August 27, 2002

Tolkien's Work is a Mixture
Quirk

Just a few comments on Tolkien's religious outlook:

1. It's clear he was Catholic *and* it is clear that he did not intend for LOTR to be allegory:

(a) He has stated he is Catholic, it is a well-known fact.
(b) He criticized Lewis for "Christian" allegory.
(c) As pointed out by "Danny," he found specifically Christian allegory to be fatal to "Arthurian mythology."

[Note to Matthew B. -- Danny did not say that Tolkien targeted his writings to all religions. He did say that perhaps Tolkien found Christian allegory to be "fatal" and did not *blatantly* use such allegory b/c it would limit his potential audience. Please see Lewis's Narnia Chronicles for a prime example, and bear in mind that he and Tolkien were friends--and see "(b)" above.]

2. As stated by Tomas, it is clear that LOTR is as much influenced by old pagan mythology as it is Christianity. This makes sense, as Tolkien was Catholic, and Catholicism is really nothing more than ancient paganism cloaked in Christian terminology. Don't agree? Take a look at the Catholic Encyclopedia -- learn where there statues and saints came from, look closely at the mass, the ordinances, and if you have lots of time, read about the "queen of heaven" and "mystery babylon" in the Bible. Ouch!

3. I understand the idea of Tolkien attempting to create a mythology for Britian. But please, surely he didn't think that one day people would believe in the real existence of his creation as did the Greeks, Romans, Medes, Persians, Egyptians, etc. believed in theirs? C'mon, that would be quite a lofty task for one guy.

4. I'm not sure Gandalf is any more like Christ than he is any other person/character/religious figure/mythological creation who has done the same. How is Gandalf more like Christ than any other? (I'm NOT saying that I think Christ is a myth. creation.)

quirk