[Religion] Unintentional Religion in Tolkien's works? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

onewhitetree · 08-17-2002, 10:55 AM

Welcome to The Barrow-Downs, Guildo and hildenyarvaEru. I hope you two remain dead a long while and post often. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

hildenyarvaEru, your point raising Catholic saints is not without merit, and I have considered it myself before. The reason I settled more on mythological gods and goddesses is that few of the Ainur actually spent lifetimes as mortal people in Ea.

Gandalf is one of the exceptions, and he is one of the most interesting characters to examine under the subtext of religion. There is no other occurence in the whole of LotR that is as blatantly referring to Christianity as his resurrection to turn the tides of fate. The fact that he goes from Grey (a "nothing special" colour, humble and everyday) to White (the presence of all colour, light, a symbol of rebirth and redemption) is, I'm going to refer to another great thread here, eucatastrophic to the utmost. I recommend you all read said thread (titled after the word). It may provide further enlightenment in this thread. It's in the Books near the top; shouldn't be too hard to find.

[ August 17, 2002: Message edited by: onewhitetree ]

08-17-2002, 10:55 AM	#12
onewhitetree Seeker of Syntax Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: The Scene of the Crime Posts: 264	Welcome to The Barrow-Downs, Guildo and hildenyarvaEru. I hope you two remain dead a long while and post often. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] hildenyarvaEru, your point raising Catholic saints is not without merit, and I have considered it myself before. The reason I settled more on mythological gods and goddesses is that few of the Ainur actually spent lifetimes as mortal people in Ea. Gandalf is one of the exceptions, and he is one of the most interesting characters to examine under the subtext of religion. There is no other occurence in the whole of LotR that is as blatantly referring to Christianity as his resurrection to turn the tides of fate. The fact that he goes from Grey (a "nothing special" colour, humble and everyday) to White (the presence of all colour, light, a symbol of rebirth and redemption) is, I'm going to refer to another great thread here, eucatastrophic to the utmost. I recommend you all read said thread (titled after the word). It may provide further enlightenment in this thread. It's in the Books near the top; shouldn't be too hard to find. [ August 17, 2002: Message edited by: onewhitetree ] __________________ onewhitetree (also known as Kate) Well, I'M BACK.