Burrahobbit,
There are several other interesting quotes in the letters concerning Tokien, reigion, and his writings. For instance:
Letter 213:
Quote:
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Or more important, I am a Christian (which can be deduced from my stories) and in fact a Roman Catholic. The latter "fact" perhaps cannot be deduced; though one critic (by letter) asserted that the invocations of Elbereth, and the character of Galadriel as directly described (or through the words of Gimli and Sam) were clearly related to Catholic devlotion to Mary. Another saw in waybread (lembas) = viaticum and the reference to its feeding the will and being more potent when fasting, a derivation from the eucharist. (That is: far greater things may color the mind in dealing with the lesser things of a fairy story.)
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Interesting, reading the letters. There are some letters that really explain doctrine ina wonderfully clear way. Tolkien has a lovely way with words.