King Théoden's Exorcism: A Parable for the West

The Men of the West are Asleep. We Don't Need Gandalf to Awaken Us; We Need Jesus, And We Need You and Me

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic, The Lord of the Rings, Théoden is the king of Rohan, a fierce horse folk living north of Gondor. There’s a valuable allegory in this part of the story. Please allow me a bit of backstory to get there.

Théoden’s kingship began well, but as he aged, he fell under the influence of his chief advisor, Gríma Wormtongue. The latter was a minion in the employ of Saruman the wizard, who was in turn a myrmidon of Sauron, the wellspring of evil in Tolkien’s tale.

In The Two Towers, second of the three-part Lord of the Rings trilogy, Théoden is enfeebled by the devious words of Wormtongue, and the spells of Sauruman. His kingdom is in disarray, plagued by Orcs, evil creatures of Sauron, and others.

In a stirring restoration to his former self, Gandalf the White Wizard breaks the spell over Théoden, and his infirmity melts away. He asks for his sword and when placed in his hands, the robust Théoden of old is restored!

Meanwhile, evil forces are pouring out of Mordor, the foul land of Sauron. They lay seige to Minas Tirith, the capital and fortress city of the Kingdom of Gondor, home of most of the Men of the West. Théoden musters the Rohirrim, his horse soldiers, and they ride hard to the aid of Minas Tirith.

At dawn, his cavalry crashes into the siege, splintering the evil attack.

Tolkien put these stirring words in Théoden’s mouth as he rallied his cavalry before the counterattack over the Pelennor Fields outside the gates of Gondor

The ride of the Rohirrim and the subsequent arrival of Aragorn from the south saves Gondor. There’s much more to the long tale, but this takes us to the point of this essay: Théoden’s enfeeblement by evil looks a lot like America, and the West generally.

Danny Silk, in his recent book, the Way of the Dragon Slayer, puts it this way:

Like King Théoden, the men of the West today have fallen under an enchantment that has rendered them mentally and spiritually weakened and all but overthrown. They have allowed themselves to be lulled into captivity to entertainment, pornography, and material comforts while simultaneously being bullied and brainwashed into thinking that their masculine virtues are no longer needed, or worse, “toxic.” Today’s culture has made the “patriarchy“ the scapegoat for social ills, and demanded that men surrender their power, as well as the responsibilities that come with it, insisting that we no longer need men to fill their traditional roles.

The cost has been horrific, and the outlook bleak. Silk continues:

Our once-strong culture has degenerated into a painful landscape of broken marriages, fatherlessness, addiction, crime, mental illness, corruption, abuse, slavery, and child sacrifice (literally — we just typically kill the children before they’re born). Meanwhile, the enemies of Western liberal democracy, Judeo-Christian civilization, and ultimately, humanity, are positioning themselves to grow ever more powerful as we grow weaker, and ultimately to take possession of all that is ours.

The parallel is striking. Tolkien knew a thing or two about evil, as he had experienced it in his World War I service in the British army, and experienced it again with the Nazis in World War II as he wrote The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien was clear that he did not write the trilogy as an allegory, but as a more general story of good vs evil.

Nevertheless, we in the West face great evil intent upon destroying our civilization and replacing it with something far less noble, free and uplifting. The barbarians are no longer at the gates. They are inside, fouling the work of centuries of beauty, progress and greatness.

In Tolkien’s telling, not all men and women of the West were asleep as Sauron awoke. Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, strove many long years fighting the rising evil. Théoden’s nephew, Éomer, did likewise in Rohan with his horse soldiers. Boromir and Faramir, captains of Gondor, fought similar battles on the borders of their lands.

So it is in the West today. Many are “the Aragorns, Éomers, Boromirs and Faramirs” of today diligently working and interceding to restore the crumbling institutions that have provided peace, prosperity, and freedom for more than a billion alive in the West today. But are these enough?

In Tolkien’s tale, Sauron’s power was only broken by the determined counterattack of the Men of the West.

In our day, in real life, men and women of the West can save our beautiful civilization with a determined counterattack. Here are some thoughts on how we might fight back.

• First, we must recognize that we are at war. There are actual spiritual “orcs” and they are determined to keep their human puppets in power. If you don’t like the concept of spiritual forces directing this war, then just go with the humans involved.

• Second, we must rise up and fight back. The “weapons” we who belong to Jesus “fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” Translation: we fight with prayer interceding for the transformation of broken lives, families and communities; for a rollback of gathering tyranny; for a return to righteousness; and for the awakening of those who do not yet know the King of Glory, and for revival in the Church. Anyone can fight back by organizing resistance in business and civic life.

• Some must also fight back with words in media and academia, and in political action. In the tottering republics of the West, every citizen can fight: we can fight at the ballot box, where we muster sufficient voters to overwhelm election fraud where it exists.

I pray that the counterattack does not devolve into destruction and death. Many there are on both sides who are preparing for just such a scenario.

Finally, I speak hope over us. We CAN make an impact on who it is that writes the history of our day. Will it be creatures of the Dark Lords of our day? Or will it be free men and women who are victorious over the evil that has descended upon the West? Our actions today and in the weeks and months ahead will decide who in the future writes the story of these days.

Let us resolve each to do SOMETHING, great or small. We CAN restore the American Republic.