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Old 08-31-2002, 05:58 PM   #32
Genandra of Mirkwood
Pile O'Bones
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 22
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Hi guys, interesting discussion. I can suggest two resources for further info on this subject. One, a website that has a good article on Tolkien's life and the influence of his faith on his writing: www.hobbitlore.com

Second, the book _Orthodoxy_ by G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton is not as well known as C.S. Lewis and Tolkien, but he influenced both of them. He was a generation or two ahead of them and like them, was a great writer of fantasy and philosophy. You can clearly see his influence on the Inklings from the above book, especially the first few chapters (one of them called "The Ethics of Elfland"!) This should give some background on the Christian idea, the very positive idea, of myth and truth. Gandalf the Grey provided a good article on this subject above.

Ok, I did have some [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] moments when reading through the thread. Tolkien edited out the Christianity?? The God of ME is Fate?? Please, look deeper. I don't mean to sound trite. Tolkien's works are not allegory, and he writes in the style of ancient and medieval epics (which blend history and fantasy, while being less uptight about the difference than we are... for one thing, a poet assumed his listeners knew the difference between the two!). However the ME works are thoroughly Christian. Veritably soaked with Christianity. It is often subtle, no doubt, but it goes far beyond good vs. evil and "is Frodo a Christ figure." This may only be apparent if one is both well-versed in Tolkien and in the Bible (which you don't have to be a Christian to be; well-educated people used to know the Bible better than many devout Christians do today- but I digress!). Since that takes much time and effort and some of you have projects due, hopefully the above resources will be helpful. They can probably help to explain things better than I can in this post.

P.S. Yes, it's my understanding Tolkien was lukewarm about the Chronicles of Narnia. They're much more straight symbolism, especially "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," but still great stories. I actually like some of the other books better than LWW.

P.P.S. Here's an article on a Christian website that explains some of the deeper connections of Christianity and Tolkien's work. It's written from the perspective of persuading Christians of Tolkien's value. http://www.credenda.org/issues/14-2thema.php

[ September 02, 2002: Message edited by: Genandra of Mirkwood ]
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