The Lord of the Bible?

[davem]

Originally Posted by narfforc

Tolkien states on more than one occasion that LotR is not an allegory. Aragorn or Gandalf are the sum total of all of Tolkiens vast knowledge of myth, legends and religion, both concious and unconcious, they are nothing of one origin only.

It seems that many people accept (because Tolkien stated it so plainly) that LotR is not an allegory. They then immediately set out out to make it into one, all the time denying that that's what they're doing. They struggle to make it into what they actually want it to be. Of course, PJ did the same thing in his own way - he wanted LotR to be an action adventure story & made it into just that.

I wonder why some people are so desperate to prove LotR is a Christian work. Does it have to be Christian for it to matter to them? Would it matter less if it could be shown not to be?

In a way the 'So what?' question comes back to haunt us. Even if one could prove that LotR was one thing & not any other thing one would still have to ask that question. Let's say it was proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that LotR was a 'Christian' work (whatever that means in practice), what would or should be done with it then? Should it be read from the pulpit? Taught in Sunday Schools? Only sold in Christian bookshops? In practical terms what would you actually have achieved?

To me it isn't, & never will be, a 'Christian' book - partly because I'm not sure what a 'Christian book' is, partly because I don't see how an inanimate object can become a 'Christian'. It is a book written by a Christian, but to go back to an earlier point, a shopping list written by a Christian is not a 'Christian' shopping list. It doesn't promote any uniquely Christian beliefs, but is, as Tolkien said 'fundamentally' (ie 'generally', 'more or less' - which is the way English people use the word 'fundamentally' btw) a Catholic work: ie its not an 'un-Catholic' work.

LotR, fortunately or unfortunately, is a 'blank slate' as far as 'inner meaning' goes - as Tolkien stated in the Foreword to LotR it has no 'inner meaning'. Any 'i.m.' you find there is one you've brought with you.