[Raynor]

But if those are the ones, then god in the LotR is really nothing more than that: mentioned, in the sense that the name appears.

I disagree; this view would ignore all the turns of events, as we, or even the characters see them, that show the finger of God. Ignoring the underlying, invisible, struggle between higher good and evil is, imo, ignoring the logic of this universe. Although hobbits are repeatedly referred to as vulgar, I don't think that 'vulgarised' forms of referrences are necessarily void, in general - and esspecially in this particular case. We even see that the opposite is true in the cases of Denethor and Saruman - they are supposed to have the highest knowledge among Men and Istari, and still, they fail in hope and turn into weapons of evil. Frodo was raised by Bilbo, who in turn was in contact with the elves of Rivendell, and visites them even after the quest from the Hobbit; Gandalf also had him under his protection and guidance; given the logic of the story, I believe he had a spiritual sense of good and wrong. Concerning Frodo and Gollum, Tolkien stated that:

Originally Posted by Letter #181

To 'pity' him, to forbear to kill him, was a piece of folly, or a mystical belief in the ultimate value-in-itself of pity and generosity even if disastrous in the world of time.

Personally, I believe that Tolkien was presenting a rethoric dilemma - I doubt he considered folly on behalf of Frodo, quite the contrary being the case:

Originally Posted by Letter #191

He was honoured because he had accepted the burden voluntarily, and had then done all that was within his utmost physical and mental strength to do. He (and the Cause) were saved – by Mercy : by the supreme value and efficacy of Pity and forgiveness of injury.

Frodo deserved all honour because he spent every drop of his power of will and body, and that was just sufficient to bring him to the destined point, and no further. Few others, possibly no others of his time, would have got so far. The Other Power then took over: the Writer of the Story (by which I do not mean myself), 'that one ever-present Person who is never absent and never named' (as one critic has said [- although He is called “the One” in Appendix A, The Numenorean Kings ). See Vol. I p. 65:

'"Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker."' (Gandalf to Frodo.)

Originally Posted by Letter #246

[The simple minds] tend to forget that strange element in the World that we call Pity or Mercy, which is also an absolute requirement in moral judgement (since it is present in the Divine nature). In its highest exercise it belongs to God.

Tolkien further says in that letter that Frodo was given grace by God on two sorts of occassions: “first to answer the call (at the end of the Council) after long resisting a complete surrender” – in the book, it is stated that:

Originally Posted by Council of Elrond

At last with an effort he spoke, and wondered to hear his own words, as if some other will was using his small voice. – I will take the ring

And secondly, “later in his resistance to the temptation of the Ring (at times when to claim and so reveal it would have been fatal), and in his endurance of fear and suffering”. Even Frodo as ringbearer is unique in his time:"few others, possibly no others of his time, would have got so far. cf Letter #192; "Frodo was in such a position: an apparently complete trap: a person of greater native power could probably never have resisted the Ring's lure to power so long; a person of less power could not hope to resist it in the final decision" cf letter #181. In the end, I guess a book reflects the reader; some aknowledge elements Tolkien put and intended to be seen and some don't and what is "objectively" close to a correct interpretation changes from age to age and place to place. I, for one, contently accept the professor's view.