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Originally Posted by alatar
I know what works for me - the evidence supports what I see, hear and know.
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That is where you confuse me, alatar. You say the evidence supports what you see hear and know yet the evidence comes from so much assumption that you see hear and know correctly. How do you know that know?
As I am willing to allow a little of my own thought creep into the possibility that I see something on a computer screen, which I assume does exist, I am putting a lot of faith into something that doesn't demand my faith. Why do you put faith in yourself?
Throughout history, if you can believe that it happened, it has never been proven that another sentient mind can exist. You cannot prove even the fact that your eyes present evidence to you, not to mention that another creature like yourself exists, not to even dream of mentioning that the Tolkien books we cherish so much are actually printed pieces of Literature.
[QUOTE=alatar] It seems to me that the first commandment of some religions is 'thou shall not question.' [\QUOTE]
So glossing over the fact, briefly, that you can allow things to seem like something to you, you have just stated that religion is something akin to a unquestioning, unseeking, irrefutable dogma forced by some heirarchy.
In some cases you are true. But I do hope you realize that the major religions do no such thing. They ask you to make assumptions just like the ones you do to allow yourself to believe science works. They ask you only to make an exploratory step.
To retrieve the theme of the thread, I for one believe that Tolkien uses his religious emblems/symbols to allow the reader to make a 'jump of assumption', just as one does to allow eucatastrophe to set in. The jump I speak of, however, lets the reader think there is something worth fighting for. Remeber Sam and Frodo in TTT? Frodo is despondent and believes that there is no point. Sam cheers him up. We should make an assumption and let Tolkien take us away.
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