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[Disclaimer: I am glad at the development of this thread. We who post here seems to have disproved the notion that the LotR is somehow an allegory of the Bible. I hope that instead of finding hidden meanings in the LotR, we examine Tolkien’s work in comparison with the Bible. In short, I hope that we can get into actual textual criticism. Furthermore, I hope that what follows will not be taken as a form of ‘appropriation’ of the LotR by a Christian in the sense that ‘If you believe that only Christians (of all denominations) can truly appreciate LotR, or - inversely - that if you appreciate LotR, that somehow proves or validates the ultimate truth of specific Christian tenets ... this is appropriation.’ You do not need to be a Christian in order to know proper hermeneutics.]
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You're cool
Estel the Descender [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img], and now that I confirm my beliefs I will post on this wonderful thread.
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I dislike Allegory--the conscious and intentional allegory--yet any attempt to explain the purport of myth or fairytale must use allegorical language. (And, of course, the more 'life' a story has the more readily will it be susceptible of allegorical interpretations: while the better a deliberate allegory is made the more nearly will it be accepted just as a story.)
--From Letter #131
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Given Tolkien's stated distaste for allegory—his main motivation for writing was storytelling, not the exploration of a literary theme.
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It is NOT the Bible, it is a human book by a human author and not the verbatim dictated words of God
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Yes, I definitley agree. Though the books do somehow tie with some references in the Scripture.
BTW:
Estel the Descender:I am also a fellow Evangelical Christian.