[Osse]

Yes, quite...
Anyways, I think this has been somewhat hijacked- what happens to the Men of ME after death? Who knows? Whether Tolkien meant to leave it as a parody of his own religion or not is not the issue - the issue is that Tolkien deliberately wrote it as being completely ambiguous - the way is unclear, and fear arises from that uncertainty. To me, it was purely a cunning root from which much of the plot or perceived plot of the books can be derived - many of the faults seen in the race of Men derive from this fear of death, from the uncertainty regarding the Doom of Men. The great catastrophe's often occur through a particular tribe or race becoming either too enamored in the afterlife or trying to avoid it completely - falling into building grander houses for the death than for the living or striving for immortality. Numenor is a fine example of this - a race declines through their fear (played like a harp by Sauron of course) of what lay beyond the fringes of their waking world. Whether Tolkien was using this as a parody for his own beliefs or not matters little - it is applicable to all cultures, religions and walks of life. It was a cunning literary device that one can relate to - it makes the culture of Man in ME akin to our own, after all, we are meant to be one and the same and helps us relate to them much more than the Elves - they are less aloof. This is one of the major ploys that helps us to relate to them and I'd say, (apart from the race meant to be us) the most important!

Regards,

Ossë