[Celuien]

Perhaps there doesn't need to be a contradiction at all...

Originally Posted by Preface to The Silmarillion

I was grieved from early days by the poverty of my own beloved country: it had no stories of its own (bound up with its tongue and soil), not of the quality that I sought, and found, (as an ingredient) in legends of other lands...Of course these was and is all the Arthurian world, but powerful as it is, it is imperfectly naturalized, associated with the soil of Britain but not with English; and does not replace what I felt to be missing. For one thing its 'faerie' is too lavish and fantastical, incoherent and repetitive. For another and more important thing: it is involved in, and explicitly contains the Christian religion.

For reasons which I will not elaborate, that seems to me to be fatal. Myth and fairy-story must, as all art, reflect and contain in solution elements of moral and religious truth (or error), but not explicit, not in the known form of the primary 'real' world.

I think that Tolkien made it abundantly clear that he was not writing a story that was meant to be an allegory or representation of Christianity. But in the same letter, he has also said that all art contains elements of moral and religious truth. For Tolkien, I have no doubt that this means that his work reflects his own moral and religious beliefs. Hence, it is also perfectly truthful for him to say that...

The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously so in the revision.

...because the moral underpinnings of the work come (obviously) from its author, who was Catholic.

But does that mean that the intention for writing the story was to convey Christian themes (which would be my definition of a 'Christian work', based on Tolkien's reference to Arthurian legend)? No. It means only that Tolkien's beliefs probably shine through as the basis for the "elements of moral and religious truth" in his writing. As do his many other influences that went into his writing; including northern myth and legend, philology, and a dislike of allegory.

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Most people could not (nor would wish to) avoid writing something which was in basic agreement with their own values. It doesn't mean they have a 'message' though.

Exactly. Can anyone imaging trying to separate themselves from their work? 'Twould feel most unnatural, and I think the results would be less than satisfactory. But, again, having one's worldview expressed through one's work is not the same thing as creating a work with the intent to give a 'message.'

If it weren't presumptuous, I could give an example with something that I wrote not too long ago, but I'm far from comparing the process of my idle scribblings to the process behind Tolkien's work. So I won't.

Conclusion: Tolkien didn't lie about anything. No hidden motives. There are just many facets to a highly complex work and the man behind it.