Gazing into the Palantír
It is easy to look at the wickedness in our world and be overwhelmed as we peer into the abyss. Mass shootings, regressive political administrations, global conflict, rampant immorality, the decline of Christianity--things appear very dark indeed. And the longer we gaze the more hopeless it becomes. How can we persist in a world so evil? How can we abide through to the end in the face of such opposition? How can we raise children in a world that is bent on inventing new ways to transgress the laws of God, and targets its messaging on them? One way we can regain confidence is to stop looking at the world. I recently finished reading The Lord of the Rings (a thoroughly enjoyable read!), and it is interesting to notice two characters who followed almost identical arcs. Saruman and Denethor both begin as powerful characters fighting against the enemy Sauron, and both lose their way. The wizard Saruman defects to the enemy, and Denethor, during the height of the siege, succumbs to madnes