[Lhunardawen]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

This is a very different attitude towards death than that in Tolkien's own faith, where death is viewed as punishment for the sin of disobedience (or as a consequence of eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil) and thus something to be feared.

Originally Posted by Formendacil

Is death the gift itself, or is it the manifestation of the gift, the way in which the gift is made possible?

At first, death was seen as a punishment, yes. But as obloquy pointed out, this is not how we (I having the same faith that Tolkien had) view death anymore. Now death is actually something to be looked forward to, but not necessarily grabbed at an inopportune time (i.e., suicide). Because of what Someone did around 2000 years ago, death can be seen as the precursor of the reward for a life "lived well" on earth, an escape from the less-than-perfect existence here on earth. Death is also considered as the end of life's "first phase," and the rite of passage from life on earth to an eternal life in heaven, which is the actual reward - similar to how childbirth is an infant's exit from life inside his mother's womb to his life independent from his mother. The case in Middle Earth is the same, I believe. The gift of Men, I think, is a perfect, eternal life with Eru, and the fact that they are not bound to the Music.

Originally Posted by alatar

Anyway, Aragorn's death was not only a gift, as he bought extra active years by surrendering his last few (possibly) enfeebled years, it was also his last test of faith. He now had all that he ever wanted, but could either stay around until each day was misery (and who knows what effect that this would have had on the Fourth Age - something akin to leaving the One Ring unmade in the Third?), or trust in Iluvatar and let it all go - Arwen, his children, Middle Earth, all - and see if Melkor or Iluvatar told the truth.

This reminds me of how the kings of Numenor who rebelled against the Valar refused to lay down their lives while they were still strong and relinquish the throne to their heirs. I can't exactly remember who and what, but I think in The Unfinished Tales there are quite detailed accounts of what happened to them. One thing I can remember, though, is that some "misfortune" entered their lives, or the lives of the people around them, as a result...as if the Valar (or Eru himself) tried to show them that it is wrong to hold on to your life when it is time to let go of it. But I wonder, would they still receive the full extent of Eru's gift?

And how come Morgoth seemed to have some hold on the lives of Men? If I remember right, he forbade death to claim Hurin's life while he (and his family) was under the Dark Lord's curse. Any thoughts?

EDIT: In view of HI's quote (the last one), is this the answer to my question above? That because Morgoth can in no way alter the Music, and the Men are not bound to it, he is given some control over their lives? Somehow I don't think so...