The Emblems of Religion don't belong ... or do they?

[bilbo_baggins]

You leave a thread for one day, and everyone decides to reply to it.... Now I look like a nobody.

Originally Posted by Aiwendil

Of course, while Gandalf may be a kind of Messianic figure, he is emphatically not a "person" of God.

May I ask what you mean by a "person" of God? Technically Gandalf is of the Valar, which are of Eru, so Gandalf is of Eru, indirectly. He isn't of the God in this world of course, because as has been shown so vigorously, Tolkien's world is not an actual picture of ours.

Originally Posted by Aiwendil

Of course, there is also a Messianic tradition in Judaism.

And Judaism holds that the Messiah has yet to come, so it could correlate to LoTR rather more easily than mainstream Christianity.

To beg a question that I don't think has come up is if all the emblems of religion that come up in the books (like the colors and facing the west, and even mentions of afterlife) are intentional? Some are, when he revises to make sure he does not include overtly heretical thoughts, but are all the connections made because he wanted them in? Or perhaps he couldn't have them out?

And, yes, I'm baiting.

b_b, Esq.