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I'm not convinced that Valinor should be equated with Paradise in a Christian sense. First off, you don't go there if you're good or faithful, you go there if you're an elf. And you don't go there when you die - in fact, it is usually forbidden to mortals.
(Which is why I was unhappy about Gandalf's speech to Pippin in Minas Tirith in the RotK movie, basically describing Valinor as a posthumous destination.)
Numenor is inspired by Atlantis, I agree. But I think Valinor is more like Tir Na Nog, land of the Ever Young.
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