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Diamond18 · 11-29-2002, 12:41 AM

Addressing the reason why Tolkien would be exempted from a ban: Many people like to think of it as Christian allegory, no matter what Tolkien himself insisted. Therefore, the magic and all that may be viewed as simply symbolic, especially when one considers that Tolkien's magic is practised by the supernatural beings and the elite. In other words, when Gandalf does magic it's not really magic because he's a heavenly being. It would be like having an aneurysm because an Angel of God did something out of the ordinary. Et cetra, et cetra. My point is that you can come up with lots of excuses for the magic in LotR. You don't have hobbits learning magic spells and practicing wizardry, therefore the little "hobbits" in the schools won't be as likely to think that they can go do what Gandalf does.

So that would be why LotR might not be banned, when other magical fantasy novels are. Consider also that C.S. Lewis's magic filled "Chronicles of Narnia" have never been subject to book-burnings, as far as I know.

I have not read Harry Potter myself, but I have read an article that compared it to Lord of the Rings in the respect that you have brought up. I.E., why one is considered Christian and the other Demonology.

The general points it made was that A) Non-magical creatures such as Hobbits do not seek training in magic B) These non-magical creatures are praised and portrayed as heroes while C) Harry Potter is all about learning witchcraft and gaining undue magical powers and D) Portrays non-magical humans as "muggles": something to look down upon.

So anyway, that's what I have read on the subject. I am simply floating these things out there for your consideration—I by no means classify LotR as allegory or try to explain away the magic to myself, and I have not got an opinion about Harry Potter. Well, other than that it doesn't interest me much, but that's just me.

As to why LotR would be banned, I can think of nothing better than what has already been posted.

PS, I believe the article I read was in Focus on the Family magazine. It was a while ago, so don't ask for any issue numbers or dates...!

[ November 29, 2002: Message edited by: Diamond18 ]

11-29-2002, 12:41 AM	#5
Diamond18 Eidolon of a Took Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: my own private fantasy world Posts: 3,460	Addressing the reason why Tolkien would be exempted from a ban: Many people like to think of it as Christian allegory, no matter what Tolkien himself insisted. Therefore, the magic and all that may be viewed as simply symbolic, especially when one considers that Tolkien's magic is practised by the supernatural beings and the elite. In other words, when Gandalf does magic it's not really magic because he's a heavenly being. It would be like having an aneurysm because an Angel of God did something out of the ordinary. Et cetra, et cetra. My point is that you can come up with lots of excuses for the magic in LotR. You don't have hobbits learning magic spells and practicing wizardry, therefore the little "hobbits" in the schools won't be as likely to think that they can go do what Gandalf does. So that would be why LotR might not be banned, when other magical fantasy novels are. Consider also that C.S. Lewis's magic filled "Chronicles of Narnia" have never been subject to book-burnings, as far as I know. I have not read Harry Potter myself, but I have read an article that compared it to Lord of the Rings in the respect that you have brought up. I.E., why one is considered Christian and the other Demonology. The general points it made was that A) Non-magical creatures such as Hobbits do not seek training in magic B) These non-magical creatures are praised and portrayed as heroes while C) Harry Potter is all about learning witchcraft and gaining undue magical powers and D) Portrays non-magical humans as "muggles": something to look down upon. So anyway, that's what I have read on the subject. I am simply floating these things out there for your consideration—I by no means classify LotR as allegory or try to explain away the magic to myself, and I have not got an opinion about Harry Potter. Well, other than that it doesn't interest me much, but that's just me. As to why LotR would be banned, I can think of nothing better than what has already been posted. PS, I believe the article I read was in Focus on the Family magazine. It was a while ago, so don't ask for any issue numbers or dates...! [ November 29, 2002: Message edited by: Diamond18 ] __________________ All shall be rather fond of me and suffer from mild depression.