Outrage?

[Kitanna]

I don't think it was, but let me check to be sure....

*after a useless google search* It doesn't look like it probably because LOTR had such a large religious backdrop. A lot of events and people mirror Bible events. I mean the last battle of good and evil, the return of the king...
So who's going to ban a book if the author devotely followed their religion?
But that's just me, if anyone can find proof of the books being banned I'd love to see it. Should be quite interesting.

[mormegil]

I don't believe that LotR's caused the same outcry from cetain groups as Harry Potter did. The major difference between the two is the use of magic. While "magic" exist in Middle-Earth it is not the same type of magic that is used in Harry Potter. The certain Christian groups that found Harry Potter so offensive claimed that it encouraged witchcraft and wizardry, both of which are forbidden.

So the analogy between Nazgul and Dementors while not in itself perfect, is not the cause of the outrage of Harry Potter. It is more based on the fact of the use of magic and magic wands and giving children the idea that it's okay to use magic. I think, myself, that they are a bit off but to each his own.

[Boromir88]

I don't think it caused the rage that Harry Potter did as well. If anything I think the Christian faith imbraced it. Since, they see a lot of Tolkien's stories being connected to their own faith. Why a couple months ago my pastor used a part of LOTR in his sermon to show how it connected with Mary and Joseph. I'll see if I can find the old thread.

Edit: Ahh here it is.

[Anguirel]

We must also consider that when Lord of the Rings was published, the world, and the Christian community, were very different. People weren't so inclined to break into hysterics, lose their heads and shriek over a book written for entertainment of its readership.

Nor were Tolkien's the first books containing enchantment, and what we now odiously call "fantasy". Kipling, E Nesbit, Dickens, Williams, and of course CS Lewis had dabbled or were dabbling in these realms.

The post-war era was a nervous age, but it was concerned about politics, and the overhanging sceptre of communism. The Lord of the Rings provided an escape from these aspects of life; where it touched on political matters it was traditional, English, Monarchist, ecumenical and reassurring, even reactionary in the Scouring of the Shire. That's why it appealed to the reactionary elements of the Hippy movement.

Today, sadly, though democracy is generally recognised as a Good Thing, religious extremism is our new bogey man, the new Ring, the new Dark Lord, if you like. Just as Sauron's imminence made Denethor into a hard and harsh man, the terrorism of Islamic extremism has brought into being disturbingly similar feelings in Christianity. Why, it's enough for a whole other thread. "You serve the Dark Tower or the White." "You're with us or against us."

It is in these circumstances that certain people or groups have been stirred up into vitriolic hatred against a perfectly innocent, unpretentious series of books for children, one of a vast genre heavily influenced by Tolkien, and only distinguished from the rest of that genre by its extraordinary success. It is not fair to say that the Christian community as a whole, in any case, frowns on JK Rowling. The late Pope John-Paul II himself, hardly wishy-washy in such matters, defended her.

Had the Lord of the Rings been published today, I think, sadly, a similar backlash by the narrow-minded, few of whom deign to read the books they detest, would have been more than likely.

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Kath

I was just wondering whether The Lord of the Rings received this type of response when it was published ...

Well, it certainly has since. I understand that it has been (or was) banned in some schools in the US, and it has also attracted some criticism from those who condemn it for portraying occultism.

Some relevant threads:

LOTR banned!!!!!

Banning Tolkien, some questions

I don't believe this

Check out the link given in the first post of the last thread linked to above for a (rather deranged) analysis of LotR as a manifestation of Satan's work.

[alatar]

As I understand it, the line of demarcation between the two is in the presentation of the occult. In LOTR, there are the good and the bad, and it's pretty easy to see which side is the 'better.' The use of magic by the good is low key.

In Potter, which I've never read but have seen, I assume that the use of magic is encouraged, and it's not always clear on which side the characters are. The usual occult props (wands, snakes, skulls, ghosts, etc) are seen and not as 'bad.'

So one argument would be that children like the Potter books, the books encourage magic, occultism and witchcraft, those things are banned by the Bible, are therefore assumedly of the Devil, and so you get:

Kids->Potter->Magic->Devil.

Pretty clear to me.

However, the other POV is here.

And, back in the day, my parents were sure that playing Dungeons and Dragons was leading me into demon-worship.

Teens->The Hobbit->LOTR->D&D->Devil.

My assumption is that, like that Kevin Bacon game, if you try hard enough, you can always work something back to the Devil if that's where you hope to go.

[Kitanna]

Mmmmm after looking at the links Saucepan Man provided I'm completely outraged. I don't really like Harry Potter, but I certainly don't think it should be banned for "promoting black magic" if anything it does quite the opposite. HP and LOTR are both books that show the fight against evil.
On the last link was an article all about LOTR and HP glorifying Satan and bringing people away from God.
Tolkien was a devout Catholic. I don't think he was trying to lead people to Satan. I don't think he's led people to Satan.
Either the people who are banning these books have never read them or they have completely missed the point.
Grrr, this all makes me so angry.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

The argument of "If Harry Potter is banned, why not The Lord of the Rings?" is one that I have participated in on many occasions. The statement "Its just a bit of harmless fun" is one I do not accept.

My Pastor is a huge Tolkien fan. He has many books, but not as many as me . And he is ageist Harry Potter, he said this of it,

"J. K. Rowling has been very clever. She seems to know what will be popular and how to write it so that small children can enjoy it. I do not deny that it is an enjoyable read, it is the subject matter I disagree with. One must be aware that witchcraft is a real thing and is incredibly dangerous, to make it seem like a child's play-thing is dabbling in perilous zones."

"What about the Lord of the Rings?" says his wife, "That has Wizards in it."

"Gandalf is a Mair. Wizard is the name given to him by the people of Middle Earth. He's not a sorcerer, or practice of Witchcraft. Many agree that Mair are Angel-like creatures and Gandalf could be described as a sort of Guardian angel. Tolkien being Catholic and all."

I have to agree with this statement. He tells me he has known Churches that have tried to ban The Lord of the Rings, but he has convinced them otherwise.
So, that’s what I think anyway...

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Kitanna

Either the people who are banning these books have never read them or they have completely missed the point.

Isn't that usually the case? And what better way to increase sales, popularity, interest, etc in a thing than to ban it?

"Just what's so bad in those [whatever] books that makes people so afraid? Hmmm, I might just have to pick up a copy and see for myself."

Did some writing in college, and so know first hand that what you write and what your audience 'reads' may be two different things. JRRT may have secretly wanted to convert the entire world to Christianity or atheism or even 'Tolkienism', or may just have wanted to write a great fantasy story.

Conspiracies anyone?