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Old 08-18-2002, 04:01 AM   #16
Baran
Haunting Spirit
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Mordor/Lothlorien
Posts: 71
Baran has just left Hobbiton.
Sting

Unfortunatly I have not had the chance to read Tolkiens letters yet, so I have to defend my views on the quotes you bring forth.

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Or more important, I am a Christian (which can be deduced from my stories) and in fact a Roman Catholic. The latter "fact" perhaps cannot be deduced; though one critic (by letter) asserted that the invocations of Elbereth, and the character of Galadriel as directly described (or through the words of Gimli and Sam) were clearly related to Catholic devlotion to Mary. Another saw in waybread (lembas) = viaticum and the reference to its feeding the will and being more potent when fasting, a derivation from the eucharist. (That is: far greater things may color the mind in dealing with the lesser things of a fairy story.)
Tolkien is a Christian, and of course wrote his books from a christian point of view. As he states here, we can put all sort of meanings in to his books which he never intended, but non the less can be traced back to him being a christian.

When I wrote that Tolkien didn't have any religius intentions when writing his books I meant that he wasn't trying to make christian allegories. I should have wrote "christian intentions", I'm sorry.



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When you say that Tolkien's world is not to your mind "a very Christian influenced world" ... it appears that you have overlooked Orome's post above, wherein he quotes Tolkien quite clearly from Letter #142 as saying that "The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work."
I am now Talking about Arda and middle earth, I don't think that the world Tolkien describe to us in his works is very "christian". This is of course my subjective opinion, if you can find a lot of things in Middle earth that resemble the christian faith I can't say you're wrong, I just can't. We all take his work an twist it so it suits our own point of view don't we? So racists who say they like LOFR because there are no black people there are not entirelly wrong, even though Tolkien was not a racist. By the way, my full quote was
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Tolkien was creating a world with it's own myths and gods, but I would not say that it is a very Christian influenced world, more a world influenced world if you understand what I mean.
Tolien states in his letter
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The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work
He was trying to make a believable world and universe, he was creating myth, and into that myth he took pieces from myths and religions already excisting in our world.

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My reasoning for this thread is that I have been given a project to present how a religious theme is potrayed through a book/film/television drama etc
There is not just one religius theme in his books,
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That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like "religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism.
he is not trying to make the imaginary world a christian world, but a world with it's own religion based on the myths he loved so much, including christianity.
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