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Originally Posted by Raynor
And this is what Tolkien actually does; the work reffers, first and foremost, to the grace of the One, and this is more Christian than whatever "idolatry of other Christian movites" he could have put.
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No it doesn't. It refers, first & foremost, to an individual's self-sacrifice for the good of others, & his subsequent suffering & rejection by that same community.
On second thoughts, it refers, first & foremost, to the ennoblement of the humble.
On third thoughts, it refers, first & foremost...(fill in the blank)
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To continue your analogy with "hypothetical real life", what if Tolkien, the carpenter  , set out to make an altar (put whatever other religious object here, if this doesn't come your way), but what he ends up with you consider to be a chair; useful for you to read a book in, to enjoy landscape in, to have a conversation in it, because this is what it is for you... Aren't you in fact missing the point? Isn't it that in this case, your are to say that "hey, go to that Tolkien gentleman, he is a great carpenter, he thinks he makes altars, although he may not realise he makes chairs?"
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No, I'm not missing the point at all. An altar would be supremely useless (& quite meaningless) to me. If I use the object as a chair at least I am getting something of value out of it. The fact that I can use it as a chair means that it is not specifically & uniquely an altar.