lmp:
"BURN THE HERETIC!" .... oh, sorry, wrong century.
"Have a beer, you're too uptight." Oh, sorry, wrong forum.
"What kind of fan are you, story or world?" --At the moment, lmp, you appear to be a "Story" fan. But I'm not sure that that is really true.
Maybe the question is: what kind of fan are you, a Story fan or a philosophy fan. Or, What kind of eucatastrophe do you prefer?
Do you like a bit of faerie in your revelation, or a bit of revelation in your faerie? There are those "purists" who choose either faerie OR revelation.
Saucie:
Quote:
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However, I do think that to attempt to shape a fictional world founded on myths and legend so that it accorded more with his own specific religious beliefs was as much a mistake as to convert it from a flat world to a round one.
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Those changes are part of Tolkien's story and Tolkien's shaping. He was what he was.
And I think that's Child's (and my) response to the original post (which is up to your usual high standard, lmp) -- Tolkien's writing was an outflow of his innermost being. Since he was a devoutly surrendered man, that innermost being was destined to change. I wouldn't want it any other way.
I think we're lucky that Tolkien kept writing. It's too common for older mystics to compare their writing with the vision that they see, and give up writing in disgust. John of the Cross did that. The author of The Cloud of Unknowing came close.
(Edit: cross-posted with Lalwende...)