift—which will free them from the bonds of Middle-earth after they die— only able to see their inevitable deaths as an impending Doom.
Original Sin refers to the fall of Adam and Eve, but it was not the first sin. The first sin in the universe was committed by Lucifer,
who was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. (Jn 8:44)
In much the same way, the Fall of Man in Tolkien’s Middle-earth is preceded by the initial rebellion of Melkor during the Music of the Ainur.
Later, through fear and lies, Melkor manipulates Men into seeing the Gift of Death as the Doom of Men.
When we isolate the death from the Gift of Freedom from the world, we see death as a curse.
But when we emphasize freedom and ignore the Gift of Death, we risk becoming slaves to the world.