[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Roa_Aoife

The problem with the arguement that is developing is that it will never end. Everyone, even Christians, have different veiws of God.

But surely there is merit in discussing both how Tolkien's portrayal of Eru affects our own personal spiritual beliefs and how such personal beliefs affect our response to Eru and, in many ways therefore, our approach to the world that Tolkien has created? It doesn't have to be an argument if people are prepared to acknowledge and respect that other hold beliefs different to their own.

And it seems to me, in this regard, that the points made by davem in his long post above are central to the discussion in this regard. The points that he makes concerning suffering, together with wider points concerning the nature of good and evil, are a large part of the reason why neither Eru nor the Christian God (in the broad sense) fit my conception of God (assuming that there is such a being).

But, predictably, davem and I are at odds on the following issue:

Originally Posted by davem

Simply saying 'Well, Eru isn't at all like God, so there!' is running away from the real issue.

Simply because I don't accept Eru and/or Tolkien's God as my God does not mean that I am running away from the issue. On the contrary, his portrayal of God in Middle-earth, combined with his other writings (Letters etc) and fuelled by the many discussions that I have participated in here on this issue, have caused me to think very deeply about my own spiritual beliefs and attitude toward God, good and evil etc. I have not come to share Tolkien's beliefs nor have I been struck by any sudden revelations, but that does not mean that the process has not been useful (to me at least).