The Christian metaphors in this movie are so on the nose and obvious.
shareOr is Frodo supposed to be Jesus, since he carries the Ring and has to destroy it?
Or is Aragorn supposed to be Jesus, since he's a king waiting for his return?
Maybe things are more complicated than you thought?
After all, it's not like this is "Narnia" and we all know that Aslan and only Aslan is Jesus.
You split the arrow, my friend. Types of Christ abound throughout these books, and Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn are the main three.
Of course, equally important is the fact that none of them are an exact fit, and all of them have "human" sides as well, particularly Frodo.
Does that mean the Gollum is Judas, a necessary evil?
shareKind of, but nothing in LotR is allegorical. It's never a 1:1 like, "This person is Christ, this person is Judas, this person is Peter." Some of the surrounding mythology is a bit more allegorical, or at least, mirrors Christianity more with Illuvatar and Morgoth and so on, but with Lord of the Rings, there aren't really true parallels.
Yes, Gollum was a necessary evil, and yes, he was a betrayer, but he was also never quite as close a companion to Frodo as a member of the disciples was to Jesus. In his end, we can also see something of the Divine Will moving at the worst of times, or just a message of luck and Fate.
No, he's supposed to be (and is, according to the mythos of Middle-Earth) an angelic figure incarnated in a flesh-&-blood body, as are all the Wizards. He's of the same order of such angelic figures as Sauron & the Balrog, only the latter of course have fallen (or, rather, chose to rebel & fall).
shareAllegory, genius
shareTolkien often stated his dislike of allegory. But he was a devout Catholic, and Middle-Earth was supposed to be our own pre-history, so of course it's essentially a Catholic vision of existence.
shareAlso I'm referring to the movie which deviated greatly from the source material, deflecting to Tolkein is a non sequitur in this case.
shareNot in this case, because Gandalf's return from death in the movie is pretty much how it happens in the book.
shareIt does matter because I am referring to the movie not the book, you are comparing apples and oranges . The movie made it abundantly obvious that Gandalf was a Jesus allegory just like Aslan. The book was a lot more intelligent and subtle
Honestly the whole “death is only the beginning “ theme was so in your face any 3 year old Sunday school student would get it
He would still fall under the "type" of Christ category, though, I think. (Which hearkens to Tolkien's "applicability vs. allegory" preferences).
Types appear throughout LotR, of course, with Frodo's sacrifice, Aragorn's being the returning King, Gandalf's resurrection, and so forth.
Gandalf = Krishna
Frodo = Arjuna
Aragorn = Jesus