The Lord of the Bible?

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Remember, the test is NOT "is this uniquely Christian", but "does this adequately reflect that which Christians understand about reality"? No one has objected to this statement of the test, and so I'll proceed accordingly.

I think it's safe to say that, of the many sources of influence that Tolkien used, Christianity is very probably one of them. By his own admission, God is in The Lord of the Rings (The One).

I think many people look at The lord of the Rings next to Narnia, the latter being a very overtly Christian work and the fact that, not only was Tolkien a friend of Lewis, but Tolkien contributed to Lewis' conversion, many are tempted to say that it is also a Christian work. I think it would be foolish to say that Christianity or at least Biblical principals were the only part of the 'soil of experience', as he calls it in the forward, for, as he also says, how the story germ uses these experiences is incredibly complex and our attempts to identify and define them are, at best, guesses.

I think I've probably made this point before, but I'll say it again to entertain, at least, my own satisfaction. Plus, I have a terrible memory.

[EDIT] Ah yes, one last thought.
If there were all these many different influencces Tolkien drew from, perhaps we should have a Topic, "The Lord of the Myths."